The 'Other' Side
Temple Kol Ami students discuss the stereotypical portrayal
of Jews in 18th and 19th century England.
Above left: Temple Kol
Ami students discuss
the stereotypical prints
ofJews on the walls
around them.
JULIE EDGAR
Senior Writer
liAr
l hat did students see in
the 18th century prints
hung around the Janice
Charach Epstein
Museum/Gallery at the Jewish
Community Center in West
Bloomfield?
"Big noses." "Rich." "All the men
looked all wrinkly and ornery and
unhappy." "They looked tight."
"Stuck-up," they remarked.
The 15- and 16-year-old students
from Temple Kol Ami's Sunday
school class viewed the exhibit, enti-
tled "The Jew As Other: A Century
of English Caricature 1730-1830,"
and then discussed their impressions
with group leader Beth Greenapple,
director of Judaic enrichment at the
JCC.
Yet the show, which ended
Thursday, featured dozens of colored
10/31
1997
12
Above: Students exam-
ine the works and
record their impres-
sions.
Left: A print depicting
the "Jew As Other."
prints depicting Jews as greedy
moneylenders, stooped peddlers,
magnificent boxers, eager converts
and lascivious businessmen. They
comprised a significant number of
the caricatures made in England at
the time, Greenapple said, and
reflected a preoccupation with the
tiny Jewish population by the popu-
lar press.
But not all were vicious. When
Jews entered the world of boxing,
their prowess forced non-Jews to
reassess their prejudices. Three prints
in the exhibit depict celebrated
pugilist Daniel Mendoza (1763-
1836) taking on foes, including one
entitled "Dan beating the
Philistines."
In another print depicting Jews
converting to Christianity, Satan sits
on the sidelines blowing on a horn.
The majority of the works, howev-
er, show Jews as grinning, conniving
characters intent on cheating others
out of their money or seducing inno-
cent gentile women.
Greenapple asked the students to
consider their own perceptions of the
"other," reminding them that in
England Jews were seen as strangers
with odd habits and threatening
behavior.
Interestingly, none of the students
mentioned that the prints were overt-
ly anti-Semitic when she asked what
they saw.
"Things have changed, so it makes
me feel good," one said.
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