Is the refernece "he/she looks very Jewish" benign or an insult?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eh, I’m Jewish and has said things like that, although it’s usually to joke that my dad looks like the most stereotypical Jewish guy ever, or something like that.

+1. I am also Jewish and said that. There is such a thing as a stereotypical Ashkenazi look - the eyes, the nose, the curly hair.

There is but that’s in it of itself kinda racist as you’re denying the looks of the many different types of people who make up the Jewish people. Gross.

PP. That’s the look for which I was punched in the face where I grew up. I think I’ll stick to my racism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m not sure about this one. I know people who are told that they look very Irish or Scandinavian or Italian or Greek. How is this different?

Those are ethnic groups. Jews can be from different ethnic groups. Tiffany Haddish is an Eritrean Jew. And even when Ashkenazi, Jews might not “look Jewish” because of generations of the women in their family being raped. Most of all, because “looks Jewish” has gotten people killed.

Pretty sure Greek, Irish etc. people are also nationalities that include other ethnic groups. I don’t find statements like OPs offensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eh, I’m Jewish and has said things like that, although it’s usually to joke that my dad looks like the most stereotypical Jewish guy ever, or something like that.

+1. I am also Jewish and said that. There is such a thing as a stereotypical Ashkenazi look - the eyes, the nose, the curly hair.

There is but that’s in it of itself kinda racist as you’re denying the looks of the many different types of people who make up the Jewish people. Gross.

PP. That’s the look for which I was punched in the face where I grew up. I think I’ll stick to my racism.

+1. And so sick of this “you are denying” this “you are erasing” that crap. No, I’m not. There are variations other than the stereotypical one — they just aren’t, well, stereotypical.

[Anonymous]

It’s not insulting. People are proud to be/look Jewish.

[Anonymous]

That's not acceptable. It implies there is a Jewish look, like the Nazis tried to establish (hooked nose, etc). I have some blond, blue-eyed, straight nosed Jewish neighbors.

It's not the same thing as saying Asian, or Caucasian, or Black, etc... , where clearly there is a phenotype.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
That's not acceptable. It implies there is a Jewish look, like the Nazis tried to establish (hooked nose, etc). I have some blond, blue-eyed, straight nosed Jewish neighbors.

It's not the same thing as saying Asian, or Caucasian, or Black, etc... , where clearly there is a phenotype.

+1. If it's said by a non-Jew, I'd think it's an awkward and clueless comment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
That's not acceptable. It implies there is a Jewish look, like the Nazis tried to establish (hooked nose, etc). I have some blond, blue-eyed, straight nosed Jewish neighbors.

It's not the same thing as saying Asian, or Caucasian, or Black, etc... , where clearly there is a phenotype.

+1. If it's said by a non-Jew, I'd think it's an awkward and clueless comment.

-1. Like a PP mentioned, there is an Ashkenazi Jewish phenotype. It’s genetic. Plenty of Jews, who are not Nazis (!), recognize this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
That's not acceptable. It implies there is a Jewish look, like the Nazis tried to establish (hooked nose, etc). I have some blond, blue-eyed, straight nosed Jewish neighbors.

It's not the same thing as saying Asian, or Caucasian, or Black, etc... , where clearly there is a phenotype.

And I know a black person with blue eyes. Who cares? Yes, there is a stereotypical look. It’s just not PC to say so.

[Anonymous]

People tell me all the time i look Irish. I call them racist to their face.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
That's not acceptable. It implies there is a Jewish look, like the Nazis tried to establish (hooked nose, etc). I have some blond, blue-eyed, straight nosed Jewish neighbors.

It's not the same thing as saying Asian, or Caucasian, or Black, etc... , where clearly there is a phenotype.

+1. If it's said by a non-Jew, I'd think it's an awkward and clueless comment.

Ok, I'm Jewish and you need to understand something.

For Ashkenazi Jews (10-11 million of the 14-18 million Jews in the world) there IS a look. Why? Because we're a genetically distinct group. That's not to say all Ashkenazi Jews look the same -- some of us have dark, curly hair while some others are blonde (Slavic roots, most likely), but we are absolutely genetically distinct.

There's nothing wrong with that. Not every group is a total melting pot. Jews--those who are born Jewish, rather than converts--are an ethno-religious group. Until recently we didn't really intermarry. That has implications for how many of us look.

Nothing wrong with that!

