Anti-Semitism and the Elite

Explicit acts of discrimination were rare during the early years of Emma's life. However, in 1877, the Grand Union Hotel's highly publicized refusal to admit Joseph Seligman, a nouveau riche German Jew, was a sign of change. Anti-semitism had begun to sweep over Europe, and as the rates of Eastern European Jewish immigration climbed, the tolerant American climate continued to shift.

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But even Judge Henry Hilton, the Grand Union Hotel's owner, explained he had no objection to the Sephardic elite. Those like Emma Lazarus' family, who had lived in America since before the revolution, were the refined, "true Hebrews." According to Hilton, only the dirty, greedy, German immigrant "Seligman Jews" were unwanted.

While Emma's devout ancestors and relatives were actively involved with the Spanish-Portuguese Synagogue, her immediate family was "outlawed" among the Lazarus clan because they were no longer religiously observant. Moses Lazarus, Emma's father, worked instead to place his family among the wealthiest Christian society.

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Although Emma's friends were almost all Christian, she was usually referred to and seen as a "Jewess." As Emma knew, prejudice often lurked beneath the polite surface of wealthy society. Despite her father's efforts and her elite Sephardic background, her outsider status was never entirely erased. As she wrote in one letter, "I am perfectly conscious that this contempt and hatred underlies the general tone of the community towards us..."

Notes

Next—Emerson as Mentor