The Jew’s Harp – which was a popular instrument from fourteenth century to the late nineteenth century in Europe – (1) has often mistakenly been associated with jews, but as Bill Gohring, Janet Gohring and Fredrick Crane point out: this is simply a myth.
They write that:
‘Jew’s Harp (Jews’ Harp); juice harp. For over 400 years the instrument ... has been connected in English with the Jew’s ... Whether any derogation was originally intended is not known but it is apparently believed that some might now be felt.’ (2)
In truth we don’t know why the ‘Jew’s Harp’ was connected with jews but it probably has nothing – ironically – to actually do with jews per se.
Since as Gordon Frazier writes:
‘In brief: The earliest known written citation of Jew’s harp in 1595, in England. Prior to that it was called Jew’s trump (earliest spelling: jewes trump). Before that it was known as trump in Scotland and northern England; the origin of the “jewes” preceder is obscure. However, there is no indication that the origin was connected with Judaism or the Jewish people. It probably came from some other word -- one possibility is the Old English word gewgaw - and was then, many years later, “fixed,” resulting in the current form.’ (3)
The point being is the ‘Jew’s Harp’ like many things has absolutely no known connection to the jews whatsoever and is believed to have been transmitted to Europe from China via the Silk Road; (4) although there is some evidence that there was a European version of the ‘Jew’s Harp’ before the version we know arrived via the Silk Road from China. (5)
Thus we can see that the ‘Jew’s Harp’ is not a ‘jewish invention’ either!
References
(1) https://musark.no/jews-harp-in-european-archaeology/
(2) http://www.jewsharpguild.org/history.html
(3) Idem.
(4) http://www.silkroadfoundation.org/newsletter/vol2num2/Harp.htm
(5) Idem.