Eastern Jews

Eastern Jews refers to Jewish communities from Eastern Europe and/or the Middle East (depending on context), often to whom westernized or assimilated European Jews applied an “orientalizing” gaze. In the cited use, it describes how Western/European Jews directed orientalist discourse and internal othering onto Jewish immigrants from the East.

Claims that use this term

• Jewish immigrants encountered Eastern Jews before encountering the Arab East, fostering internal orientalism.
• Zweig channeled orientalist discourse toward Eastern Jews within his own community