Jon Stewart Says JK Rowling’s “Harry Potter” Goblin Characters Clearly Anti-Semitic


JTA – In recent years, some “Harry Potter” fans have reconsidered their love for the show in light of the controversy surrounding its author JK Rowling, who has come under fire for his comments on the transgender community.

But after the release of an HBO special last week that celebrates the 20th anniversary of the “Harry Potter” films, some criticize the series for a different reason: the inclusion of goblin characters who run the bank of the wizarding world.

In the “Harry Potter” world, the Gringott Bank, the bank that serves wizards and where treasures are stored in a mysterious network of tunnels and underground chambers, is run by goblins, who are described as evil creatures. moody and petite with long noses and ears with a love of gold.

Jon Stewart, comedian and former host of “The Daily Show”, called the characters anti-Semitic caricatures in a recent episode of his new show, “The Problem with Jon Stewart”.

“It was one of those things where I saw it on screen and I expected the crowd to be like ‘fuck shit she didn’t just throw Jews in there for running the fucking underground bank in a wizarding world. ”And everyone was like ‘Wizards,’” Stewart said with a shrug.

He then compared the goblins to the representation of the Jews in the infamous anti-Semitic tract “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion”.

The problem with Jon Stewart’s podcast (Courtesy)

“[People think] “Oh, he’s a Harry Potter character” [and] you say, ‘No, it’s a caricature of a Jew from an anti-Semitic book.’ JK Rowling was like, ‘Can we get these guys to run our bank?’ ”Said Stewart.

The comparison is not new. Rafael Shimunov, a progressive activist, cited in a Twitter thread examples of others who noted the similarities between goblins and anti-Semitic stereotypes.

He shared a clip from “Saturday Night Live” in 2020 in which Pete Davidson criticized JK Rowling for including anti-Semitic stereotypes in his stories.

“The woods are ruled by centaurs, schools are ruled by wizards and ghosts. But who controls the banks? Jews, of course. Little Jewish goblins with giant noses, ”Davidson said in the clip.

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