Max Nordau's 'Inferiority' Complex
Recent views about African and Asian migrants 'flooding' Europe recall the racist writings of Herzl's right-hand man at the first Zionist Congress.
Among the graves in Tel Aviv’s fabled Trumpeldor Cemetery, one particular mausoleum – much larger than the other tombs around it – stands out. It contains the remains of Max Nordau (1849-1923), Theodor Herzl’s deputy at the first few Zionist Congresses. Nordau is not very well known these days. He’s sometimes mentioned as the visionary thinker behind the idea of “muscular Judaism” (muskel Judenthum), but a perusal of the writings of the Hungarian-German physician-essayist turns up far more disturbing content.
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