Jewish American Princess

Booker, a Philadelphia-based journalist, has done a marvelous demoliton job on the tired stereotypes of the Jewish American Princess, the guilt-producing Jewish mother, the ``over-intellectual, arrogant, dependent'' Jewish male, etc. She argues that calm acceptance of such stereotypes by Jews who are uneasy about their ethnic identity and who crave the majority's acceptance insidiously perpetrates anti-Semitism. In the author's damning analysis, Joan Rivers exudes Jewish self-contempt, Phil Donahue subtly reinforces anti-Jewish stereotypes and Woody Allen exploits roles that ``feed . . . what people need to believe about Jewish men.'' This compelling, often explosive psychohistory of Jewish self-hatred assesses Hannnah Arendt's obtuseness in the face of Nazi evil, I. F. Stone's hatred of Israel, Lillian Hellman's consistently negative images of Jews and the bias of feminists who single out Judaism for its reputed inherent sexism. (Jan.)