Chapter Four. The hatred of ‘jewish’ economic practices

Abstract

Hostility toward Jews and supposedly Jewish economic and business practices did not cast a shadow over the minds of all workers. This chapter examines the dimensions of anti-Jewish hostility in the realm of economic practices. Generally, antisemitic workers did not attack Jews for being industrialists, capitalists in the general sense, or employers. Yet, it was thought that Jews somehow owned and controlled everything. In a sense, Jews were beyond mere worldly domination, masters of some other kind of power. Many workers thought that Jews shared a propensity for business as a way to avoid work. Business was synonymous with the easy or a preferable avenue out of poverty than work. The chapter focuses on antisemitic workers vis-a-vis the presumed role of Jews in economic life and Jews as workers. Antisemitism also expressed itself by attacking the Jewish effect on society and the belief that Jews wielded too much power.Keywords: anti-Jewish hostility; antisemitic workers; business; Jewish business practices; Jewish economic practices