The term useful Jew was used in various historical contexts, typically describing a

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

useful in implementing an official authority's policy, sometimes by oppressing other Jews. * In 1744,

Frederick II of Prussia Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself '' King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prus ...

introduced the practice of limiting Jewish population to a small number of the most wealthy families, known as '' Schutzjuden'' ("protected Jews"). The first-born son in such families inherited this privilege; other children were considered useless by the authorities and had the choice of either abstaining from marriage or leaving. * Following the establishment of the

Pale of Settlement The Pale of Settlement was a western region of the Russian Empire with varying borders that existed from 1791 to 1917 (''de facto'' until 1915) in which permanent settlement by Jews was allowed and beyond which the creation of new Jewish settlem ...

Imperial Russia Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor/empress, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * ...

, only "useful Jews" () were allowed to live outside the Pale; these included Jews such as wealthy first-rung merchants (), persons who had received

higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

cantonist Cantonists (; more properly: , "military cantonists") were underage sons of conscripts in the Russian Empire. From 1721 on they were educated in special "cantonist schools" () for future military service (the schools were called garrison school ...

s (after serving their full term in the army), and some other categories. * In the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, Jewish members of the Anti-Zionist Committee of the Soviet Public were colloquially known as "useful Jews" or "pocket Jews" (), implying their corruption by high positions in the state

hierarchy A hierarchy (from Ancient Greek, Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy ...

. * In

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and among its supporters, along with the term "useful Jews", the term " useful idiots" is often used to describe

anti-Zionist Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionism. Although anti-Zionism is a heterogeneous phenomenon, all its proponents agree that the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, and the movement to create a sovereign Jewish state in the Palestine (region) ...

/ post-Zionist Jews who stand against the Jewish state.

Notes

{{Reflist Disabilities (Jewish) in Europe Social groups Antisemitism Auto-antisemitism

See also

Notes