Introduction Jewish people were, and still are in some cases, treated with hostility in the Western world. The “prejudice and/or discrimination against Jews as individuals and as a group” is called “Anti-Semitism” and it is usually “based on stereotypes and myths that target Jews as people, their religious practices and beliefs, and the Jewish State of Israel.” (Anti-defamation League, 1). Since Jews are an ethno-religious group, Anti-Semitism is a form of racism. Although, when Jews fist went to the United States, they were treated with more tolerance than ever before. As far as it concerns the treatment of the Jewish people during the 18th century, the United States was the most advanced country in the world (Harap, 3). Indeed, Jews at that time, were equal to American people in front of the law. Also, there were little economic, legal, and social discriminations against them. However, Jews were treated with hostility in some aspects of everyday life, which might constitute a form of Anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism can be found not only in economic, social, or legal aspects of life, but also in culture. Particularly, this paper studies Anti-Semitism in literature, which is usually held with the use of stereotypes. By definition, a stereotype is a solid impression that someone has about groups of people that appear to be different from its own. Also, stereotypes reflect expectations and beliefs about the characteristics of a certain group. The depiction of certain stereotypes about Jews in the American literature is not rare. Unlike legislation in the 19th century, where the Unites States treated Jews better than England did, American literature disrespected Jews no less than English literature (Harap, 4). Furthermore, the Jew stereotype, which was tenuous in the American literature at the begging of the 19th century, was taken from English literature. However, the stereotype in American literature became more frequent later in the 19th century and grew stronger along with American “Empire-building” (Gabaccia, 77). Both Gabaccia and Harap support that the discrimination against immigrants and, consequently, the prevalence of the literary stereotype appeared mostly after 1850. Nonetheless, each of them provides a different justification. For Gabaccia, the first half of the 19th century was characterized by Americans’ idea that immigrants were a part of the Nation-building process. Hence, there were not considered to be a threat but “fellow co-workers” in the building of a Nation, based on isolationism (25). The United States, thus, treated immigrants, including Jews, with respect and equality. Consequently, their depiction in literature seemed to be fair and included them in the myth that presented the United States as an isolated “Nation of immigrants” (25). Harap also supports that Jews were considered as “co-builders” of the American Nation, but he attributes the lack of discrimination against Jews as well as the infrequency of Jewish literary stereotype, to the little influx of Jews immigrants the first half of the 19th century (22). Even though both Harper and Gabaccia point out that during the second part of the 19th century the image of immigrants in the United States was shifted, they, again, give different explanations. For Gabaccia, the hostility against immigrants was a result of Americans’ changing place in the world and the contacts they created abroad (75). On the other hand, Harap claims that hostility against Jews, which is depicted by literary stereotype, was a result of the Americans’ interactions with Jews within the American boarders. He, also, argues that in some cases the fact that Americans went abroad made them more tolerant towards immigrants and especially Jews. Particularly, he explains how Herman Melville after a trip to Levant, treated Jewish characters in his work with more respect. Thus, this debate raise the following question: How did Herman Melville break the Jewish literary stereotype and in which ways does his work respond to Gabaccia’s “Foreign Relations: American Immigration in Global Perspective”? It is, indeed, extremely important to study the role of stereotypes in American literature. One cannot deny the importance of literature in the establishment of stereotypes, concerning immigrants, which influenced the way Americans perceived immigration. Gabaccia also argues that the articulation of stereotypes within American society led to Xenophobia and the need for “protection”, which could be achieved through trade and restriction in immigration (Chapter 3). Thus, the study of literary stereotype is a major step in the process of comprehending Xenophobia. Furthermore, since Jewish community is an exceptional group among other immigrant groups, mostly due to its religious aspect, it is interesting to study how this particular group was treated in the United States and how this treatment is depicted in contemporary literatur