Question about Jewish people

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We aren't going to just let anyone into our club to sully the bloodlines, unless they are going to at least contribute nice silky hair, height, or athleticism to the genetic line. Also, we don't want to hear ramblings about Jesus, the Rapture, the manger and the holy ghost over a nice brisket dinner, so most of us would prefer another Jew or a nice tall, athletic Athiest.

You sound like a short, fat, bald, Christian zealot anti-Semite. Congrats, or something!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP back. Thank you for all of the interesting discussion! I've learned so much as well as realized there are no clear cut answers.

To the PP who suggested I needed to get out more because I'm part of the dominant culture and never gave a thought to my own identity-- I'm Japanese. Not dominant culture here, and you're right, I haven't had to give much thought to my identity. Still curious about others regardless.

Japanese-American OP? If so, where did you grow up? Also, do you watch John Stewart? Do you find him funny? He has a very dry, Northeastern U.S. Jewish sense of humor, which largely comes from among the Jews of Eastern Europe. Here are the main Jewish ethnic groups:

Ashkenazic Jews: Jews from largely Central and Eastern Europe. This is the largest group of Jews in the U.S. In Europe, they largely spoke Yiddish, a High German language using a Hebrew alphabet.

Sephardic Jews: Jews from around the Mediterranean basin in Europe - largely Spain and Portugal. They spoke - and perhaps some still speak - a language called Ladino - that is based on Spanish and uses the Hebrew alphabet.

Mizrahi Jews: Jews from the Middle East, including Turkey, Syria, Armenia, Georgia, Iraq, Iran, etc. Not sure of Jews who resided in Palestine prior to the founding of the State of Israel are included in this group.

Maghrebic Jews: Jews from Northern Africa - largely Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya.

Falasha or Beta Israel: Jews from Ethiopia and Eritrea

Which countries are the Ashkenazic Jews mostly from?

Germany, Poland, Austria, Hungary, Russia, Ukraine. Poland had the world's largest Jewish population before WWII. There is Wikipedia. Have a look for yourself. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashkenazi_Jews.

[Anonymous]

Can we double check the link? TIA.

[Anonymous]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashkenazi_Jews

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Nazi's killed as many Eastern Europeans as they could, Jewish or not. Both were targets in the Final Solution.

You know you just exposed the best keep secret in all of history?

(At least as reported in American history books, but even more importantly, on the big screens of Hollywood's "docudrama" industry.)

Shhhhh!

Why is this not widely known? I'm the poster and I'm Jewish.

How is this NOT widely known, except to the culturally illiterate?

[Anonymous]

Like beauty, Jewishness is in the eye of the beholder. Hitler would have considered me a Jew without a second thought, as do most people I meet. But for one who thinks the Torah is important, an atheist like me probably does not qualify.

If asked whether I consider myself Jewish, I'd probably say "It depends," which seems to me to be a particularly Jewish answer, especially since I would likely throw in a bit of a Yiddish lilt, just for the fun of it. Or in a particularly playful mood, I might respond "Am I a Jew? Oy!"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Like beauty, Jewishness is in the eye of the beholder. Hitler would have considered me a Jew without a second thought, as do most people I meet. But for one who thinks the Torah is important, an atheist like me probably does not qualify.

If asked whether I consider myself Jewish, I'd probably say "It depends," which seems to me to be a particularly Jewish answer, especially since I would likely throw in a bit of a Yiddish lilt, just for the fun of it. Or in a particularly playful mood, I might respond "Am I a Jew? Oy!"

Truth be told, finally. Thank you. Like I said a few pages ago, which way is the wind blowing?
But you are exactly right. I know Jewish men, oops, I know men who will fight you tooth and nail that they are NOT Jewish, even though both parents were Jewish.

To me, it's like assuming that a brown person is African-American. That is also a major mistake. I know people who are very offended by your classifying them in the wrong way without even first asking.

[Anonymous]

It is an ethnicity
The Hebrew names are jewish. You can guess by looking at the last name. They talk about their tribe. A shiksa is a derogative term for a non jewish person living in their neighborhood

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why don't they accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior?

Because they understand that you don't have to cram your own religious views down others' throats, unlike so many others (hint, hint).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is an ethnicity
The Hebrew names are jewish. You can guess by looking at the last name. They talk about their tribe. A shiksa is a derogative term for a non jewish person living in their neighborhood

Wrong and rather ignorant.

A "shiksa" is a gentile (non-Jewish) girl or woman.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is an ethnicity
The Hebrew names are jewish. You can guess by looking at the last name. They talk about their tribe. A shiksa is a derogative term for a non jewish person living in their neighborhood

Wrong and rather ignorant.

A "shiksa" is a gentile (non-Jewish) girl or woman.

Since when is anything here right or wrong, when we can't even agree on who is Jewish?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is an ethnicity
The Hebrew names are jewish. You can guess by looking at the last name. They talk about their tribe. A shiksa is a derogative term for a non jewish person living in their neighborhood

So you can convert to an ethnicity? Which other ethnicities can you convert to?

There is no simple answer to OPs question and only a simpleton would think there was.

References to Judaism as a tribe are at root historical/Biblical references. The flexibility inherent in the concept of "tribe" is useful for dealing with the exact ambiguity we're discussing here.

(Also that is reeeeeeally not the definition of "shiksa." No excuse for getting it wrong in the age of the Internet.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is an ethnicity
The Hebrew names are jewish. You can guess by looking at the last name. They talk about their tribe. A shiksa is a derogative term for a non jewish person living in their neighborhood

Wrong and rather ignorant.

A "shiksa" is a gentile (non-Jewish) girl or woman.

Since when is anything here right or wrong, when we can't even agree on who is Jewish?

I have never, ever heard the PP's definition of "shiksa" ... I think PP is confused with "goy" or "goyim" (non-Jews, not nec. as a derogatory term and not nec. referring to someone in a Jewish neighborhood), but "shiksa" in no way fits that supposed definition.

PP I quoted doesn't seem to know WTF he/she is talking about.

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It is an ethnicity
The Hebrew names are jewish. You can guess by looking at the last name. They talk about their tribe. A shiksa is a derogative term for a non jewish person living in their neighborhood[/quote]

Wrong and rather ignorant.

A "shiksa" is a gentile (non-Jewish) girl or woman. [/quote]

Since when is anything here right or wrong, when we can't even agree on who is Jewish?[/quote]

Nice try, but words have meanings. Some may be vague, but most are not. There are no millennia-old debates over the meaning of "shiksa."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is an ethnicity
The Hebrew names are jewish. You can guess by looking at the last name. They talk about their tribe. A shiksa is a derogative term for a non jewish person living in their neighborhood

Wrong and rather ignorant.

A "shiksa" is a gentile (non-Jewish) girl or woman.

If your son brings one home, I don't imagine you'll be celebrating with the neighbors.