money 'Harry Potter' contains 'caricature of a Jew,' but J.K. Rowling isn't antisemitic, Jon Stewart says
What's the problem with the “Harry Potter” series?
The goblins who run the underground Gringotts Bank are a continuation of centuries-long antisemitic tropes. That's the word from comedian Jon Stewart, who discussed the depiction on his Apple TV+ show, “The Problem with Jon Stewart” in December.
“It was one of those things where I saw it on the screen and I was expecting the crowd to be like ‘Holy (crap), she did not in a wizarding world just throw Jews in there to run the ... underground bank.’ And everyone was like, ‘wizards,’ ” Stewart said.
The goblin bankers in the movies have long noses and ears, sharp teeth and they love gold. Stewart said that's in line with the anti-Semitic portrayal of Jewish people in “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.”
“(People say) ‘Oh that’s a character from 'Harry Potter,’ (and) you’re like, ‘No that’s a caricature of a Jew from an antisemitic piece of literature.’ J.K. Rowling was like, ‘Can we get these guys to run our bank?’ ” Stewart said. “It’s a wizarding world. We can ride dragons. You can have a pet owl. But who should run the bank? Jews. But what if the teeth were sharper?”
On Wednesday Stewart's comments on Harry Potter were trending, and he pushed back on the notion that he was specifically calling Harry Potter author Rowling anti-Semitic.
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“No I didn't,” Stewart said in a tweet that linked to a Newsweek headline stating that he did.
“I do not think J.K. Rowling is antisemitic,” said Stewart in a video posted Wednesday on Twitter. “I did not accuse her of being antisemitic, I do not think the 'Harry Potter' movies are antisemitic. I really love the 'Harry Potter' movies, probably a little too much for a gentleman of my considerable age.
“Not a reasonable person would not have looked at that conversation (from ‘The Problem with Jon Stewart’) and not found it light-hearted.”
No I didn't. https://t.co/dIsK0fgmjz
— Jon Stewart (@jonstewart) January 5, 2022
The Campaign Against Antisemitism sought to put the portrayal in context, and noted Rowling's past history of fighting antisemitism.
“The portrayal of the goblins in the 'Harry Potter' series is of a piece with their portrayal in Western literature as a whole,” said the Campaign Against Antisemitism on social media.
“It is the product of centuries of association of Jews with grotesque and malevolent creatures in folklore, as well as money and finance. The mythological associations have become so ingrained in the Western mind that their provenance no longer registers with creators or consumers.
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“Those who continue to use such representations are often not thinking of Jews at all, but simply of how readers or viewers will imagine goblins to look, which is a testament more to centuries of Christendom's antisemitism than it is to malice by contemporary artists. So it is with J.K. Rowling, who has proven herself over recent years to be a tireless defender of the Jewish community in its fight against antisemitism, for which we are immensely grateful.”
Rowling's previous comments on transgender issues have drawn heat, which included condemnation by Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe in 2020.
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This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: 'Harry Potter' characters antisemitic, not J.K. Rowling: Jon Stewart
