1. Introduction
[1.1] Nathan Abrams, in The New Jew in Film, summarizes the shifting portrayals of Jews in popular culture, including this pertinent discussion of the post–World War II trends:[1.2]The post-war period was characterised as a golden age in American Jewish history…Jews became more acculturated, assimilated and upwardly mobile…yet, paradoxically…Jews were not necessarily any more visible onscreen, because melting-pot monoculturalism still dominated in the immediate post-war decades. Rather than being hidden entirely, however, Jews were idealised, "de-Judainised" (that is turned into Gentiles) and "de-Semitised"—"the elimination of specifically Jewish characteristics from Jewish roles"—and played by non-Jews (Erens 1984, 136). (Abrams 2012, 4–5) [1.3] While Abrams (2012) then goes on to cite mainstream depictions of Jews that are more explicit, including the films of Woody Allen and the television show Seinfeld (1989–98), when it comes to popular genre texts (and/or their subsequent adaptations to the big and small screens), it is a different story altogether. When it comes to science fiction and fantasy, Jewish characters are few and far between. Further, they are often cast with Gentile actors, their Jewish identities toned down or ignored entirely. [1.4] Witness, for example, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (based largely on comics created by Jewish writers and artists), which has erased the Jewish identities of characters like Pietro and Wanda Maximoff, and, in the case of Wanda, cast the role with non-Jewish actress Elizabeth Olsen. [1.5] In response to the paucity of accurate and empowering Jewish representation in popular culture, Jewish fans have used online fannish spaces such as Tumblr, FanFiction.net, and the Archive of Our Own to assert claims to these works of media, allowing them to combine these works with their own faith and culture to make new meaning of the source material. Here I discuss the fan fiction "Goldstein" by Laazov, which recasts a minor Potterverse character, Anthony Goldstein, as the Orthodox Jewish protagonist of his own adventures at Hogwarts.
2. Yehuda Goldstein goes to Hogwarts
[2.1] Omer Bartov discusses the four roles that the Jew has played in popular entertainment: "either perpetrator or victim, hero or anti-hero" (2005, x). The perpetrator stereotype was popular in Nazi propaganda, found in films such as The Eternal Jew (1940) and The Golem: How He Came into the World (1920); in response to the Holocaust, the victim role became prominent, as seen in films like Sophie's Choice (1982) and Schindler's List (1993). The heroic Jew features within the context of establishment of the state of Israel, as seen in films like Exodus (1960), while the antihero likewise functions as a reaction to the state of Israel and growing support for the Palestinian cause, as seen in films like Hamsin (1982) and Beyond the Walls (1984). [2.2] In Great Britain, however, there is divergence from the American model of how Jews have been portrayed in media. As Abrams notes, "It seems that Jews have been written out of the histories of film and television in the United Kingdom and its constituent nations" (2016, 4). He cites the lack of scholarship and focus on the larger context of Jewish representation in British media culture, arguing that Jews in Britain are irrevocably tied to the memory of the Holocaust, making Jews a "minority group that [the British contemporary audience] does not, in general, understand" (4). [2.3] It has become clear that the Potterverse is not ending anytime soon, with the announcement of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them prequel franchise and subsequent release of the first film in late 2016. Through it all, Rowling has maintained an active authorial presence on Twitter, continually engaging with fans of the series and releasing tidbits of extradiegetic information to enrich the Potterverse. On December 16, 2014, a fan asked J. K. Rowling on Twitter, "My wife said there are no Jews at Hogwarts. I'm a Jew so I assume she said it to be the only magical 1 in the family. Thoughts?" (Roffman 2014). Rowling (2014a) replied simply, "Anthony Goldstein, Ravenclaw, Jewish wizard." She added a day later: "OK, let me clarify that! Anthony isn't the first Jewish student, nor is he the only one. I just have reasons for knowing most about him!" (Rowling 2014b). [2.4] While Anthony Goldstein is such a marginal character that he is not even portrayed in the Harry Potter films, according to the Harry Potter Wiki (http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Anthony_Goldstein), he is in Harry's year, was a Ravenclaw prefect, is a half-blood, and was a member of the Dumbledore's Army resistance group Harry forms in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007). He has several lines of dialogue in Phoenix, mostly related to Dumbledore's Army planning, and appears in the Phoenix video game adaptation. [2.5] Anthony Goldstein has become a popular character among Jewish Harry Potter fans, despite—or because of—his lack of definition in the source text. As Marjorie Ingall (2015) notes, Anthony is the subject of several fan fics by Jewish authors, including "Hogwarts: A History (of Culinary Diversity)" by jood, published in the LiveJournal community megillahfic (March 21, 2008). [2.6] By far the most prominent Jewish Anthony Goldstein fan fiction is "Goldstein." The fic centers on the struggles of the extremely observant Anthony (who goes by his Hebrew name, Yehuda) as he adjusts to life at Hogwarts. As of January 2018, it has fifteen chapters and nearly seventy thousand words. [2.7] Yehuda is visited by Professor McGonagall, who informs him of his Hogwarts acceptance, only for Yehuda and his family to initially reject the notion of witchcraft and eventually decide to consult with their rabbi. In a quintessentially Jewish debate sequence, Rabbi Zeller concludes, over Yehuda's father's protestations, that Yehuda has a duty to learn to control his magical gifts at Hogwarts in order to make sure he doesn't accidentally harm others:[2.8] When the rabbi finally spoke, his voice was very, very steady. "The question is whether he will definitely become a danger to others, and whether that danger will be pikuach nefesh—life-threatening," he translated, glancing at McGonagall.[2.9] Once Yehuda arrives at Hogwarts, all of the issues that one might expect regarding an Orthodox Jew in the Potterverse arise, are discussed, and are dealt with. He learns that he can keep kosher merely by making the necessary arrangements with the kitchen house elves; receives permission to leave the school to observe holidays like Sukkot and Purim (which involves missing many lessons); and, most importantly, learns to interact with his Gentile classmates, one of whom is actively hostile. Terry Boot, a pious Christian, becomes a thorn in Yehuda's side by continually trying to get Yehuda to come to church with him and questioning the number of holidays he celebrates. Through it all, he keeps up correspondence with his rabbi, who helps him puzzle out the complicated intersections between his new lives: after all, is it frum to open owl post on Shabbat? Is eating a bezoar to save one's life kosher? [2.10] A particularly poignant moment, however, comes in chapter 9, when Yehuda becomes a silent, unwitting ally of Terry's. During a history of magic class, Professor Binns uses his lesson on King Arthur and Morgan le Fay to denigrate religion and religious people in general:"Certainly you can't violate a mitzvah for a maybe!" his father said, outraged.
