I'm Jewish. Ask me anything.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't have thought you were anti-semitic, but I would have thoughy of the holocaust. I also thought of the holocaust when i saw a pile of dirty shoes at the end of a mud run I did.

I woldnt have been offended.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP,

I used to make Xmas cookies and I would bring some to the office. I made stars and trees usually. The star cookie cutter I had was a 6 pointed star. I liked it b/c it was a little different than the usual 5 point star. Anyway, I sprinkled the trees with green sprinkles and the stars with yellow sprinkles b/c stars have yellow light -- right?. My closest friends at the office were all Jewish. I never thought that the yellow sprinkles on the 6 point stars might have a negative connection to the Holocaust, but I think someone (might not have been someone at work) told me that it was a bad idea and offensive.

Would you be offended by Christmas cookies that are 6 point stars with yellow sprinkles on white frosting? Am I so clueless that I'm anti-semetic by accident?

http://history1900s.about.com/od/holocaust/a/yellowstar.htm

Yes, PP I AM aware of the yellow star of David being used during WWII to identify the Jews. I was aware of that at the time I made the cookies. I just never connected making Christmas cookies in the shape of a star with the Holocaust b/c I don't think about the Holocaust much. I just looked at it as a star cookie and I sprinkled it yellow b/c stars are yellow. My question is not whether yellow six-pointed stars are connected to the Holocaust, but whether OP (or others) would have made that connection upon seeing a plate of cookies -- some of which were trees sprinkled in green -- and whether OP (or others) would take offense at seeing said cookies.

I wouldn't describe you as racist so much as clueless. Yeah, yellow is a pretty color, and the sun is a star, and it's yellow, and 6 point stars are a nice change from 5 points, but then the yellow six-point star was used to mark 6 million or so Jews for gassing and burning. So yeah, if you don't see how using yellow 6 point stars as pretty Christmas decorations is insensitive, you are pretty fucking clueless.

The six-pointed star is called the "Star of Creation" in Christianity and is associated with the six days of creation. It is often used in religious paintings of Jesus to signify his divinity as part of the Holy Trinity. The star that appeared over Bethlehem is also often depicted as a six-pointed star for this reason. Our Christmas tree at church is topped by a six-pointed yellow star. I imagine that this is the reason that the PP found a Christmas cookie cutter with six points. Symbols can mean different things to different people and in different contexts, so I don't think it is necessary to call the PP "pretty fucking stupid" for using a well-known symbol of Christmas to celebrate Christmas.

The swastika has a long history of benevolent usage as well, eg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika#Historical_use_in_the_East . It would be pretty fucking stupid to use a swastika and, again, if PP doesn't see why some Jews were offended by using the symbol used to mark Jews for extermination, she is pretty fucking clueless.

[Anonymous]

Just to add, the issue isn't that every Jew would find the yellow 6 point star hurtful, it's that some would, and the hurt they would feel would arise from images of an attempted genocide. So, yeah, your desire to use pretty yellow 6 point stars as a nice change from 5 point stars vs. raising the spectre of the holocaust for a minority of a minority, which wins?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP,

I used to make Xmas cookies and I would bring some to the office. I made stars and trees usually. The star cookie cutter I had was a 6 pointed star. I liked it b/c it was a little different than the usual 5 point star. Anyway, I sprinkled the trees with green sprinkles and the stars with yellow sprinkles b/c stars have yellow light -- right?. My closest friends at the office were all Jewish. I never thought that the yellow sprinkles on the 6 point stars might have a negative connection to the Holocaust, but I think someone (might not have been someone at work) told me that it was a bad idea and offensive.

Would you be offended by Christmas cookies that are 6 point stars with yellow sprinkles on white frosting? Am I so clueless that I'm anti-semetic by accident?

http://history1900s.about.com/od/holocaust/a/yellowstar.htm

Yes, PP I AM aware of the yellow star of David being used during WWII to identify the Jews. I was aware of that at the time I made the cookies. I just never connected making Christmas cookies in the shape of a star with the Holocaust b/c I don't think about the Holocaust much. I just looked at it as a star cookie and I sprinkled it yellow b/c stars are yellow. My question is not whether yellow six-pointed stars are connected to the Holocaust, but whether OP (or others) would have made that connection upon seeing a plate of cookies -- some of which were trees sprinkled in green -- and whether OP (or others) would take offense at seeing said cookies.

