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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I have this experience-- I am a minority and Jewish (converted-- over 10 years) and my kids are Jewish and biracial (and do not "look" Jewish). We have yet to start Sunday school so we'll see how that goes. I definitely get a second look at synagogues and it does get old. It's interesting what people feel like they can say when they are in a "comfortable" place. [/quote]

I know what you mean, but it kind of is what it is, you know? I am Jewish, not minority, but I have a very non-Jewish first and last name. So from the Jews I constantly get "are you really Jewish? I  mean were you born Jewish?" and from the non-Jews I get "I didn't know you were Jewish!" (And that's sometimes accompanied by a flick of the eyes as they quickly review anything they might have said in the past that could be offensive, which there usually isn't, thankfully.) Of course for me it's not obvious from my appearance so I don't get these responses unless I introduce myself (to Jews at Jewish functions) or it comes up somehow (to non-Jews), but if it's annoying for me, it must be much more so for you.

For what it's worth, there was an AA girl in my Hebrew school class when I was a kid -- I don't know if she was biracial or adopted or if her parents converted, or what. I did once hear a kid tell her she wasn't really Jewish, or didn't look Jewish, and the teacher shut that down fast. No one ever said anything like that again and as far as I could tell she participated as fully as any other kid. (Which wasn't much, since we all hated Hebrew school and resented having to be there, but that's another battle ...)[/quote]

I was at a synagogue (in DC) where the leader of the young adults group had a Spanish last name. He did a reading (Hebrew) at a holiday service. An old lady came up to him after and said "wow, I can't believe someone with a name like that could speak Hebrew so well."  I was standing next to him so I heard it. You want to know how minorities get an "outsider" perspective? This is how. [/quote]

Sometimes you wonder if people have a filter...[/quote]

She meant it as a compliment.  If only shows how sheltered she's been - not that she's an insensitive bigot.[/quote]

But is that like telling a black person that he is articulate?[/quote]

It's like not being PC enough to know that you can only tell white people when they're being especially articulate.[/quote]

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