Is it true that Jews are generally greedy & revenging as in Shakespeare's play 'The Merchant of Venice'.?

Question

We know the Shake spear's play 'The Merchant of Venice' about a greedy Jewish creditor trying to exact a pound of flesh.
I am not here to say all Jews are bad or wrong. I personally believe there are good and bad people in every community. I am asking do they in general have this nature of greed and a stingy personality in them. I also see Israel today is blocking the humanitarian aid to general Palestinians and trying to exact pound of flesh for mistakes of their few Palestinian leaders.

Answer 1

No. The palestinians get what they deserve, and deserve what they get.

Answer 2

I find it interesting that Israel is the one country in this century that's taken land in a war (which they didn't initiate) and they're the only country that's been continually harassed and pressured to give that land back. Land, which, BTW, was useless and not desired by the people who had it. Land that the Israelis then worked and sweated to make livable and useful...at which point the former owners began to whine they wanted it back. That they're being asked to provide humanitarian aide (which they give) to a people who have stated they hate them and desire only to see their whole race extinct is unbelievable.
Probably the view you're talking about comes from a world that's jealous of Jewish accomplishments. After all this is a people that has been, throughout history, able to move into a vicinity and work hard and build up their lives and their fortunes despite the hatred of the people around them. I've noticed that these accusations of greed are generally followed by the people in the area storming into the Jews' houses, killing their families, and stealing everything they own.
I've always assumed this anti-semitic attitude came from the fact that all other religions derive from the Jewish religion. They've been around for what, 4,000 years? There's probably a lot of insecurity over the fact that the Jewish religion came first, which means the others are just spin-offs and splinter cults. So of course they want to wipe them out. That way they can pretend that God was rightously on their side in the end run, and re-write history so the Jews were only a small cult of no-importance and OURS was the first true real religion!

From: Not a Jew but wishing I was at this moment.

Answer 3

You have a lot of good answers here, so I just want to say:

You are a "Top Contributor". Try to see that a little responsibility comes along with that. This is a very anti-Semitic. People take your advice, to some degree, so this is a little worse coming from you.

I don't think that just because anti-Semitism is one of the last remaining "acceptable" prejudices in the world makes it any less hateful to express it. It just means you can get away with saying racist things about Jews that you could never say about any other ethnic group. It doesn't mean you should.

Obviously, you need to read up on the history of Israel and on the Palestinian conflict, before you form an opinion.

btw, I think you mean "vengeful". Revenging is not a word. And, in the Merchant of Venice, Shylock is getting taken advantage of. It's a play about love and love gone wrong. And the comedy comes from "cheating the Jew". (ha ha) It also has a lovely soliloquy from Shylock about the humanity of Jews. You should read the play.

Answer 4

Judging from The Merchant of Venice, I think Shakespeare was not a racist. On the surface he might seem to be one, since he describes Shylock with derogatory anti-Semitic terms throughout the play. Yet he could merely be reflecting the attitudes and opinions of the Elizabethan people at that time. The "Hath a Jew" speech clearly shows Shakespeare's awareness that bigotry against Jews was something deplorable. I feel that he used this moving speech to reveal and display his true opinion and feelings. Hence I think he wasn't a racist.

Answer 5

I do not think there are more greedy and revenging people among the Jews than among any other ethnic group.
Shakespeare thought about Jews as many people from his era did. Jews were associated with money. They were the only ones for who it was tolerated to lend money with interest. In times of unrest politicians often used the Jews as scapegoats.
Re Palestine: not all Jews are Zionists. Zionists are Jews who think they are entitled to the land that belongs to the Palestinians. Though the Palestinians have offered to live together on this land and though the state was Israel was meant to be for the two people, the Zionists still dream of expanding the state of Israel as a country only for the Jews. Not all Jews follow this doctrine.

Answer 6

Shakespeare was writing with the zeitgeist of his times, when all jews were seen as scheming money-grabbers. The same image can be seen in Machiavelli's 'The Prince'. The reason behind this though is because of the anti-Semitism that has been practiced against the Jewish people ever since the diaspora (dispersal) from Jerusalem following the destruction of hte 2nd temple at the end of the Jewish-Roman war around 72CE.

When Jews scattered to all points of the known world, they were treated harshly in virtually every country they went into, where they were regarded in much the same way that this country treats economic migrants today - spite, derision and hatred. Most Jews had restrictions placed on them as to where they could live and what jobs they were allowed to do. This meant that one of the few things left to them was money-lending, leaving them with the stigma that sticks with them to this day.

Answer 7

I think that the times you are talking about is when most early stereotypes were formed based upon early meetings with people many Britons had never travelled out of their own area let alone their country so the people that had formed opinions that became the general view of how people were then percieved which is not always the case I treat everyone I meet the same a stranger until I get to know them for myself non judgemental and no preconceptions

Answer 8

Greed is there in every person. Everyone tries to protect his own interests--some more than the others.

Israel and Palestinian conflict is extremely complex and have got so entangled that one simply cannot side with one party. Your simpathies with the Palestinians is only because of the projections by some of the media. They are equally guilty of fanning the fires and Israel cannot allow itself to be trampled over.

Answer 9

You should delete this question as it is a brutal stereotype that can only lead to inflammatory remarks.

The myth that anyone is greedy or miserly comes from the lazy people who don't bother to work hard.

Regardless of a person's background or religious conviction, if they work hard to make a good living, they will always come under the criticism of someone from a different social or religious background who is jealous of their success.

Far too many people want something for nothing and they point the finger at the hard-working people who are getting on with their lives.

Answer 10

Whilst obviously 'Israel' (may god liberate Palestine) crimes are commited by Jews, it doesnt represent jews, in the same way as Al-Qaeda does not represent Muslims. The stereotype of the greedy jew comes from around the early Tudor period when the Jews would lend money with interest while the christian population wouldnt because by religion they werent allowed. People grew jealous of the money these 'bankers' would make an so they labelled them as greedy.

Answer 11

In the "Mechant of Venice," **A** Jew (Shylock) was that way. It is most unfortunate that Shakespeare either purposely or unwittingly contributed mightily to that ongoing (and utterly-stupid!) stereotype by making Shylock Jewish.

There are greedy and revenge-seeking people to be found from all faiths and ethnic groups. And, fortunately, they always are 'way in the minority. And probably comprise very little difference, percentagewise, from one group to the next.

The problems between the Palestinians and the Israelis are hugely complex, and I'm surprised you would attempt to reduce them to such a massive oversimplification.