I wouldn't describe you as racist so much as clueless. Yeah, yellow is a pretty color, and the sun is a star, and it's yellow, and 6 point stars are a nice change from 5 points, but then the yellow six-point star was used to mark 6 million or so Jews for gassing and burning. So yeah, if you don't see how using yellow 6 point stars as pretty Christmas decorations is insensitive, you are pretty fucking clueless.

The six-pointed star is called the "Star of Creation" in Christianity and is associated with the six days of creation. It is often used in religious paintings of Jesus to signify his divinity as part of the Holy Trinity. The star that appeared over Bethlehem is also often depicted as a six-pointed star for this reason. Our Christmas tree at church is topped by a six-pointed yellow star. I imagine that this is the reason that the PP found a Christmas cookie cutter with six points. Symbols can mean different things to different people and in different contexts, so I don't think it is necessary to call the PP "pretty fucking stupid" for using a well-known symbol of Christmas to celebrate Christmas.

The swastika has a long history of benevolent usage as well, eg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika#Historical_use_in_the_East . It would be pretty fucking stupid to use a swastika and, again, if PP doesn't see why some Jews were offended by using the symbol used to mark Jews for extermination, she is pretty fucking clueless.

I really don't think comparison to the swastika is fair in this context since the swastika has been set aside by all cultures and religions because of its associations with Nazism. In contrast, the six-pointed star is still used by many cultures and religions, including most prominently Jews themselves, but also in Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP,

I used to make Xmas cookies and I would bring some to the office. I made stars and trees usually. The star cookie cutter I had was a 6 pointed star. I liked it b/c it was a little different than the usual 5 point star. Anyway, I sprinkled the trees with green sprinkles and the stars with yellow sprinkles b/c stars have yellow light -- right?. My closest friends at the office were all Jewish. I never thought that the yellow sprinkles on the 6 point stars might have a negative connection to the Holocaust, but I think someone (might not have been someone at work) told me that it was a bad idea and offensive.

Would you be offended by Christmas cookies that are 6 point stars with yellow sprinkles on white frosting? Am I so clueless that I'm anti-semetic by accident?

http://history1900s.about.com/od/holocaust/a/yellowstar.htm

Yes, PP I AM aware of the yellow star of David being used during WWII to identify the Jews. I was aware of that at the time I made the cookies. I just never connected making Christmas cookies in the shape of a star with the Holocaust b/c I don't think about the Holocaust much. I just looked at it as a star cookie and I sprinkled it yellow b/c stars are yellow. My question is not whether yellow six-pointed stars are connected to the Holocaust, but whether OP (or others) would have made that connection upon seeing a plate of cookies -- some of which were trees sprinkled in green -- and whether OP (or others) would take offense at seeing said cookies.

I wouldn't describe you as racist so much as clueless. Yeah, yellow is a pretty color, and the sun is a star, and it's yellow, and 6 point stars are a nice change from 5 points, but then the yellow six-point star was used to mark 6 million or so Jews for gassing and burning. So yeah, if you don't see how using yellow 6 point stars as pretty Christmas decorations is insensitive, you are pretty fucking clueless.

The six-pointed star is called the "Star of Creation" in Christianity and is associated with the six days of creation. It is often used in religious paintings of Jesus to signify his divinity as part of the Holy Trinity. The star that appeared over Bethlehem is also often depicted as a six-pointed star for this reason. Our Christmas tree at church is topped by a six-pointed yellow star. I imagine that this is the reason that the PP found a Christmas cookie cutter with six points. Symbols can mean different things to different people and in different contexts, so I don't think it is necessary to call the PP "pretty fucking stupid" for using a well-known symbol of Christmas to celebrate Christmas.

The swastika has a long history of benevolent usage as well, eg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika#Historical_use_in_the_East . It would be pretty fucking stupid to use a swastika and, again, if PP doesn't see why some Jews were offended by using the symbol used to mark Jews for extermination, she is pretty fucking clueless.

Your comparison is absurd. And your tone is offensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just to add, the issue isn't that every Jew would find the yellow 6 point star hurtful, it's that some would, and the hurt they would feel would arise from images of an attempted genocide. So, yeah, your desire to use pretty yellow 6 point stars as a nice change from 5 point stars vs. raising the spectre of the holocaust for a minority of a minority, which wins?

