Roth and the Jews: Another Look

Abstract

Philip Roth's career was largely shaped by early criticism from Jewish leaders and organizations who were rankled by the less than savory Jewish characters in his first book, Goodbye, Columbus (1959). In particular, Roth's short story "Defender of the Faith," which depicted a Jewish soldier who uses his religion to shirk his military duties, prompted negative responses from a number of Jewish critics. While recent scholarship on Roth has often adopted Roth's claim that he was unfairly judged on what some perceived as his early unfavorable depictions of Jews and Jewish practice, the case is not as one-sided as Roth would have had his readers believe. This essay also takes a deeper look at some lesser-known material relating to Jewishness in Roth, including the Commentary letters responding to Roth's essay "Writing About Jews," and the Chofetz Chaim's thought on lashon hara (evil speech). During his career, Roth drew on Jewish sources such as the Chofetz Chaim and Vladimir Jabotinsky to provoke his critics while at the same time defending himself against charges of Jewish self-hatred.