--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Scratch a Jew and you'll find a Wailing…" description: "\"Scratch a Jew and you'll find a Wailing Wall.\" — Eve Merriam" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb4/eve-merriam-45996_jew_scratch-a-jew-and-you-ll-find-a-wailing_1197936.png" --- # Scratch a Jew and you'll find a Wailing Wall. ![“Scratch a Jew and you'll find a Wailing Wall.” quote by Eve Merriam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb4/eve-merriam-45996_jew_scratch-a-jew-and-you-ll-find-a-wailing_1197936.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb4/eve-merriam-45996_jew_scratch-a-jew-and-you-ll-find-a-wailing_1197936.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb4/eve-merriam-45996_jew_scratch-a-jew-and-you-ll-find-a-wailing_1197936.png) > “Scratch a Jew and you'll find a Wailing Wall.” [Eve Merriam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-merriam/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The line uses a provocative metaphor linking a physical act to a cultural symbol, highlighting tension and identity. **In simple terms:** A shocking metaphor ties injury to a sacred site. Key Takeaway Be wary of inflammatory language. Themes identity conflict metaphor religion Mood critical controversial Type literary cultural When to use this quote - social commentary - art critique - dialogue Key Concepts Cultural symbolism pain historical memory Questions to Reflect On - What does the metaphor reveal? - Is shock effective for insight? A Different Perspective Such imagery may alienate or offend. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Jew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jew/) [Scratch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scratch/) [Scratch Jew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scratch-jew-3581382/) [Scratches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scratches/) [Wailing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wailing/) [Wailing Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wailing-wall-705224/) [Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall/) ## Related quotes > [“Why oh why, I thought, are we British brought up to not show emotions? Stiff upper lip and all that. Right now I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-fridd/why-oh-why-i-thought-are-we-british-brought-up-to-not-show-emotions/) [Fiona Fridd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-fridd/) > [So I'm at the wailing wall, standing there like a moron, with my harpoon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emo-philips/so-i-m-at-the-wailing-wall-standing-there-like-a-moron-with-my-harpoon/) [Emo Philips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emo-philips/) > [All right." He straightened up and seemed to be true to his promise to let it go. "I will be a man about this."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/all-right-he-straightened-up-and-seemed-to-be-true-to-his-promise-to/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [One must scratch that part of the body or mind that itches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aminu-kano/one-must-scratch-that-part-of-the-body-or-mind-that-itches/) [Aminu Kano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aminu-kano/) > [Scratch me and you will find the Nonconformist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austen-chamberlain/scratch-me-and-you-will-find-the-nonconformist/) [Austen Chamberlain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austen-chamberlain/) > [Madam, you have between your legs an instrument capable of giving pleasure to thousands and all you can do is scratch it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-beecham/madam-you-have-between-your-legs-an-instrument-capable-of-giving/) [Thomas Beecham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-beecham/) > [When I really have to push and grope and scratch and claw to make a story work, that's a telltale sign that maybe something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-kelley/when-i-really-have-to-push-and-grope-and-scratch-and-claw-to-make-a/) [David E. Kelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-kelley/) > [When you scratch the surface, every one of us has something that we deeply want to contribute to the world. All we have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-canfield/when-you-scratch-the-surface-every-one-of-us-has-something-that-we/) [Jack Canfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-canfield/) > [One learns to itch where one can scratch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-learns-to-itch-where-one-can-scratch/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Letter from Mr. B: Why does a back scratch feel better coming from somebody else than if you do it yourself?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-spinelli/letter-from-mr-b-why-does-a-back-scratch-feel-better-coming-from/) [Jerry Spinelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-spinelli/) > [Everyone has to scratch on walls somewhere or they go crazy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ondaatje/everyone-has-to-scratch-on-walls-somewhere-or-they-go-crazy/) [Michael Ondaatje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ondaatje/) > [We live one day at a time and scratch where it itches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darrell-royal/we-live-one-day-at-a-time-and-scratch-where-it-itches/) [Darrell Royal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darrell-royal/) > [I only scream and scratch when something's only 'really good' or 'good', I want to be great, or let's go home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-renner/i-only-scream-and-scratch-when-something-s-only-really-good-or-good-i/) [Jeremy Renner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-renner/) > [When one thing ends, you put it away and start from scratch on the next thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-metcalf/when-one-thing-ends-you-put-it-away-and-start-from-scratch-on-the/) [Laurie Metcalf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-metcalf/) > [Revision, once well done, becomes a sort of automatic itch which you scratch in the next work without thinking about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romulus-linney/revision-once-well-done-becomes-a-sort-of-automatic-itch-which-you/) [Romulus Linney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romulus-linney/) ## More by Eve Merriam > [Morning is a new sheet of paper for you to write on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-merriam/morning-is-a-new-sheet-of-paper-for-you-to-write-on/) [Eve Merriam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-merriam/) > [It's just an old alley cat that has followed us all the way home. It hasn't a star on its forehead, or a silky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-merriam/it-s-just-an-old-alley-cat-that-has-followed-us-all-the-way-home-it/) [Eve Merriam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-merriam/) > [Don't be polite. Bite in. Pick it up with your fingers and lick the juice that may run down your chin. It is