‘Bad Jews’ is bad for Jews

The Gamm Theater in Warwick is planning to present a “blisteringly funny” production called “Bad Jews.” A large sign in front of the theater advertises it. Reviews on its website describe it as “delicious, nasty fun” and “a radioactive brew.”

In any generation, at any time, denigrating a race or a religion, whether it is considered delicious or nasty or fun is dangerous. This play’s title is dangerous because of the unambiguously condemnatory meaning of the word “bad.” Among the dictionary definitions of bad are “evil,” “unpleasant,” “unhealthy” and “diseased” – all of which terms have been used throughout history to justify persecution and extermination of Jews.

Since the time of the gospels, Christian theologians have linked Jews with the devil. During the Middle Ages, Jews were often described as children of the devil and depicted with horns and bulging eyes. Muslim texts from the 20th century onward present the same views, and today throughout the Middle East, hatred for Jews and Zionists can be found in textbooks for children as young as three, complete with illustrations of Jews with monster-like qualities. In Middle Eastern media, Jews are variously compared to pigs, donkeys, rats and cockroaches.

Jews have long been described, literally or metaphorically, as carriers of a physical defect, deformity or disease, often associated with ugliness, weakness, dirt and excrement. The phrase “dirty Jew” is all too familiar. Jews were banned from German swimming pools and quarantined during the cholera and typhus epidemics of 1892. In Nazi Germany, Jewishness was compared to cancer.

To describe Jews as “bad” – at any time and at this time in particular – is particularly pernicious. Recent studies reveal shocking statistics about the growth of antisemitism in the United States:

• Belief in antisemitic prejudice has nearly doubled since 2019.

• 85% of Americans believe at least one anti-Jewish trope.

• 20% of Americans believe six or more tropes—the highest rate since the early 1990s.

The statistics above merely track beliefs. It is important to understand that beliefs are the underpinnings of actions. People act on their beliefs. There is much data tracking the upsurge in antisemitic actions:

• Antisemitic hate crimes in New York City spiked by 125% in November 2022 compared to November 2021,

• Hate crimes against Jews nationwide set an all-time high last year. Most took the form of violent attacks and vandalism against synagogues and Jewish temples, but many were physical attacks.

• A new wave of antisemitism is infecting college campuses, with public demonstrations where pro-Palestinian protestors call for Jews to be purged from college campuses and classrooms.

• 50% of Jewish college students now hide their Jewish identity for fear of derision, antisemitic comments, or physical attacks.

• Social media platforms have witnesses an enormous surge in antisemitic content.

The sign “BAD JEWS” adds fuel to the tsunami of antisemitism flooding almost every arena today, and provides another foundational layer to antisemitic attacks. This is DANGEROUS. It rises to the level of religious/race defamation. The UN passed a resolution on "Combating intolerance, negative stereotyping and stigmatization of, and discrimination, incitement to violence and violence against, persons based on religion or belief” in 2011. Although “BAD JEWS” is not such a direct incitement to violence that it could be considered criminal, it is shamefully close. It could, in the words of the 1927 Supreme Court case of Whitney v. California, be considered “inimical to the public welfare, tending to incite crime, [or]disturb the peace.” I would like to know the intent of the theater in choosing to present such a play in times like these, and whether it has considered the consequences.

ATTORNEY KAREN HURVITZ has taught at Georgetown, Boston University, and Suffolk University law schools and now represents high school and college students who object to politicized curricula, and students targeted for exercising their First Amendment rights. She has published in JNS, Israel HaYom, American Thinker, Times of Israel, and White Rose Magazine. She serves as counsel for Education Without Indoctrination and on the Boards of LIBI and Sandra Bornstein Holocaust Education Center. The views expressed here are her own.