Srutstein

Jewish Athletics in the 20th century

I have chosen the topic of Jewish Athletics in the 20th century with the specific focus of the Interwar period in Europe. This topic interests me because the typical stereotype of Jews is as an intellectual and/or involved in the fields of business, law, or medicine. Yet, over the last century, Jews have taken an increased role in sports ranging from baseball to boxing, wrestling to basketball. Through working on this article, I hope to learn more about the role of Jewish athletes throughout the 20th century, and specifically during the Interwar period in Europe. In this article, I plan on discussing how the Jewish identity evolved to include new characteristics such as muscular and athletic -- as well as potential reasons for this shift. In addition, I will focus on this change in identity using specific Jewish athletes during the 20th century as examples. Finally, I plan on dedicating a portion of this article to discuss how Jewish athletes were perceived by their non-Jewish counterparts.

Sources:

The Jews: A History by John Efron, Steven Weitzman, and Matthias Lehmann

Emancipation Through Muscles: Jews and Sports in Europe edited by Michael Brenner and Gideon Reuveni

Jews and the Sporting Life by Ezra Mendelsohn

Jews in the Gym: Judaism, Sports, and Athletics edited by Leonard J. Greenspoon