Traditions of Satire and Anti-Semitism Collide at Harvard

There is a long history of anti-Semitism at Harvard University, though it is essentially gone today. There is also a long history of subtle — and not so subtle — grandiose acts of satire at Harvard. Last Friday morning, students who live in Harvard University’s nine River Houses awoke to find that the intersection of those two Harvard traditions had been slipped under their doors in the night. It was an invitation to “The Pigeon,” a mock final club. Across the top of the flyer it said, “Inclusion* Diversity** Love***.” Following the asterisks down to the bottom of the flyer reveals:

* Jews need not apply.

** Seriously, no f**king Jews. Coloreds OK.

*** Rophynol [an apparent misspelling of Rohypnol, a date rape drug]

The anonymous author(s) probably meant to poke fun at the final clubs that have a long history at Harvard. If you went to Harvard — or if you saw “The Social Network” — you know that final clubs are prestigious invite-only undergraduate social clubs, a phenomenon unique to Harvard. Unless you’re just good at guessing where this is going, they also have a shaky reputation when it comes to racism and anti-Semitism. And, Harvard being Harvard, the otherwise minor incident of the flyer has sparked controversy and outrage far beyond the school.

Most people see the see the situation in one of two ways. Many believe that statements such as “Seriously, no f**king Jews” make the flyer unforgivable, promoting hate speech and so forth.

Others counter that the flyer, while uncomfortable, falls completely within the bounds of free speech and should be treated as such. Indeed, the only speech that really needs any protecting is speech that causes discomfort. Some see the flyer as exemplifying precisely that notion.

Evelynn M. Hammonds, Harvard’s undergraduate dean, responded with the following statement: “As an educator, I find these flyers offensive. They are not a reflection of the values of our community. Even if intended as satirical in nature, they are hurtful and offensive to many students, faculty and staff, and do not demonstrate the level of thoughtfulness and respect we expect at Harvard when engaging difficult issues within our community.”

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On Meeting Jay-Z on the Subway

 Speaking with the artist Ellen Grossman about her chance encounter

The video shows Jay-Z was on his way to the last of his eight shows to open the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn (Jewcy reports that Hova actually lit a menorah for each of the eight nights). As Grossman explained to me, she was simply on her way to visit a friend in Brooklyn when a large crush of people unexpectedly entered her subway car at Canal Street. Grossman ended up having a chat with the rapper.

Adorable caveat:

“I hope this doesn’t sound canned,” she apologized. “I’ve spoken to a lot of people this morning.”

The scene:

“It was a fairly sparsely populated subway car and I was alone on three seats,” she explained. “There was a surge of people at Canal Street and my son was in the World Trade Center disaster…but he survived, it’s alright, but we didn’t know that for several hours so that’s kind of present in our consciousness. So, at first, I thought ‘Oh God, something terrible has happened up on the street.’ But everyone was laughing and smiling so I thought, ‘What a relief!’ And I thought perhaps it was a flash mob.”

When Jay-Z sat down:

“Jay-Z sat down next to me and I did not recognize him, but everyone was taking his picture. But I thought, because I didn’t recognize him, that it still could have been a flash mob. I know people do fake celebrity stuff. So I said what was on the video ‘Are you famous?’ and he said ‘Yes’ and I believed him. I asked what his name was and he said ‘Jay’ and I didn’t catch that it was Jay-Z and after we were talking for a while I thought ‘He’s pretty famous,’ I noticed his security people and we were in a little bubble because they were around us and then I asked ‘What’s your name again?’ and he said ‘Jay-Z.’ We had a really great conversation, it felt really genuine.”

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Chanukah and International Pressure

What induced Antiochus Epiphanes to attempt to eradicate Judaism? Some speculate that he had his own political motives. However, he initially had good relations with the Jews who had helped him take Jerusalem from his rival, the Egyptian Ptolemy. The chronicler of that era, Josephus Flavius mentions that Antiochus initially granted Jews the right to keep their laws. (Josephus Flavius, Antiquities, Book XII, chapter 3:3) He had also decreed that the Temple of Jerusalem continue to be respected by all as a Jewish institution under Jewish auspices. Furthermore, the attempt to eradicate an existing nation by outlawing their religious practices was unprecedented.

One might presume that all of Antiochus' predecessors who had ruled over the Land of Israel for over one hundred and fifty years since the conquest of Alexander the Great, had themselves imagined forcing Hellenism and idolatry, the universal creeds of the time, upon the Jews. All other nations readily accepted Hellenism, so naturally the question arose, what about the Jews? The Jews for the most part were left alone to practice their faith and live their way of life. The Greeks, initially on favorable terms with the Jews, had also understood that they were steadfast in their beliefs, and there was a futility of attempting to force them to accept other creeds and practices.

However, as Antiochus Epiphanes ruled, the numbers of Jews who had embraced Hellenism were increasing. Those Jews known as, 'Mityavnim,' sought to popularize Hellenism among the Jews. The book of Maccabees quotes the Hellenists who proclaimed,"let us go out and make a covenant with the heathen around us." (Maccabees 1:11)

As two brothers, both Mityavnim, and heirs to the position of the High Priesthood vied for that position, one of the brothers, Menelaus, went to the Emperor, and told him that the Mityavmin were "desirous to leave the laws of their country, and the Jewish way of living according to them, to follow the king's laws, and the Grecian way of living." (Josephus Flavius, Antiquities, book 12, Chapter 5:1) He then proposed the construction of a Greek style stadium in Jerusalem, to which the emperor consented.

When Antiochus eventually issued his infamous decrees outlawing Jewish practices, the Jewish Hellenists readily consented. "They (the Mityavnim) profaned the Sabbath and sacrificed to heathen altars." (Maccabees 1:43)

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