Stereotypes of Jews

Stereotypes of Jews are caricatured and generalized representations of Jews, mostly of an antisemitic or racist nature. The Jewish diaspora in Europe and the Western hemisphere have been stereotyped for over 2,000 years as scapegoats for a multitude of societal problems. Antisemitism continued throughout the centuries and reached a climax in the Third Reich during World War II. Jews are still stereotyped as greedy, nit-picky, stingy misers and are often depicted in caricatures, comics, and propaganda posters counting money or collecting diamonds. Early films such as Cohen's Advertising Scheme (1904, silent) stereotyped Jews as "scheming merchants".

Common objects, phrases and traditions used to emphasize or ridicule Jewishness include bagels, playing violin, klezmer, undergoing circumcision, haggling and uttering phrases like mazal tov, shalom, and oy vey. Other Jewish stereotypes are the rabbi, the complaining and guilt-inflicting Jewish mother, the spoiled and materialistic Jewish-American princess and the often meek and nerdy nice Jewish boy.