Whoopi says the Holocaust was not about race

[Anonymous]

I think it’s good no one is tolerating this from Whoopi.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jewish is a religion, race, and ethnicity.

Whoopi was a fool to go down this rabbit hole

It is 100% not a race.


This seems so interesting to me that this entertainer got called out for something most people don't understand anyway. Look at this thread!

Jews are not a separate race. There is some blood lineage due to endogamy and regional genetics, but this isn't a huge concept now as Jews come from all races and ethnicities. There are black Jews, Sephardic Jews, Asian Jews. There are people in Jewish families who have been Jewish for generations, yet one ancestor might have been Celtic. There are Catholics who, at one time were Jews, etc. The is a religion with cultural and ethnic aspects, but no, it is not a race.

The Holocaust was about "race" because Hitler was trying to establish a master race, and deemed Jews to be inferior in his plan, along with other groups of people- not only the Jews in Europe. Jews were scapegoated for political reasons on Germany at the time and he was able to murder 6 million through propaganda.

If you need a comparison, look at the alt right rhetoric and behavior of the GOP in these last 6 years...there'a been a lot of scapegoating of immigrants, black people, Asians. The same playbook is being used.

There are other holocausts around the world, even now, however this is The Holocaust. 6 million people were murdered with help from people who thought this was a good idea.

Maybe this was a good thing because there's a lot people don't realize and these discussions help to illuminate the larger problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^Holocaust was about religion and creating the master aryan race I meant to say.

The Holocaust wasn't about religion at all. It was about finding a scapegoat to the problems Germany was having at the time. Religion had nothing to do with it. Hitler came up with the notion of a master race and declared the Jews inferior to it and there for needed to be exterminated, like vermin. There is no such as a Jewish "race" Jews can be black white brown whatever--and yes Judaism has ethnicity within it, but it's a religion, people. Just like Christianity, Muslim, Buddhism...If you think it's a race you need to go back to history class.

Ok…so Holocaust wasn’t about religion. Now understood. There is no Jewish “race”, but Hitler thought there was and wanted to destroy it along with other groups he deemed inferior.

Are Jews that physically look white considered white? Are they “generally” ok with being grouped white people?

Not joking (but trying to take some heavy out of this since this is in the entertainment forum) is Jerry Seinfeld ok with being considered white?

Jews can be white,black, whatever just like Christians can be white, black, etc. I don't understand how you don't understand this. Being Jewish is not a race. You can be Jewish AND white. Jewish AND black. Jewish AND Native American. It's not mutually exclusive. You don't put Jewish down as your race on a census. It's a RELIGION that has ethnic and cultural traits. To suggest Judaism is a race gets back to exactly what Hitler was trying to do--assign certain physical traits to Jews to identify their race and separate them from the master race at the time. I'm Jewish and white and I don't know a single Jewish person who looks like me who doesn't identify their race as White/Caucasian.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jewish is a religion, race, and ethnicity.

Whoopi was a fool to go down this rabbit hole

It is 100% not a race.


This seems so interesting to me that this entertainer got called out for something most people don't understand anyway. Look at this thread!

Jews are not a separate race. There is some blood lineage due to endogamy and regional genetics, but this isn't a huge concept now as Jews come from all races and ethnicities. There are black Jews, Sephardic Jews, Asian Jews. There are people in Jewish families who have been Jewish for generations, yet one ancestor might have been Celtic. There are Catholics who, at one time were Jews, etc. The is a religion with cultural and ethnic aspects, but no, it is not a race.

The Holocaust was about "race" because Hitler was trying to establish a master race, and deemed Jews to be inferior in his plan, along with other groups of people- not only the Jews in Europe. Jews were scapegoated for political reasons on Germany at the time and he was able to murder 6 million through propaganda.

If you need a comparison, look at the alt right rhetoric and behavior of the GOP in these last 6 years...there'a been a lot of scapegoating of immigrants, black people, Asians. The same playbook is being used.

There are other holocausts around the world, even now, however this is The Holocaust. 6 million people were murdered with help from people who thought this was a good idea.

Maybe this was a good thing because there's a lot people don't realize and these discussions help to illuminate the larger problem.

I want to clarify that the discussion was a good thing to have.....I can see some weirdo misunderstanding this statement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^Holocaust was about religion and creating the master aryan race I meant to say.

The Holocaust wasn't about religion at all. It was about finding a scapegoat to the problems Germany was having at the time. Religion had nothing to do with it. Hitler came up with the notion of a master race and declared the Jews inferior to it and there for needed to be exterminated, like vermin. There is no such as a Jewish "race" Jews can be black white brown whatever--and yes Judaism has ethnicity within it, but it's a religion, people. Just like Christianity, Muslim, Buddhism...If you think it's a race you need to go back to history class.

