Jews, Money, Myth, a major exhibition at Jewish Museum London, explores the role of money in Jewish life and its vexed place in relations between Jews and non-Jews, from the time of Jesus to the 21st century. It examines the origins of some of the longest running and deeply entrenched antisemitic stereotypes: the theological roots of the association of Jews with money; the myths and reality of the medieval Jewish moneylender; and the place of Jews – real and imagined – in commerce, capitalism and finance up to the present day.
This cutting-edge exhibition reflects on over 2,000 years of history, drawing together manuscripts, prints, Jewish ritual and ceremonial objects, art, film, literature and cultural ephemera, from board games and cartoons to costumes and figurines. Exhibits from the museum’s collection are complemented by loans from Europe, North America and Israel. A highlight of the exhibition is Rembrandt van Rijn’s painting, Judas Returning the Thirty Pieces of Silver (1629) that is rarely seen in the UK. Contemporary and newly commissioned artworks, including a video piece by Jeremy Deller, reflect on the exhibition themes.
The exhibition has been developed jointly by the Jewish Museum and the Pears Institute for the study of Antisemitism. Anthony Bale, Professor of Medieval Studies, David Feldman, Professor of History and Director of the Pears Institute and Dr Marc Volovici, Pears Institute Early Career Fellow have acted as academic advisors for the exhibition.
An accompanying publication, Jews, Money, Myth, co-edited by Marc Volovici and Joanne Rosenthal, expands on the exhibition’s key themes, with contributions from international scholars and artists, including the literary historian and author, Stephen Greenblatt and writer and filmmaker, Roee Rosen.
The Pears Institute is holding a series of public lectures and film screenings, as well as a workshop for scholars, which explore themes from the exhibition:
21 March 2019
German Reparations and the Impact of Post War Jewish Politics
Professor Ron Zweig, New York University
Full details and podcast
24 March 2019
Sunday Screening: The Merchant of Venice
Professor Emma Smith, University of Oxford; Professor Filippo de Vivo, Birkbeck, University of London
Full details
1 April 2019
Shidduchim – Deals Made in Heaven: Romance, Politics and Economics in Modern Jewish Life
Professor Mirjam Zadoff, Munich Documentation Centre for the History of National Socialism
Full details and podcast
14 April 2019
Sunday Screening: The City Without Jews
Professor Erica Carter, King’s College London; Dr Marc Volovici, Pears Institute for the study of Antisemitism, Birkbeck, University of London
Full details
19 May 2019
Sunday Screening: Fiddler on the Roof
Professor Helen Beer, University College London; Dr Devorah Baum, University of Southampton
Full details
20 May 2019
Jews, Money, Myth: Round Table
Professor Anthony Bale, Birkbeck University of London; Ms Joanne Rosenthal, Curator for Jews, Money Myth; Dr Marc Volovici, Pears Institute for the study of Antisemitism
Full details
22 May 2019
From Amsterdam to Istanbul: Fundraising and Jewish Refugee Relief in the Seventeenth Century
Professor Adam Teller, Brown University
Full details and podcast
17 June 2019
Jews, Money, Myth: International Workshop
Various speakers
Full details
17 June 2019
On the Road: Jewish Peddling and the Shaping of Jewish History
Professor Hasia Diner, New York University
Full details and podcast
3 July 2019
Jewish Money and the Image of the Jewish Body in the Middle Ages
Professor Sara Lipton, State University of New York at Stony Brook
Full details and podcast