But, it isn't about it being a pretty yellow star, but about Christians also using the six-pointed star (often yellow since it is an actual star in the sky) in their symbolic code, if maybe not as prominently as the white six-pointed star is used in Judaism. I probably wouldn't use it myself for cookies since I am married to a Jew, but if I saw this on a plate of Christmas cookies, I would associate it with Christmas and Christian symbolism not the Holocaust since that would be wildly out of context.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hitler made a movie explaining the "Jewish look." I think that says it all when it comes to describing a look as Jewish. It's out right bigotry. I don't care if you don't mean anything by it. If you tell me, " you don't look Jewish," I think that you are an anti Semitic ignoramus. Period.

He was a racist and hated Jews because they were of a different race, a race that he hated partly because of esthetics and partly because of culture. It had nothing to do with religion for him, he was an athiest. That sociopath was evil, we know, but that does not mean that there is no Jewish look. It is real, I just wish that more Jews could be proud of it.

There is a gay look, I just wish more fags, er, gay people, could be proud of it.

As they should be.
I am African American and I have heard my share of comments and putdowns about the way AAs look. The response to me is not to say there is no AA look! I spend much of my time trying to get my kids to be proud of their looks and accentuate all of the positives. I have noticed that many white ethnic minorities like Jews, Italians, and Greeks try to blend in rather than confront the issue. Yes, they have larger handsome noses, rich dark hair that is full of body, thick dark eyelashes, and beautiful summer tans!
I could tell Hitler about what is not so positive about the Aryan look, but I have no desire to sink that low.

The problem is that what you wrote above applies to people who aren't Jewish. I Jewish and am pale as could be with blond hair, blue eyes, a small nose and freckles. I don't have thick eye lashes. You have described a stereotype.

I agree! But it is there one has to start,, first make the stereotype a positive. By emphasizing the blond Jews, it is a fall back to an attempt to blend. Most Jews are NOT blond (same with most Northern Europeans). The blond hair came from Northern Europe, not Judea (fact). Larger noses are the stereotype, but so what? It is partly true, the same way AAs have broader noses, fact.
I could easily pull out Aryan features and make them look bad in any cartoon (like the Nazis did) in an attempt to degrade people, and after some time, it would work.
I have some white ancestry and my daughter HAD green eyes and my son's hair is very light brown. I would cause harm by suggesting that those features that have to do with white genes are what makes them beautiful. I never tell them that anyone is unattractive, but I will mention that their afros look nice and that it is cute when they are jumping on my bed how the hair bounces. It is all about how you look at it. In the sixties, many AA people were ashamed of their full lips (notice I did not say fat), but now, I am so proud of mine, especially as I age, they make me look young, and I actually want them fuller.

[Anonymous]

You know the Irish joke that we are all descended from kings. It may or may not be true, but I never discount the possibility altogether.

Deep down inside, everyone thinks they're a little bit special.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I think that most would agree that there is a "Jewish Look" just as there is an Irish Look, a Swedish Look, an Italian Look, etc. The question is, why is it offensive to say "you don't look Jewish" or "she looks Jewish" whereas it is not offensive to say e.g. "you don't look Irish" or "she looks so Swedish"?

Because this "observation" is often associated with general stereotyping or outright bigotry. In earlier days, looking, e.g., Irish, was also associated with these things ("no Irish need apply"). Not so much anymore.

I'm Jewish, but I guess I didn't look it, at least when I was a teenager. I had several experiences with "friends" and acquaintances making blatantly antisemitic remarks to me -- about others. The best was one when one pretty girl whose pants I wanted to get into was talking about a particular family she didn't like, and I asked her why. She wrinkled her nose, and said under her breath in a drippingly contemptuous tone, "they're Jews." I guess my expression gave me away, and she started to apologize, but that was of course it for us. Happily, I went to the same college with her blonde, blue-eyed cousin, with whom I also had a mutual attraction, and who I fucked. We had a good laugh about her cousin as part of our pillow talk.

Living well isn't the best revenge; it's fucking their cousin and laughing about them with her.

But back to the original point, yeah, "you don't look Jewish" is up there with asking a black girl if you can touch her hair.

