OPINION: A timeline of prejudice, from Shylock to the Shoah

The Merchant of Venice may have been a comedy, but it’s inherent and long-lasting anti-semitism is no joke. 

One of the first books I read in high school was The Merchant of Venice, a most celebrated but controversial Shakespearean classic. It was required reading in GCSE English literature as in my native Zimbabwe, then, the education system mirrored that of colonial master Britain.

The villain of the play is a Jew named Shylock who lends money to Antonio, a merchant, on condition that he will cut off a pound of his flesh if he fails to repay the loan. Antonio does not need the money for his personal use; rather, he borrows it on behalf of a friend Bassanio, who needs it to woo a wealthy woman called Portia.

When Antonio eventually defaults on his loan, Portia disguises herself as a male lawyer to defend Antonio in court, and outsmarts Shylock. She tells him that he is entitled to a pound of Antonio’s flesh and nothing more – not even a single drop of his blood.

The story ends with Shylock losing half his fortune and agreeing to convert to Christianity. Shylock is rarely mentioned by name throughout the play; he is simply ‘the Jew’. The Merchant of Venice is likely to be a product of its time – an era when antisemitism was rife in Europe – though Shakespeare has also been credited with using the antisemitism to highlight audience hypocrisy and engender sympathy for Shylock. In other words, the antisemitic undertones in Shakespeare’s portrayal of Shylock have long been a source of debate.

The authorial intention of the play will continue to be a matter of great conjecture, but as I look back, it is impossible to ignore its impact on me and my peers.

It might be a bit too far-fetched to say that it stirred up prejudice against Jews, but I can’t help thinking that it may have had much more influence on our way of thinking than we realised. It certainly triggered a conversation with my father about the Jewish owner of the company he worked for.

I had asked whether his boss was a miser like Shylock. To his eternal credit, my father, a student of history, took the opportunity to explain how hatred of Jews led to the Holocaust. And he was unequivocal in his belief that all human beings are born equal in dignity and worth.

I was reminded of The Merchant of Venice on a recent visit to the National Holocaust Centre and Museum in Newark. In conversation with one of the museum’s curators, I recalled how in a previous a role, a former workmate often cited the play as justification for vilifying Jews. She firmly believed that Jews were the puppet masters pulling the strings of the world’s media and controlling the world’s financial systems.

Some people bristle at being charged with antisemitic bias and often say that Jews ought to develop thicker skins and be less sensitive about the Holocaust or antisemitic remarks. Such a thought is more than troubling.

As we mark Holocaust Memorial Day, it is important to remind ourselves that the venom of antisemitism has not dissipated. Recent events have shown that the scapegoating of Jews has not gone away.

We saw how antisemitic narratives and conspiracies proliferated online during the Covid-19 pandemic, with a wave of posts and comments on social media claiming that Covid vaccines were a Jewish plot to poison the world’s population.

Similarly, many people have distorted the current conflict in Israel and Palestine to promulgate antisemitic tropes. I am not so naïve as not to know that there is legitimate criticism of the policies of the Israeli government vis-a-vis Palestine. But in a world in which hatred and intolerance are increasingly common, it is easy for many to forget that Jews have a painful and traumatic history – six million of them were murdered in the Holocaust simply for being Jewish.

So, when Jews are being abused simply because of who they are, we all have an obligation to come together in their defence.

A major part of my job at the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust is survivor engagement – ensuring that the experiences of those affected by the Holocaust are not forgotten.

Listening to survivors as I frequently do has given me a new insight into the dangers of prejudice. And anyone who gets the privilege of hearing survivors of genocides speak will gain a new understanding of the effects of identity-based hostility. Thus, from a mere human point of view, it is easy to see why prejudice should never be tolerated in a civilised society, regardless of which group it is directed against.

Some people bristle at being charged with antisemitic bias and often say that Jews ought to develop thicker skins and be less sensitive about the Holocaust or antisemitic remarks. Such a thought is more than troubling. As a black person, I know how hurtful it is to be on the receiving end of abuse or discrimination simply because of the colour of my skin. I would not take kindly to anyone telling me to be more resilient in the face of racism. There is no acceptable level of racism just as there is no acceptable form of prejudice towards anyone.

The Merchant of Venice is a comedy, but antisemitism is no laughing matter. In my opinion, the way one views antisemitism can influence the way one sees injustice aimed at other minority groups. To quote the late former UK Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks: ‘The hate that starts with the Jews never ends there.’

If hostile words and actions against one community are allowed to go unchallenged, other communities are endangered. It is everyone’s duty to oppose prejudice wherever and whenever it rears its ugly head.

• Farayi Mungazi is the Senior Communications Officer at the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust.