ABSTRACT
For many years, the social scientists have been debating whether anti-Semitism is a unique phenomenon or merely another manifestation of prejudice. While disavowing any intention of entering the debate on one side or the other, this chapter suggests that the clue to the riddle is to be found in the nature of the Jewish stereotype. A stereotype has been defined, in the social sciences, as a judgment that does not coincide with the facts; it is in the nature of a social illusion or myth. While there is nothing peculiar about the mechanism of scapegoating as applied to Jews or in the techniques by which their subordination is attempted, still the particulars in which the Jewish stereotype differs from the basic stereotype do indicate that Jew-baiting serves a special function. The Jewish stereotype also differs from other stereotypes in its remarkable persistence, its deeply rooted position in the culture.