Ok…so Holocaust wasn’t about religion. Now understood. There is no Jewish “race”, but Hitler thought there was and wanted to destroy it along with other groups he deemed inferior.

Are Jews that physically look white considered white? Are they “generally” ok with being grouped white people?

Not joking (but trying to take some heavy out of this since this is in the entertainment forum) is Jerry Seinfeld ok with being considered white?

Jews can be white,black, whatever just like Christians can be white, black, etc. I don't understand how you don't understand this. Being Jewish is not a race. You can be Jewish AND white. Jewish AND black. Jewish AND Native American. It's not mutually exclusive. You don't put Jewish down as your race on a census. It's a RELIGION that has ethnic and cultural traits. To suggest Judaism is a race gets back to exactly what Hitler was trying to do--assign certain physical traits to Jews to identify their race and separate them from the master race at the time. I'm Jewish and white and I don't know a single Jewish person who looks like me who doesn't identify their race as White/Caucasian.

Hey, I don’t understand this because I see white people who probably look like you say “I’m not white! I’m Jewish!” WTF.

AND to further my misunderstanding, if all the these white looking Jews ARE white, why do these other white people seem to hate you so much? Is it just because you’re Jewish? And they hate the Jewish religion? That’s dumb. Southern poster here again. So unless you told me you were Jewish, I wouldn’t know you were Jewish. How are people just hating on non announcing white Jewish people? Or is the hate only happening on clearly identifying Jewish people?

Jeff, you know I am a regular poster here, do not delete. I asking these questions to real people because I don’t know the answer. Google has not been my friend with these questions. And I don’t have any Jewish friends. Sorry the circle is small. I haven’t spent a lot of time educating myself on this, but I got time today and want to learn hoping DCUM has some too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^Holocaust was about religion and creating the master aryan race I meant to say.

The Holocaust wasn't about religion at all. It was about finding a scapegoat to the problems Germany was having at the time. Religion had nothing to do with it. Hitler came up with the notion of a master race and declared the Jews inferior to it and there for needed to be exterminated, like vermin. There is no such as a Jewish "race" Jews can be black white brown whatever--and yes Judaism has ethnicity within it, but it's a religion, people. Just like Christianity, Muslim, Buddhism...If you think it's a race you need to go back to history class.

Ok…so Holocaust wasn’t about religion. Now understood. There is no Jewish “race”, but Hitler thought there was and wanted to destroy it along with other groups he deemed inferior.

Are Jews that physically look white considered white? Are they “generally” ok with being grouped white people?

Not joking (but trying to take some heavy out of this since this is in the entertainment forum) is Jerry Seinfeld ok with being considered white?

Jews aren’t a monolith… some are probably ok with being considered white, some not. My 23&me results came back showing that I am 99.6 percent Ashkenazi Jewish. I “look” white, most people think I am of Slavic descent when they first meet me. I guess I identify as white. But I understand that someone might not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I understand the point she was making.

Yeah we all do. Some people just go around with their special eyeglasses on attacking everything they see. Many times it works, thanks to social media.

[Anonymous]

I find it really interesting that Whoopi in the past said she took her stage name - Goldberg - from a "Jewish ancestor," yet she has no understanding of Jewish history.

Goldberg, an Oscar-winner whose real name is Caryn Johnson, was quoted by the Reuters news service as saying, ``The true story is that my family is Jewish, Buddhist, Baptist and Catholic -- none of which I subscribe to, by the way, as I don't believe in man-made religions. . . So I took the last name from a Jewish ancestor. And I happen to be gaseous, which explains the first name, short for whoopee cushion.''

https://www.playbill.com/article/whoopi-tells-how-she-got-her-name-com-329074

And she also "feels Jewish."

Speaking this week at a charity event in London, the Oscar-winning actress said: "I just know I am Jewish. I practise nothing. I don't go to temple, but I do remember the holidays. Religion is a lot of work, it's exhausting. So I keep it simple, I have a pretty good relationship with God. We talk.'"

She added: "When people heard the name 'Whoopi Goldberg', and then I turned up, I was not what they were expecting.

"People would ask me in a roundabout way, 'So are you?' And I would say 'What?' And they'd say 'What does your name mean?' And I would say 'Do you mean Whoopi?' And they'd say 'No, the other name.' And then they would say 'Come on, are you Jewish?' And I always say 'Would you ask me that if I was white? I bet not.'" The name is wonderful for starting conversations."

https://www.thejc.com/news/uk/whoopi-goldberg-i-m-jewish-and-i-talk-to-god-1.23000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^Holocaust was about religion and creating the master aryan race I meant to say.