You sound sick. Are you a fine example of a classy Jewish man? I hope our daughters (and yours) don't ever meet up with a man like you. Respect yourself first then you can respect others.

You sound defensive and probably pretty anti-semitic. The cousin and I wanted to be with each other. As we basked in post-coital glow, she joked about how she was much more aryan-looking than the anti-semitic cousin, and how aghast said anti-semitic cousin would likely be if she knew I'd fucked her. If your daughter is a stone cold bigot, you should be glad if the worst that happens to her is somebody to whom she makes a racist remark laughs about her after sex with her cousin.

Sweetie, it is the language that you use about a woman who trusted you...again, respect yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just to add, the issue isn't that every Jew would find the yellow 6 point star hurtful, it's that some would, and the hurt they would feel would arise from images of an attempted genocide. So, yeah, your desire to use pretty yellow 6 point stars as a nice change from 5 point stars vs. raising the spectre of the holocaust for a minority of a minority, which wins?

But, it isn't about it being a pretty yellow star, but about Christians also using the six-pointed star (often yellow since it is an actual star in the sky) in their symbolic code, if maybe not as prominently as the white six-pointed star is used in Judaism. I probably wouldn't use it myself for cookies since I am married to a Jew, but if I saw this on a plate of Christmas cookies, I would associate it with Christmas and Christian symbolism not the Holocaust since that would be wildly out of context.

Six pointed yellow stars are not a hallmark of christianity, even if one can find references to them on the Internet. The six pointed yellow star as a holocaust reference is very fresh to some.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I think that most would agree that there is a "Jewish Look" just as there is an Irish Look, a Swedish Look, an Italian Look, etc. The question is, why is it offensive to say "you don't look Jewish" or "she looks Jewish" whereas it is not offensive to say e.g. "you don't look Irish" or "she looks so Swedish"?

Because this "observation" is often associated with general stereotyping or outright bigotry. In earlier days, looking, e.g., Irish, was also associated with these things ("no Irish need apply"). Not so much anymore.

I'm Jewish, but I guess I didn't look it, at least when I was a teenager. I had several experiences with "friends" and acquaintances making blatantly antisemitic remarks to me -- about others. The best was one when one pretty girl whose pants I wanted to get into was talking about a particular family she didn't like, and I asked her why. She wrinkled her nose, and said under her breath in a drippingly contemptuous tone, "they're Jews." I guess my expression gave me away, and she started to apologize, but that was of course it for us. Happily, I went to the same college with her blonde, blue-eyed cousin, with whom I also had a mutual attraction, and who I fucked. We had a good laugh about her cousin as part of our pillow talk.

Living well isn't the best revenge; it's fucking their cousin and laughing about them with her.

But back to the original point, yeah, "you don't look Jewish" is up there with asking a black girl if you can touch her hair.

You sound sick. Are you a fine example of a classy Jewish man? I hope our daughters (and yours) don't ever meet up with a man like you. Respect yourself first then you can respect others.

You sound defensive and probably pretty anti-semitic. The cousin and I wanted to be with each other. As we basked in post-coital glow, she joked about how she was much more aryan-looking than the anti-semitic cousin, and how aghast said anti-semitic cousin would likely be if she knew I'd fucked her. If your daughter is a stone cold bigot, you should be glad if the worst that happens to her is somebody to whom she makes a racist remark laughs about her after sex with her cousin.

Sweetie, it is the language that you use about a woman who trusted you...again, respect yourself.

What, "fucked?" She used the term herself. There's no breach of trust. Besides being at least faintly anti-semitic, you are a prude. Or at least you affect undue sensitivity to the word "fuck." Which I guess you would have to do to still be claiming that there was something wrong with a sexual relationship between consenting adults who enjoyed a laugh at a racist relative of one of the pair.

[Anonymous]

But yes, now you have another "reason" to discourage your daughters from fraternizing with Jewish boys. We will laugh when at her, maybe after sex with a non-racist cousin, if she has one, when she gives voice to what you likely are teaching her.

[Anonymous]

What do you think about the gentiles who send their kids to a Jewish preschool?

I'm one of them.

[Anonymous]

Do Jewish women have to have their heads covered? And if so, do wigs count? I seem to see alot of Jewish women wearing wigs.

[Anonymous]

Is there a stereotypical Jewish surgeon type bad personality?