[Gregg S.]

1) Jewish identity, according to Nazi law, was based on blood. They had “Councils of Racial Purity” that investigated “dubious” claims of Aryanism. What other respondents have left out is that the Nazis used baptismal records to research Jewish ancestry. There was actually quite a large industry that arose to assist in “proving” racial purity.

2) Jews could not just hide or not wear the star, because their birth records indicated their religion/ethnicity. What most Americans don’t understand is that religion and ethnicity in Europe has always been corporeal rather than individual. For example, to this day in Germany, people pay a “religion” tax, which goes to the state. The tax is then proportionately divided among the country’s churches according to the number of adherents to each “confession.” Religion is thus considered a legitimate question in European censuses.

3. It’s not so simple that Jewishness is simply a religion. Ashkenazic Jews, which is what most American Jews are, are caucasian and white. Many – almost half – are ligh- skinned and have blue, gray or green eyes and light brown/blond hair. But just because they are not a distinct race does not mean they are not a distinct nationality. Germans, Frenchmen, Englishmen and Irishmen are all white and of the same race, but they are different from each other to the extent that what is culturally distinctive about each group is a result of language, religion, geographical situation – in other words, unique shared experiences. More than 90 percent of the Jews in America come from central and eastern Europe, where they were culturally segregated for centuries, where they spoke a distinct language (Yiddish), where they practiced a distinct religion and where they evolved a separate culture. As a result, you have many Jews who are not religious but who, nevertheless, consider themselves Jewish.

With the establishment of Israel and the supplanting of a Jewish identity with an Israeli one, and with the hitherto unimaginable acceptance of Jews in the West since 1945, it’s likely that a distinct Jewish culture that is recognizably Jewish-American and epitomized and exaggerated by such personalities as the Marx Brothers, Jack Benny, Eddie Cantor, Al Jolson, the Three Stooges and, more recently, Jerry Seinfeld, Woody Allen, Steven Spielberg and many more – it’s likely this identity will disappear and Judaism will once again become a religion only.

User Detail :  

Name : Gregg S., Gender : M, Religion : Jewish, City : Boston, State : MA, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Gregg S.]

Just as there are Catholic Christians and Lutherans and Baptists, there are Orthodox Jews, Reform Jews, Conservative Jews, Reconstructionist Jews and others. Just as Mormons consider themselves Christians, and some other Christians do not consider Mormons of their faith, there are disagreements among Jews regarding the elements of “Jewishness.” In the United States, the vast majority of Jews are Reform and Conservative, and converts are welcome. Even under Orthodoxy, converts are welcomed, but the requirements for conversion are more stringent.

It is true that Judaism has never been a proselytizing faith, and has never sought converts, but this doesn’t mean Judaism rejects converts. In fact, all branches now agree that anyone who wishes to become Jewish, and is sincere about it, should be welcomed.

As far as Israel is concerned, most Israelis are secular, but because of the political situation there, the interior ministry is in the hands of an ultra-orthodox party. They have been known to abuse their power and have made it difficult for political opponents and secular Jews. However, there is no such thing as “degrees” of Jewishness, and anyone can hold office in Israel, including non-Jews and secular Jews (the prime minister is non-religious, and there are Arab members of Parliament, including Azmi Bishara, who is running for Prime Minister).

User Detail :  

Name : Gregg S., Gender : M, Religion : Jewish, City : Boston, State : MA, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

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