ARNHEIM, FISCHEL

ARNHEIM, FISCHEL (1812–1864), German politician and attorney. Arnheim was a well-known lawyer in his native Bayreuth and became interested in constitutional problems. In 1848 he was elected to the Bavarian Landtag (parliament), where by virtue of his legal training and political ability he played an active role in the drafting of important legislation. Arnheim fought for the fundamental rights of the Frankfurt Nationalversammlung (National Assembly) and, as an adherent of Hapsburg policy, supported the independence of Bavaria. He was active in the struggle for the abolition of capital punishment and the separation of the judicial branch of government from the executive branch. Arnheim strenuously combated antisemitism and the defamation of Jews. He was well versed in Jewish scholarship and engaged in a public debate with the Catholic theologian Doellinger. He devoted special efforts to the repeal of regulations designed to discriminate against Jews and curtail their rights (in particular the Matrikel Laws designed to limit the number of Jews in every town and village). -BIBLIOGRAPHY: AZDJ, 28 (1864), 115–16; A. Eckstein, Beitraege zur Geschichte der Juden in Bayern (1902), 7–16. ADD. BIBLIOGRAPHY: A. Eckstein, in: A. Chroust (ed.), Lebenslaeufe aus Franken, 7:2 (1922), 11–13. (B. Mordechai Ansbacher / Marcus Pyka (2nd ed.)