Not all that long ago, I was in a pub with some Jewish girlfriends and the barman noted, in slightly bemused tones, that we had all asked for the bacon to be removed from our caesar salads. We exchanged awkward looks, said nothing, and returned to the table as quickly as possible. This is not a one-off. Over the past three years, many of us have felt compelled to hide our Jewishness in various settings.
Such subtlety is not a feature of DC Comics character Harley Quinn. She frequently refers to being Jewish, whether it be when fighting the bad guys or lying in bed with sometime lover Poison Ivy.
The character first appeared in Batman: The Animated Series in 1992. Like a good Jewish girl, Harley Quinn – or Dr Harleen Quinzel – completed her studies and earned a PhD in psychology. Less conventionally, she then took up an internship at Arkham Asylum, where she fell in love with the Joker. Things have been rather chaotic ever since.
This chaos might involve lost love or getting into scrapes as part of gangs like The Suicide Squad or Sirens. Whatever it is, the quick-witted character rarely takes a step back, and is never far from mentioning her Jewish roots, either.
While she stands out in various other ways, Harley Quinn is far from the only prominent Jew in the world of comic books, in which we have a strong history, both on and off the page. The legendary writer Stan Lee, for instance, was Jewish and created much of the Marvel universe.
Martin Goodman, who founded Timely Comics, which went on to be Marvel, was Jewish, too, as were Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the pair behind Captain America; Bob Kane and Bill Finger, who devised Batman; and, of course, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the two Jewish teenagers who created Superman, gave him a biblical origin story, the Hebrew-inflected name Kal-El and the Jewish-coded alter ego Clark Kent. Many of these men came from Ashkenazi immigrant families. In creating alternative universes populated by superheroes fighting for justice, they may also have been imagining an escape from the hardships of Jewish history and immigrant life.
In terms of Jewish comic book characters, one of the most notable is Magneto. Part of the X-Men universe, the metal-melding baddie is a Holocaust survivor who met Professor X/Charlies Xavier in Israel. There is also Marc Spector, whose alias is Moon Knight, whose story evolved to depict him as the son of a rabbi.
In the 1980s, Alan Zelenetz, a former head of a Yeshiva, wrote the series. Then there is Sabra, a Mossad agent originally depicted in a white costume emblazoned with a giant Magen David. Controversy surrounded her appearance in the 2025 film Captain America: Brave New World amid rumours that an Israeli character had become so politically unpalatable that she would instead be recast as Russian.
The anti-Israel fixation and distortion of the character’s history aside, this would have been especially bizarre given that Israeli actress Shira Haas had been cast in the role. Thankfully, the change did not come to pass. Jewish depictions in comics go beyond superheroes, though. You can’t delve into this subject without referencing the legendary graphic novel Maus, a tale of holocaust survival by Art Spiegelman. There is also Kosher Mafia – the compelling series inspired by the history of the Jewish mob is a personal favourite of mine.
As you can see, the Jewish characters are not always straight up “good guys”.
Far from being a problem, there is something rather enjoyable about following fictional Jewish figures that are neither unpleasant antisemitic stereotypes nor based on idealised tropes, even positive ones.
Quinn is keeping with this tradition. She is technically a villain, and, accordingly, not always that nice.
In fact, most of the time she is utterly chaotic, and often dark and angry. In one story arc, she becomes “Bat Quinn”, a vengeful vigilante. In others she causes carnage trying to organise the ultimate Halloween party (while also developing a rather large crush on the entertainer Elvira. She really does never learn.)
Whatever the circumstances, Quinn displays a clear set of morals and a sense of right and wrong that sits with her Jewishness. The deadpan, very Jewish sense of humour remains too. You can take the girl out of Brooklyn…
Quinn is a sexy, popular comics character. Look beyond the criminal record, scanty outfits and topsy-turvy love life, though, and we see a strong Jewish woman.
One who knows where she comes from and rarely takes no for an answer for too long.
These strengths mean that, despite her faults, Harley Quinn can serve as something of an inspiration to all of us when we next end up in difficult situations, whether it be during a debate or even when ordering bacon-free salads at a bar.
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