The Holocaust wasn't about religion at all. It was about finding a scapegoat to the problems Germany was having at the time. Religion had nothing to do with it. Hitler came up with the notion of a master race and declared the Jews inferior to it and there for needed to be exterminated, like vermin. There is no such as a Jewish "race" Jews can be black white brown whatever--and yes Judaism has ethnicity within it, but it's a religion, people. Just like Christianity, Muslim, Buddhism...If you think it's a race you need to go back to history class.

Ok…so Holocaust wasn’t about religion. Now understood. There is no Jewish “race”, but Hitler thought there was and wanted to destroy it along with other groups he deemed inferior.

Are Jews that physically look white considered white? Are they “generally” ok with being grouped white people?

Not joking (but trying to take some heavy out of this since this is in the entertainment forum) is Jerry Seinfeld ok with being considered white?

Jews can be white,black, whatever just like Christians can be white, black, etc. I don't understand how you don't understand this. Being Jewish is not a race. You can be Jewish AND white. Jewish AND black. Jewish AND Native American. It's not mutually exclusive. You don't put Jewish down as your race on a census. It's a RELIGION that has ethnic and cultural traits. To suggest Judaism is a race gets back to exactly what Hitler was trying to do--assign certain physical traits to Jews to identify their race and separate them from the master race at the time. I'm Jewish and white and I don't know a single Jewish person who looks like me who doesn't identify their race as White/Caucasian.

Therefore, the Holocaust was about race, religion, and culture. Still Whoopi should not have brought that up, it's like slavery, and will be turned around by the agenda folks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^Holocaust was about religion and creating the master aryan race I meant to say.

The Holocaust wasn't about religion at all. It was about finding a scapegoat to the problems Germany was having at the time. Religion had nothing to do with it. Hitler came up with the notion of a master race and declared the Jews inferior to it and there for needed to be exterminated, like vermin. There is no such as a Jewish "race" Jews can be black white brown whatever--and yes Judaism has ethnicity within it, but it's a religion, people. Just like Christianity, Muslim, Buddhism...If you think it's a race you need to go back to history class.

Ok…so Holocaust wasn’t about religion. Now understood. There is no Jewish “race”, but Hitler thought there was and wanted to destroy it along with other groups he deemed inferior.

Are Jews that physically look white considered white? Are they “generally” ok with being grouped white people?

Not joking (but trying to take some heavy out of this since this is in the entertainment forum) is Jerry Seinfeld ok with being considered white?

Jews can be white,black, whatever just like Christians can be white, black, etc. I don't understand how you don't understand this. Being Jewish is not a race. You can be Jewish AND white. Jewish AND black. Jewish AND Native American. It's not mutually exclusive. You don't put Jewish down as your race on a census. It's a RELIGION that has ethnic and cultural traits. To suggest Judaism is a race gets back to exactly what Hitler was trying to do--assign certain physical traits to Jews to identify their race and separate them from the master race at the time. I'm Jewish and white and I don't know a single Jewish person who looks like me who doesn't identify their race as White/Caucasian.

Therefore, the Holocaust was about race, religion, and culture. Still Whoopi should not have brought that up, it's like slavery, and will be turned around by the agenda folks.

You need to go back to history class.

[Anonymous]

AND to further my misunderstanding, if all the these white looking Jews ARE white, why do these other white people seem to hate you so much? Is it just because you’re Jewish? And they hate the Jewish religion? That’s dumb. Southern poster here again. So unless you told me you were Jewish, I wouldn’t know you were Jewish. How are people just hating on non announcing white Jewish people? Or is the hate only happening on clearly identifying Jewish people?

I'm going to break up the answers, and this is just one answer from one Jew.

1) Antisemitism is rooted in European history, and therefore a baked-in component of American culture. Why are people Antisemitic? Well, it kind of depends. Some people hate Jews because we are foreign, and weird, and celebrate holidays that they don't understand. Some hate us because of a perception that we've been unusually successful as an immigrant group compared to our overall numbers. Some don't hate us but just have never really met us and therefore think we're weird and unAmerican in some vague way.

But if you are asking why white supremacists hate Jews? That's actually a bigger question. One, they don't consider us white. Two, they perceive us as the "brains" behind the civil rights movement. Basically, they need to believe that Jews are behind the CRM because otherwise they'd have to believe that Black folks have the ability to self-organize, which would undercut their understanding of white supremacy.

