The Netanyahus: An Account of a Minor and Ultimately Even Negligible Episode in the History of a Very Famous Family

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2021

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-2

Chapters 3-5

Chapters 6-8

Chapters 9-10

Chapters 11-12 and Extra Credit

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

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Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

The Church of the Assumption

The Church of the Assumption enters the novel in the second chapter. For Ruben, the Church of the Assumption becomes his personal motif regarding his Jewishness and, more importantly, how others treat him because of it. He argues they assume specific things about him, attributing to him Jewish stereotypes, for example. However, he extends this metaphor to explain that everyone is a member of the church because everyone assumes something about someone else. Thus, the church operates as a symbol for the human psychology of assuming while simultaneously operating as a motif because it alerts the reader to their own assumptions about Jewish people or the novel itself and that these assumptions are going to be challenged. This motif ties into the three major themes of the novel and with other symbols and motifs. At times, assumptions are validated, at least from the character’s perspective, e.g., Ruben’s sentiments regarding his place among the history department’s faculty (see: The Court Jew). At other times assumptions are dispelled, e.g., that all Jewish people are similar to one another (Ruben and Ben-Zion are both Jewish, but they are also antithetical to one another). Sometimes an assumption is both confirmed and repudiated, e.g., that a Jewish historian is an historian of the Jewish people (Ruben is an American Colonial tax historian, whereas Ben-Zion Netanyahu does focus on Jewish history).

The Court Jew

A Court Jew was an actual position in the High Middle Ages and early modern period, especially in Germany. A Court Jew was oftentimes a banker and handled the court treasury. For this service the person was often granted special privileges and sometimes even granted nobility. This encapsulates exactly the self-doubting sentiments Ruben feels regarding his position in the history department’s faculty. He is not one of them, but his knowledge and research of American colonial tax history grants him a unique position within the department. In return, he is treated as a member of the academia, as a friend, and allowed to live the American life just like the others.

In conjunction with the Church of the Assumption is Ruben’s belief that he is somehow separate and different from the rest of the faculty in the history department. It doesn’t help that his Jewishness is often highlighted by others: “‘Ah,’ he said, limply pressing my hand, ‘Ruben, did you say? A Jewish historian?”’ (11). Furthermore, other evidence is presented that reinforces these feelings of being the outsider. Ruben is asked to play Santa Claus, not only because he has a beard but also because, as a Jewish person, he doesn’t celebrate Christmas and would not be overburdened by playing the part. The coup de grâce comes when Dr. Morse, the head of the department, asks Ruben to be on the hiring committee. Ruben feels the only reason he is placed on the committee is because Ben-Zion is a fellow Jewish person, and Ruben is the only Jewish member of the faculty. Moreover, he is not only supposed to sit on the committee but he is also to escort the man around and Dr. Morse feels that Ruben is “ in a unique position to judge, given that you fit in so well at Corbin and this man is one of your own” (33). These experiences finally culminate in Ben-Zion’s description of Ruben and his position at the university when he compares Ruben to a Court Jew (191).

The Jewish Nose

Like many pseudoscientific categorizations for different groups of people, stereotypes about Jewish people include certain physiognomic characteristics. Prominent among these is the Jewish nose. According to the stereotype the nose is hooked, meaning the nose extends from the face but then begins to angle downwards from a hump-like feature on the dorsum of the nose. For centuries, this type of shape was inappropriately used as a means to identify Jewish persons. Persons from many different backgrounds can have this shape of nose, and Jewish persons are diverse in their appearance. In the novel, Judy is unhappy with her nose because it reflects stereotypical assumptions about what a Jewish person looks like. In the context of the novel, this wish symbolizes Judy’s desire to further distance herself from her Jewish heritage. Judy’s nose is described as being “too long, too big, too bumpy” (45). Judy is the least Jewish of all the characters in the novel, but she believes she has a nose that might betray her Jewishness. Because Judy wants to distance herself and assimilate fully into American society and culture, she goes to extreme measures to have the final vestige of her Jewish identity—especially as it is perceived and interpreted by others—removed.