This is a fascinating post, and I have to admit I don't have any directly relevant experience myself, but a couple of things you wrote, particularly about the prominence of Jews at your school, made me think about the problems that Jews encountered in early Communist Russia. So, with the disclaimer that it's all from books and lecturers -
A lot of Jews were prominent in the first wave of Russian Communism, precisely because there was prejudice against them and they were attracted by Communism's vision of equality. In the very early days the Communist party tried to live up to those ideals. They deliberately promoted Jews in their ranks.
But to consolidate their power, the Communists needed to fire up the passions of the people against their enemy. Since the enemy was rich people (or people perceived to be rich, even if it just meant they had a cow), the capitalist Jew stereotype was too useful a propaganda tool to pass up.
Then in the 1930s, the first wave of Communist enthusiasm was petering out, and people were beginning to realise that paradise might not be just around the corner. But they didn't want to lose the dream they'd worked so hard for, so there some casting around for people to blame - "hey look at all the Jews in the top cadres! conspiracy!"
The early 30s also saw the ascendancy of Stalin, who chiefly defined himself against Trotsky. Trotsky's Jewishness became the perfect lowest-common-denominator spice to add to the ludicrous accusations that he had been in league with the Kaiser etc.
Russian Jews also have a strong tradition of education and learning. This persisted into the Communist era - in fact it got stronger, because for a while opportunities genuinely were available for the able, and their work ethic ensured that a lot of Jews took full advantage of that. But come the inklings of disillusionment with Communism - "Hey, the universities are full of Jews! Communism's not at fault - the problem is, we've been infiltrated!"
So in Russia the situation came to a grim full circle: Jews' enthusiastic participation in what appeared to be a levelling movement still led back to them being demonised as rapacious conspiratorial capitalists.
This throws up some possibilities for why Jewish people might feel insecure even in a cultural and political environment where things appear to be going well for them. Among the various prejudices, anti-Semitism is one of the easiest to take off the hook and reanimate for political purposes, precisely because it is easy to point to and demonise rich/powerful/educated Jews in a way that it usually isn't for other minorities.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2005-05-31 07:30 pm (UTC)A lot of Jews were prominent in the first wave of Russian Communism, precisely because there was prejudice against them and they were attracted by Communism's vision of equality. In the very early days the Communist party tried to live up to those ideals. They deliberately promoted Jews in their ranks.
But to consolidate their power, the Communists needed to fire up the passions of the people against their enemy. Since the enemy was rich people (or people perceived to be rich, even if it just meant they had a cow), the capitalist Jew stereotype was too useful a propaganda tool to pass up.
Then in the 1930s, the first wave of Communist enthusiasm was petering out, and people were beginning to realise that paradise might not be just around the corner. But they didn't want to lose the dream they'd worked so hard for, so there some casting around for people to blame - "hey look at all the Jews in the top cadres! conspiracy!"
The early 30s also saw the ascendancy of Stalin, who chiefly defined himself against Trotsky. Trotsky's Jewishness became the perfect lowest-common-denominator spice to add to the ludicrous accusations that he had been in league with the Kaiser etc.
Russian Jews also have a strong tradition of education and learning. This persisted into the Communist era - in fact it got stronger, because for a while opportunities genuinely were available for the able, and their work ethic ensured that a lot of Jews took full advantage of that. But come the inklings of disillusionment with Communism - "Hey, the universities are full of Jews! Communism's not at fault - the problem is, we've been infiltrated!"
So in Russia the situation came to a grim full circle: Jews' enthusiastic participation in what appeared to be a levelling movement still led back to them being demonised as rapacious conspiratorial capitalists.
This throws up some possibilities for why Jewish people might feel insecure even in a cultural and political environment where things appear to be going well for them. Among the various prejudices, anti-Semitism is one of the easiest to take off the hook and reanimate for political purposes, precisely because it is easy to point to and demonise rich/powerful/educated Jews in a way that it usually isn't for other minorities.