Anonymous wrote:If Judaism is a religion not an ethnicity, then how come my nieces and nephews who were born to a Jewish father and Christian mother and all had bar and bat mitzvahs, are not considered Jewish by many temples or by the state of Israel? Why were they rejected by several temples when they were young because their mother is not Jewish? Why can't they "convert" to Judaism?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:
It is not so clear cut. For example, the children of a Jewish woman are automatically considered to be Jewish, without any baptism or similar process, suggesting being Jewish is being part of a race and/ or ethnic group, beyond a religion per se.
The Jewish religion does not require a ceremony akin to baptism in order to be a member of the religion. If you are born Jewish, you are Jewish; that doesn't mean it's a race, it means that it's a religion with customs that are different from some other religions.
Beta Israel of Ethiopia.Anonymous wrote:There are different types of Jewish people.
Anonymous wrote:
It is not so clear cut. For example, the children of a Jewish woman are automatically considered to be Jewish, without any baptism or similar process, suggesting being Jewish is being part of a race and/ or ethnic group, beyond a religion per se.
Anonymous wrote:Judaism is a religion and it is not a race nor is it an ethnicity. People who live in Israel are Israeli by ethnicity and the majority of those individuals are Jewish by religion. Some Jews have a genetic link to people who once lived in ancient Palastine, but many American Jews are descended from Slavic people who adopted Judaism in or around the 10th century. People who practice the religion of Judaism like those of any religion can be of any race or ethnicity. Some Jews are Semitic, but many are not. People of ancient middle eastern decent are Semitic. This includes Jews who have descended from Jews who lived in ancient Palastine and all Arabs.
Anonymous wrote:Thank you for your response. I am puzzled that Jewish people get genetic testing during pregnancy if they are not a race.