ready…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-merriam/don-t-be-polite-bite-in-pick-it-up-with-your-fingers-and-lick-the/) [Eve Merriam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-merriam/) > [When something is too beautiful or too terrible or even too funny for words, then it is time for poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-merriam/when-something-is-too-beautiful-or-too-terrible-or-even-too-funny-for/) [Eve Merriam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-merriam/) > [whatever you do, find ways to read poerty. Eat it, drink it, enjoy it, and share it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-merriam/whatever-you-do-find-ways-to-read-poerty-eat-it-drink-it-enjoy-it-and/) [Eve Merriam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-merriam/) > [...a good poem contains both meaning and music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-merriam/a-good-poem-contains-both-meaning-and-music/) [Eve Merriam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-merriam/) > [I dream of giving birth to a child who will ask: "Mother, what was war?"](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-merriam/i-dream-of-giving-birth-to-a-child-who-will-ask-mother-what-was-war/) [Eve Merriam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-merriam/) [Explore all 8 Eve Merriam quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-merriam/) ## More Jew quotes > [My real name's McGill. The Jew thing I just do for the homeboys. They all want a pipe-hitting member of the tribe, so to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul/my-real-name-s-mcgill-the-jew-thing-i-just-do-for-the-homeboys-they/) [Saul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul/) > [I am a peace supporting Jew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-dershowitz/i-am-a-peace-supporting-jew/) [Alan Dershowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-dershowitz/) > [In the name of Jerusalem. If I forget the extermination of the Jews, may my right hand wither, may my tongue stick to my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/menachem-begin/in-the-name-of-jerusalem-if-i-forget-the-extermination-of-the-jews/) [Menachem Begin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/menachem-begin/) > [If Christianity had asserted itself in Germany, six million Jews would have lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/if-christianity-had-asserted-itself-in-germany-six-million-jews-would/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [My dad's Israeli. He was born in Baghdad to Iraqi Jews. Then, at age two, his parents wanted to move to their homeland and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-yamin/my-dad-s-israeli-he-was-born-in-baghdad-to-iraqi-jews-then-at-age-two/) [Elliott Yamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-yamin/) > [The Bible is to gays what Mein Kampf is to Jews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-tatchell/the-bible-is-to-gays-what-mein-kampf-is-to-jews/) [Peter Tatchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-tatchell/) > [Except for the scale of the operation, there was nothing unusual about Hitler's massacre of the Jews. Genocide's an old tradition, as human as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/except-for-the-scale-of-the-operation-there-was-nothing-unusual-about/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [To become a celebrity is to become a brand name. There is Ivory Soap, Rice Krispies, and Philip Roth. Ivory is the soap that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/to-become-a-celebrity-is-to-become-a-brand-name-there-is-ivory-soap/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [I have never seen either a drop of piety or a grain of truth or ingenuousness - nay, I have never found common sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/i-have-never-seen-either-a-drop-of-piety-or-a-grain-of-truth-or/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [We have Christians against Muslims against Jews, and no matter how liberal your theology, merely identifying yourself as a Christian or a Jew lends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/we-have-christians-against-muslims-against-jews-and-no-matter-how/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [Once the war began, the government could do anything 'necessary' to win it; so it was with the 'final solution of the Jewish problem,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-mayer/once-the-war-began-the-government-could-do-anything-necessary-to-win/) [Milton Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-mayer/) > [There's an interesting book about that called The Third Reich and the Ivory Tower, written by Stephen H. Norwood. It has a long discussion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-an-interesting-book-about-that-called-the-third-reich-and-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are historical analogs, which are not exact, of course, but are close enough to be worrisome. This is a whiff of early Nazi…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-historical-analogs-which-are-not-exact-of-course-but-are/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [My husband is a proud Jew and Zionist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suella-braverman/my-husband-is-a-proud-jew-and-zionist/) [Suella Braverman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suella-braverman/) > [I'm working at trying to be a Christian, and that's serious business. It's like trying to be a good Jew, a good Muslim, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-m-working-at-trying-to-be-a-christian-and-that-s-serious-business/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) [Browse all 2,146 Jew quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jew/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Scratch a Jew and you'll find a Wailing Wall.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eve Merriam" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-merriam/scratch-a-jew-and-you-ll-find-a-wailing-wall/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Jew" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-merriam/scratch-a-jew-and-you-ll-find-a-wailing-wall/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb4/eve-merriam-45996_jew_scratch-a-jew-and-you-ll-find-a-wailing_1197936.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb4/eve-merriam-45996_jew_scratch-a-jew-and-you-ll-find-a-wailing_1197936.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb4/eve-merriam-45996_jew_scratch-a-jew-and-you-ll-find-a-wailing_1197936.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Scratch a Jew and you'll find a Wailing Wall.” — Eve Merriam", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Eve Merriam", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-merriam/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Scratch a Jew and you'll find...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-merriam/scratch-a-jew-and-you-ll-find-a-wailing-wall/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-merriam/scratch-a-jew-and-you-ll-find-a-wailing-wall/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```