Journal for the Study of Antisemitism

194 JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF ANTISEMITISM [ VOL. 1:187
have to keep the Christian Sabbath as well. Thus the poor fool had to
spend two days and two nights stuck in a privy.
Key Antisemitic Legends
Antisemitic legends are not random. They have in common the idea of
Jew as underminer or betrayer. In that sense, the actions of “The Jew” are
Judas-like, directly implicating Jews in the deicide. The notions of the Wandering
Jew, Blood Libel, Host Desecration, and the Jew as money-lender
and devil have direct Christian linkage. The Jew as conspiring for planetary
takeover appears to have evolved in the nineteenth century soon after Jewish
emancipation and citizenship were secured throughout Europe.
1. Eternal Wanderers (Eternally damned for taunting Jesus on the road
to Calvary)
The Wandering Jew is a figure from Reformation Christian folklore
(Roditi 1979) who became a legend in the thirteenth century throughout
Europe. The original version concerns a Jew who taunted Jesus on the way
to the Crucifixion (or refused to give him a drink of water). As a result, the
Jews were cursed to roam the earth until the Second Coming. Sometimes
The Jew is envisioned as a shoemaker or trader, with sightings having been
claimed up through the twentieth century. “The Eternal Jew on the Matterhorn”
demonstrates a negative portrayal.
Mount Matter beneath the Matterhorn in Valais is a high glacier from
which the Vispa River flows. According to popular legend, an imposing
city existed there ages ago. The Jew came there once and said: “When I
pass this way a second time there will be nothing but trees and rocks
where you now see houses and streets. And when my path leads me here
a third time, there will be nothing but snow and ice.” And now nothing
can be seen there but snow and ice.
In the most famous and first recognized version (in 1144), the wandering
Jew is thought to bring good fortune.
The Lost Jew
Once in my life I saw the lost Jew. One afternoon I was home alone when
a youthful Jewish man entered my house. He wanted neither to buy nor to
sell anything, but with his Jewish accent asked me for a bite of bread. I
said to him, “You won’t like our coarse peasant bread,” to which he
replied, “I will like it, if the lady would just give me some.” I then asked
him, “Have you come a long way?” He answered, “My way is long! I