In South Park, it becomes abundantly clear that Eric Cartman is anti-Semitic.
In the recent “Critter’s Christmas,” this point is explicit when Kyle accuses Eric of picking on him because he’s Jewish.
In “The Passion of the Jew,” Eric’s anti-Semitism becomes quite clear.
Has any reason been given, either in the series or by the creators, of why Eric is so anti-Semitic?
WRS
He doesn’t know any better. Just like most bigots. He’s like a big-boned animated Archie Bunker.
Because it’s funny.
You know, it just struck me that perhaps the only place I can find anti-Semitism that is funny is on South Park. Perhaps because it also is clear that Eric Cartman is an idiot.
WRS
I’m Jewish, and Cartman dressed up as Hitler was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. And you’re right, WRS, it has a lot to do with the pure stupidity of the character.
Why is he so anti poor people?
Why is he so anti black?
Why is he so anti hippy?
Why is he so anti anything? Because it’s funny. Cartman is the ultimate oblivious bigot. He mocks anyhting and onyone different from himself and his own values. The really hilarious part is that he is truly unaware that his behaviour is in any way offensive for the most part. He has no idea that there it could be offensive to tell token that he has to speak like a white person or telling Kenny that he shouldn’t have poor parents or telling Kyle that his morals are corrupted because he’s a Jew.
That’s why IMO Cartman is the single best SP character. He’s a small minded prick with great ambitions. He’s like the personification of the steroeotype of right wing America. Cartman is a lyinng, murdering obese idiot and his own mother is a hermaphrodite whore who does porn videos but he sees nothing wrong or unusual about that condition or those values because he has always known. He never even attempts to look outside his own little world. Cartman always seems more ‘real’ and less 2 dimensional than the other characters. He really manages to personify unthinking bogitry and xenophobia without at any time havuing to ram the irony of his condition down the audiences throat with a sermon.
Cartman isn’t especially anti semitic. Sure he picks on Kyle because he’s a Jew, but he also picks on Token for being black and Kenny for being poor and Jimmy for being handicapped just as much. If he gives Kyle any more than any other character it’s because there is more inteligeble interaction between those two characters than any other minority character in the show.
Cartman: Don’t call me fat, you fucking Jew!
Mr. Garrison: Eric, did you just say the F-word?
Cartman: Jew?
One of my favorite bits is from the movie
Carman: Kyle, you know all those times I said you were a big dumb Jew?
Kyle: Yes
Cartman: Well I didn’t mean it, you’re not a Jew
Kyle: I am too!
Cartman: No, no Kyle, don’t be so hard on yourself.
Which I would say is also why Archie Bunker’s bigotry on All in the Family was funny.
I don’t see Cartman as anti-Semitic. He doesn’t dislike Kyle because he’s Jewish, they’re friends. Kids just pick on each other for no good reason. Kyle calls Cartman fatass, so he comes back at Kyle with the one thing that makes him different (he’s a J-O-O).
Stan and Kyle are not friends of Cartman’s, they’ve said as much. They don’t like or trust him, and it was only a few (?) weeks ago that Kyle was encouraging Cartman to jump off his roof. Kenny is the closest thing he has to a friend.
Butters too, sort of. Mostly because Butters is naive enough to be nice to Cartman.
Cartman has always been anti-Semitic. I believe his very first line in the original bootleg cartoon is, “Hanukkah sucks”.
I’ve actually thought about this before myself.
Aside from the reasons already mentioned (which make a lot of sense), I think it probably has something to do with embarrassment, too. Kind of like how it’s funny when someone lets a big one rip in a formal social situation, or gets their pants caught in the wheel of their bicycle and ends up riding down the street pantless. It’s funny when other people are embarrassing themselves or doing things not normally socially acceptable. It makes people laugh because they’re sorta embarrassed for the person it’s happening to, yet glad it’s not them at the same time. 
It’s so over-the-top it becomes absurd and a joke onto itself…
Butters will probably always be my favourite character though. Poor kid.
German scheiss internet porn videos, to be precise!
And you can’t forget covergirl for Crack Whore Magazine.
Ironically, in a way he’s not bigoted at all.
Thing is, he doesn’t so much believe that any particular race/creed/sex/whatever is wprse than his, so much as he believes that he is naturally at the top of everything. He mocks people for being different from him, not because he particularly cares about any supposed innate flaw but because they’re obviously inferior by being different from him.
I think it’s also worth pointing out that Matt Stone’s mother is Jewish (cite).
Let us not forget his dark, even heroic genius as in Scott Tenorman Must Die.
I think Cartman is an equal opportunity hater. He gives Kyle a hard time about being Jewish because he knows it pushes Kyle’s buttons. I don’t think he particularly cares about Jews any more than any other group he insults. There are just some people who will hurl epithets at anyone who’s different from them, as has been stated before in this thread. Cartman gets his jollies by annoying and abusing other people.