The “Jewish Blackness” Thesis Revisited

Abstract

The notion that in previous centuries Jews were considered to be black, or seen as blacks, has gained broad acceptance in scholarly discourse on the Jewish body since the early 1990s. The present article considers the notion analytically and then examines some of the evidence provided to support it. Much of this evidence does not stand critical examination. Therefore, arguably, the notion of Jewish blackness should be reconsidered.

Keywords

• Jewish body
• Jewish blackness
• Jews and Blacks