2) You probably wouldn't know that I was Jewish if I didn't tell you, but you'd absolutely know some of my families were on sight. That's because they have stereotypically Ashkenazi features, which most Americans recognize as quintessentially Jewish. But eventually you'd find out, because of the holidays I took off or because I'd mention it. So, it's complicated. I am not going to be attacked on the street for being Jewish because I don't cover my hair, or wear a long skirt, or "look Jewish." But I might be killed in my temple, or held hostage, or subjected to other white supremacist violence based on my faith when gathering with other Jews.

All of this means that I'm white and experience many but not all elements of white privilege.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jewish is a religion, race, and ethnicity.

Whoopi was a fool to go down this rabbit hole

It is 100% not a race.


This seems so interesting to me that this entertainer got called out for something most people don't understand anyway. Look at this thread!

Jews are not a separate race. There is some blood lineage due to endogamy and regional genetics, but this isn't a huge concept now as Jews come from all races and ethnicities. There are black Jews, Sephardic Jews, Asian Jews. There are people in Jewish families who have been Jewish for generations, yet one ancestor might have been Celtic. There are Catholics who, at one time were Jews, etc. The is a religion with cultural and ethnic aspects, but no, it is not a race.

The Holocaust was about "race" because Hitler was trying to establish a master race, and deemed Jews to be inferior in his plan, along with other groups of people- not only the Jews in Europe. Jews were scapegoated for political reasons on Germany at the time and he was able to murder 6 million through propaganda.

If you need a comparison, look at the alt right rhetoric and behavior of the GOP in these last 6 years...there'a been a lot of scapegoating of immigrants, black people, Asians. The same playbook is being used.

There are other holocausts around the world, even now, however this is The Holocaust. 6 million people were murdered with help from people who thought this was a good idea.

Maybe this was a good thing because there's a lot people don't realize and these discussions help to illuminate the larger problem.

Wow just clicked into this thread out of curiosity and this is the first post I read. This is so good. I don't even know exactly what Whoopi said but this is a really good breakdown that, I agree, many people don't understand (including some Jews, actually, anyone can be ignorant if they are misinformed).

Anyway, really good comment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^Holocaust was about religion and creating the master aryan race I meant to say.

The Holocaust wasn't about religion at all. It was about finding a scapegoat to the problems Germany was having at the time. Religion had nothing to do with it. Hitler came up with the notion of a master race and declared the Jews inferior to it and there for needed to be exterminated, like vermin. There is no such as a Jewish "race" Jews can be black white brown whatever--and yes Judaism has ethnicity within it, but it's a religion, people. Just like Christianity, Muslim, Buddhism...If you think it's a race you need to go back to history class.

Ok…so Holocaust wasn’t about religion. Now understood. There is no Jewish “race”, but Hitler thought there was and wanted to destroy it along with other groups he deemed inferior.

Are Jews that physically look white considered white? Are they “generally” ok with being grouped white people?

Not joking (but trying to take some heavy out of this since this is in the entertainment forum) is Jerry Seinfeld ok with being considered white?

Jews can be white,black, whatever just like Christians can be white, black, etc. I don't understand how you don't understand this. Being Jewish is not a race. You can be Jewish AND white. Jewish AND black. Jewish AND Native American. It's not mutually exclusive. You don't put Jewish down as your race on a census. It's a RELIGION that has ethnic and cultural traits. To suggest Judaism is a race gets back to exactly what Hitler was trying to do--assign certain physical traits to Jews to identify their race and separate them from the master race at the time. I'm Jewish and white and I don't know a single Jewish person who looks like me who doesn't identify their race as White/Caucasian.

It is definitely also an ethnicity for some people. And I did have the option and put Jewish on the last census.

[Anonymous]

This might be the first celebrity gaffe that results in people seeking a greater understanding of each other and the world. I know I’m learning a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nazis viewed Jews as a race and used racial “purity” tests. The key point is that the Nazis sought to exterminate the Jewish people. Her comments were weird and cruel.

Made even more “weird” by the history of racial segregation in the US that, no doubt, classified Jews from European backgrounds as “white”, So we have the Nazi’s view of race, the US view of race and “racial purity tests” that predate the Nazis, and we’re struggling to communicate our concerns using today’s standards.

Who’s we? Also, struggling with what concern?

Those of us who are trying to use our own categories: such as race, religion, and ethnicity— to describe and discuss concerns related to identify that may not fit neatly, or even at all, into those categories.

How did you respond to the census question regarding your race?