htmlIn March, an exhibition in London will tease out the historical Jewish "obsession" with money and explore the deep-rooted origins of anti-Semitism through stereotypes. It will take the form of manuscripts, prints, Jewish rituals, films, literature, board games, comics and The statues all revolve around the historical proposition of "Jewish greed for money". One of the most famous art masterpieces is Rembrandt's "Judas Repentant, Returning the Pieces of Silver". In response to the sensitivity of the topic, curator Abigail Morris admitted that the exhibition may cause controversy or make some Jews nervous. "Even if it is scary to talk about Jews and money," she still said, "It is not good not to talk about it." It will make it disappear. If anti-Semitism is to be eradicated, one of the important images that needs to be changed is the relationship between Jews and money."
The image of Jewish moneylenders in the Middle Ages is deeply rooted in people's hearts, and it is often accompanied by hypocrisy and hypocrisy. The negative qualities of greed and love of money are blended with fiction and myth, making it difficult to identify them. The exhibition "Jews, Money, Myth" attempts to find clues starting 2,000 years ago, enumerating the role of money in Jewish life, and at the same time sorting out the imprints of this stereotype in various works, spanning the time of Jesus to the 21st century.
Rembrandt's "Judas Returns the Thirty Pieces of Silver" was painted in 1629 and depicts the story of Matthew Chapter 27: Judas was bribed by the Sanhedrin with thirty pieces of silver, kissed and betrayed Jesus, and finally repented and returned the money. After giving it to the priest, he hanged himself. In the painting, Judas kneels on his knees, his face is painful, and he is ashamed and begging the elders and priests to accept the silver coins.
The museum believes that "The story of Judas Iscariotwho betrayed Jesus and returned 30 pieces of silver to the religious authorities helped to promote anti-Semitic stereotypes."
Exhibits also include an 1807 work by London printer and game specialist John Wallis Snr First published children's dice game, popular among Jewish children.
The object of this simple dice board game is to collect as many counts as possible. At the center of the board is a Jewish banker with a bulging purse. Broadway composer and collector Stephen Sondheim, who owns a collector's copy of the game, once described the game as "teaching children what anti-Semitism is."
Another children’s illustrated book with strong anti-Semitic overtones will also be on display. "Der Giftpilz" means "The Poisonous Mushroom". It was published in 1938. It is a Nazi anti-Semitic children's book with a fairy tale style. It was written by Ernst, a reporter and illustrator of the anti-Semitic newspaper "Vanguard". Hiemer and Philipp Rupprecht were responsible for completing the story. The content of the story portrays Jews as ugly, short, pedophile and greedy for money.
In one of the stories, a German girl was waiting for a doctor. A Jewish doctor leaned out of the room and greeted the girl into the room with a smile. The accompanying text reads, "His two sinful eyes glowed behind the lenses, and a smile appeared on his fleshy lips."
The image of Jews in literary works is often typical, and the occupation may be a businessman or a criminal, such as Shakespeare's " The Jewish businessman Shylock (Shylock) in The Merchant of Venice, and the instigator Fagin (Fagin) in Dickens's "Oliver Twist". At the same time, "Jews, Money, Myth" will also display a copy of the Oxford English Dictionary's definition of a Jew. Until the 1970s, the secondary definition of "Jews" was "to deceive or to fail by taking credit". "(to cheat or overreach).
"This exhibition shows some of the dangers, and it even fatally explains how these phenomena appear and are still spreading around the world." David Feldman, director of the Institute for Research on Anti-Semitism, believes that people's understanding of Jews and Stereotypes about money and power relations have led to the evolution of anti-Semitism, which continues to grow.
“We try to approach this topic in a very careful and thoughtful way, while being more aware than ever of the importance of challenging stereotypes to combat hate and challenge ignorance,” said curator Morris.
Jews, Money, Myth will be held from 19 March to 7 July 2019 at the Jewish Museum, London, in partnership with the Institute for the Study of Anti-Semitism. The title and picture of
are from Wiki.
