Business

Shylock's Shadow

Shakespeare's character, and antisemitic stereotypes,
have dogged Jewish businessmen for centuries.

Sale Starts dune 2, 2000

BILL CARROLL
Special to the Jewish News

6911 Orchard Lake Rd.
W. Bloomfield, MI 48322
248.737.9059

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(Shapiro) Boettcher

Mortgage Consultant

America's Residential Mortgage Source

888-222-9176

Ext. 1

Eric J.
Rosenberg

Area Manager

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• Full array of programs with competitive pricing (conventional,
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32581 Northwestern Highway, Farmington Hills, MI 48334

248 - 737 - 7122

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6/2
2000

68

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(248) 851-CARS (248) 851-2277

T

eaching a course in
Shakespeare, a Wayne
State University pro-
fessor discussed The
Merchant of Venice and declared:
"Shylock wasn't a rotten person
because he was a Jew. Shylock
was a rotten person because he
was a rotten person!"
That's just about how
Professor Charles Dellheim
summed up the most famous
money lender in literary history
in a lecture last week at the
Janice Charach Epstein
Museum/Gallery in the Jewish
Community Center in West
Bloomfield. Dellheim, professor
of humanities and history and
director of interdisciplinary
humanities at Arizona State
University, figuratively threw
Shylock up for grabs in a speech Charles Dellheim
titled: "Shylock's Shadow: The
Myths and Practices of
business success or paid more dearly
American Jewish Business."
for it than the Jews?" Dellheim asked.
"Shylock can be viewed in different
"They have triumphed in fields rang-
ways," he said. "He's a mean,
ing from merchant banking to real
unscrupulous creature and a threat to
estate,
clothing to chemicals, but Jews
business, or as just a nice guy. The
have
been
trailed for centuries by
can
be
interpreted
Merchant of Venice
Shylock's shadow, an unwelcome
as loaded with antisemitism or not."
emblem of alleged greed and rapacity.
Dellheim's talk — laced with
"Shylock's shadow is a metaphor
quotes ranging from British authors
that has followed Jews for many years,
to movie moral' Jack Warner, and
portraying him as a morally corrupt,
sprinkled with cute sayings and words
ruthless, mean, shrewd businessman."
like "rapacity" (greedy) — probably
He argued that the business of Jews
was better suited to scholars and grad-
was
different than that of gentiles for
uate students than a group of local
historical and social reasons, rather
Jewish residents on a rainy night.
than, as antisemites have claimed,
The son of Jewish refugees from
because of religious or racial traits. In
Europe, Dellheim, who studied at the
a sense, the antisemitic attacks against
State University of New York and
Shylock and all Jews comprise a bad
Oxford in England, and has a doctor-
rap.
ate from Yale, is a cultural historian
"Jewish people never had the same
now working on two books about
opportunities
as gentiles," Dellheim
Jewish culture and commerce. His
pointed out. "Because of social dis-
appearance was sponsored by Wayne
crimination, their career choices were
State University and its Cohn-
limited ... they got the economic left-
Haddow Center for Judaic Studies,
overs ... the things that the gentiles
and the Anti-Defamation
didn't want to do.
League/Michigan Region.
"Instead of selling iron and steel
"What group has achieved greater