"Let me ask you…," the rabbi said. "Is it muttar [permitted] to be vaccinated for a life-threatening disease on Shabbos? It depends, right? You aren't actually being cured of a life-threatening disease; you're merely preventing a potentially fatal situation from ever developing at all. It's just a maybe…But when there is an actual epidemic, and the chances of contracting something life-threatening are much greater, you are not only permitted but required to be vaccinated as soon as possible—even if that means violating Shabbos…If someone is ill as a result of magic, he permits the use of a non-Jewish sorcerer—the need for healing overrides tamim tihyeh [the rule commanding Jews to "seek one's needs" only through God]. According to the esteemed headmistress, if Yehuda does not learn to control magic, he can potentially put himself or others in great makom sakanah [a dangerous place]. In which case he must learn to control it, and control it well" (note 1).
[2.11] "With wizardry its prime target, religion engendered narrowmindedness and intolerance of anything its followers could not understand."[2.12] Interestingly enough, "Goldstein" was first published in November 2014, predating Rowling's tweet by several weeks. In an interview I conducted with Laazov, she noted that[Yehuda] had to say something…
He swallowed hard, feeling sick. He was a coward, the biggest coward, he had to say something—[…]
"That's not true."…
Terry Boot sat straight in his seat, his eyes narrowed…"It could be that some religious people used their beliefs as an excuse to do nasty things, but I don't think it's fair to say that faith is only for dull people who make up stories to feel good. Are we even going to learn what religion says, or are we just going to make fun of it?"…
"I believe I am the one teaching this class, Mr. Bugle!" Binns said acidly…"I teach facts, not fairytales and legends. There is nothing to be gained from inventing myths to explain the inexplicable, and nothing to learn from people who do so. This subject is History of Magic, and it is based in nothing but fact. If you don't like it, you can leave."
There was a terrible silence.
And Terry slammed his History of Magic shut and walked out of the room…
The eyes of Ravenclaw House seared into his back, his yarmulke, expectant, waiting. They wanted him to stand. They wanted him to put his Yiddishkeit on display for everyone to see…Dear Rabbi Zeller, Yehuda thought miserably, is it good or bad to make a fuss over being Jewish?
[2.13] no Jew was surprised by Rowling's reveal, though it was a bit irritating to have my thunder stolen…It all began…with a text sent to my sister: "I'm so tempted to write a fanfic where Anthony is only his legal name, he's really called Moishy [sic] at home, and he would rather be in yeshiva but the wizarding world won't allow him to be educated anywhere other than Hogwarts." (Laazov, personal communication, June 14, 2017)[2.14] Rather than considering herself an active member of Potter fandom, Laazov traces her urge to write to "[being] frustrated by inaccurate portrayals of Orthodox Jews in pop culture" (Laazov, personal communication, June 14, 2017) and to a desire to reframe the Potterverse through the lens of her own Orthodox Jewish background. It seems, on the basis of the reaction of Jewish fans to "Goldstein," that this work was exactly what some Potterheads were waiting for. According to Laazov, "The Jewish fan response has been overwhelmingly positive in a way that I didn't anticipate—I posted the story on a whim, never realizing there was such a base to tap into. For many people, I've 'completed [their] childhood.'" [2.15] When it comes to the contentious relationship between Yehuda and Terry Boot, Laazov explains her larger goal:
[2.16] While I was plotting this story, Pew Research Center published a study whose data alleged that Orthodox Jews are more similar to evangelical Protestants than to Reform Jews. I'm an Orthodox Jew, and that makes perfect sense to me. Against the backdrop of secular materialism, we might find our best friends to be those who understand what it means to live life in uncompromised accordance with anachronistic beliefs—even if those beliefs aren't shared. The devout, even if they disagree theologically, understand each other…Terry and Yehuda might be the products of an unfriendly history, but at Hogwarts, they are natural allies. They just don't know it yet. (Laazov, personal communication, June 14, 2017) (note 2)[2.17] Because "Goldstein" is still a work in progress, the development of Terry and Yehuda's friendship remains to be seen. However, given that Tina and Queenie Goldstein of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them have been confirmed to be related to Anthony, albeit distantly (Rowling 2015), it also remains to be seen whether the Potterverse will at last allow some Jewish characters into the fold.