If us Jews say it's ok, please don't tell us it's not. We understand the difference between seeing your curly-haired friend who's a lawyer and saying "oh boy you're such a boychik! I bet your mom is so proud" (which we do all the time back where my whole family is from -- NYC) and Nazism.

[Anonymous]

Let’s stop.

This conversati9n is ugly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
That's not acceptable. It implies there is a Jewish look, like the Nazis tried to establish (hooked nose, etc). I have some blond, blue-eyed, straight nosed Jewish neighbors.

It's not the same thing as saying Asian, or Caucasian, or Black, etc... , where clearly there is a phenotype.

+1. If it's said by a non-Jew, I'd think it's an awkward and clueless comment.

Ok, I'm Jewish and you need to understand something.

For Ashkenazi Jews (10-11 million of the 14-18 million Jews in the world) there IS a look. Why? Because we're a genetically distinct group. That's not to say all Ashkenazi Jews look the same -- some of us have dark, curly hair while some others are blonde (Slavic roots, most likely), but we are absolutely genetically distinct.

There's nothing wrong with that. Not every group is a total melting pot. Jews--those who are born Jewish, rather than converts--are an ethno-religious group. Until recently we didn't really intermarry. That has implications for how many of us look.

Nothing wrong with that!

If us Jews say it's ok, please don't tell us it's not. We understand the difference between seeing your curly-haired friend who's a lawyer and saying "oh boy you're such a boychik! I bet your mom is so proud" (which we do all the time back where my whole family is from -- NYC) and Nazism.

Ashkenazi Jew here. There is a huge difference between someone who is NOT Jewish saying "He looks like a typical Ashkenazi Jew" and someone saying "He looks very Jewish." If you can't tell the difference, you have internalized anti-Semitism. And as a PP said, ask sometime what they mean when they say "He looks very Jewish." I doubt it's good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
That's not acceptable. It implies there is a Jewish look, like the Nazis tried to establish (hooked nose, etc). I have some blond, blue-eyed, straight nosed Jewish neighbors.

It's not the same thing as saying Asian, or Caucasian, or Black, etc... , where clearly there is a phenotype.

+1. If it's said by a non-Jew, I'd think it's an awkward and clueless comment.

Ok, I'm Jewish and you need to understand something.

For Ashkenazi Jews (10-11 million of the 14-18 million Jews in the world) there IS a look. Why? Because we're a genetically distinct group. That's not to say all Ashkenazi Jews look the same -- some of us have dark, curly hair while some others are blonde (Slavic roots, most likely), but we are absolutely genetically distinct.

There's nothing wrong with that. Not every group is a total melting pot. Jews--those who are born Jewish, rather than converts--are an ethno-religious group. Until recently we didn't really intermarry. That has implications for how many of us look.

Nothing wrong with that!

If us Jews say it's ok, please don't tell us it's not. We understand the difference between seeing your curly-haired friend who's a lawyer and saying "oh boy you're such a boychik! I bet your mom is so proud" (which we do all the time back where my whole family is from -- NYC) and Nazism.

Ashkenazi Jew here. There is a huge difference between someone who is NOT Jewish saying "He looks like a typical Ashkenazi Jew" and someone saying "He looks very Jewish." If you can't tell the difference, you have internalized anti-Semitism. And as a PP said, ask sometime what they mean when they say "He looks very Jewish." I doubt it's good.

You have internalized political correctness derangement syndrome. Some people may mean it as an insult. But some definitely don’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let’s stop.

This conversati9n is ugly.

Oh clutch your pearls and move on, lady.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am not Jewish. I am black. I say that to say I can't speak for exactly how a Jewish person would feel about the statement. I can only speak for how I feel when someone says something similar to me.

I would ask the speaker "What do you mean by that?" and see what comes next. My guess is that it won't be something good.

When I've encountered similar statements, it is usually meant to be derogatory. If your Jewish friend has confided in you that he/she finds it insulting, you should be the brave and bold white person who is willing to take a position that will bring you discomfort for the good of all. The weight of addressing discriminatory/hurtful statements always falls on the person being singled out and they are left having to navigate addressing the disrespect, their hurt feelings and self esteem and then having to defend against a typical white person who will rudely push back if they are called out on their bigoted behavior. It will be all about that person's feelings on being called a bigot instead of the person they actually offended.

Please, stand up for your Jewish friend and call the other person out on their unacceptable comments. Right now, you can hide and ignore the rude comments because they don't affect you. By the way, if you've ever wondered what white privilege is and if you have it, this is one of those situations.

Op never said she he/she was white and you sound incredibly racist.