What Mark Twain Anti-Semitic or Philo-Semitic?

Famous American writer Mark Twain visited the Land of Israel in the 1860s and found “its soil rich enough” but “a silent, mournful expanse.” Were his words insulting, or simply the reality of Ottoman-era Palestine? Compare his biting wit to that of a writer of the same period whom Twain mocked: William Cowper Prime, who poetically praises the Holy Land.

Plus, Mark Twain’s classic essay Concerning the Jews in which he discusses Herzl and marvels over the secret of Jewish immortality. Learn about the anti-Semitic European parliament meeting that prompted it.

Also, the story of Mark Twain’s Jewish son-in-law, Ossip Gabrilowitsch, the pianist and conductor who married Clara Clemens.

Wedding of Clara Clemens and Ossip Gabrilowitsch. From left: Mark Twain, Jervis Langdon Jr., Clara Clemens, Ossip Gabrilowitsch, Jean Clemens, Rev. Dr. Joseph Twichell. Credit: Frank J. Sprague, October 6, 1909.

Marl Twain, author of classic American novels Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Credit: Underwood & Underwood, 1907.

Russian-born American composer, pianist, and conductor Ossip Gabrilowitsch with his wife Clara Clemens, daughter of Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain). George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress)

NOTES:

• The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain, 1869 (full text)

• Tent Life in the Holy Land by William Cowper Prime, 1857 (the book Mark Twain makes fun of)

• Stirring Times in Austria by Mark Twain, Harper's Magazine, March, 1898 (describes anti-Semitism in Europe.)

• Concerning The Jews by Mark Twain, Harper's Magazine, September, 1899.

• Mark Twain and the Jews by Michael Feldberg - Jewish Virtual Library

• The Enigma of Mark Twain: Jews’ Best Friend or an Inadvertent Antisemite? by by Rabbi Elie Mischel, Aish HaTorah, 2023

• Saves Miss Clara Clemens. O. Gabrilowitsch Stops Runaway Horse About to Plunge Down a Bank, New York Times, December 21, 1908