Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I do not think so. Jews can be Asian, black or of any race as far as I know.
I am ethnically Jewish and Causians. But there are posters than know much more knowlwdgable about Jewish culture and history
That was my impression, too. I have known people who have converted into Judaism, and of course there was Sammy Davis. He certainly was not no longer Black when he became Jewish.
I think the issue is that "race" is not easily definable, and we know that some anthropologists state that race has no biological basis. I get that to a black woman, it looks like two groups of white people, but within people of the same skin color, they may see those who are not like them as a different race. That's what the Nazis did.
It's happened in history among other white people. Italians were most certainly not seen as the same race/not white in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Irish were listed as non-white in the first few U.S. censuses.
It exists within black-skinned people (Hutsis vs. Tutus, anyone?) and within ethnicities in places like China.
I've heard Jews more often describe themselves as a tribe rather than a race.
You may have read in the news about the Whoopi Goldberg suspension because she said Jewish is not a race.
I don't care about Whoopi. She's not my question.
Is Jewish a race?
Maybe we have some posters who are Jewish who could explain this to me.
Whoopi said that the Holocaust was not about race which was the problem since Hitler was all about the superiority of the Aryan race as he defined it. The Holocaust was the systematic extermination of what Hitler considered inferior races. It was more of a misunderstanding about the racial motivation of the Holocaust.
Whoopi said that the Holocaust was not about race which was the problem since Hitler was all about the superiority of the Aryan race as he defined it. The Holocaust was the systematic extermination of what Hitler considered inferior races. It was more of a misunderstanding about the racial motivation of the Holocaust.
Okay. That makes sense.
I finally found this from National Geographic: “Race” is usually associated with biology and linked with physical characteristics such as skin color or hair texture. “Ethnicity” is linked with cultural expression and identification. However, both are social constructs used to categorize and characterize seemingly distinct populations."
I guess I need to see if I can find the video. But to me after just hearing about the situation, it would seem that Whoopi was technically correct -- that it wasn't about "race" but "ethnicity". But again, I'm going to look for the video.
"Jewish" can be either a racial or religious identifier, or both, or neither. Well, maybe not neither. It's whichever serves the interest of the one doing the identifying.
You ask a fine question but I believe that he answer is more complex than it seems it would be.
First, in current understanding, Judaism has a strong racial (that is, genetic) component -- if you have a Jewish mother, you are Jewish by birth. But Judaism also has other aspects, especially as it allows for conversion IN to the religion (you cannot convert into a race). So to answer simply, "yes and no."
The Nazis saw themselves as a race distinct from Jews so for them, the "no" part was missing. They saw Judaism as a race and not part of theirs.
Next, "race" is a complicated term that has been used at times by anthropologists to discuss people from a certain area, or who share physical characteristics, but that use (which is easy and obvious when we look at skin color) has become unpopular. Race now, has to do with a shared ethnicity or heritage (or other group characteristic). So racial identity might have nothing to do with the conventional, physical "race" concept. Thus, the word "racism" now refers to marginalizing any sub-group.
So by the Nazi's vision of the world, by the application of specific elements of "race" to Judaism, and by the more expansive current use of "race" Jews victimized can certainly be said to be the victims of racism.
You ask a fine question but I believe that he answer is more complex than it seems it would be.
First, in current understanding, Judaism has a strong racial (that is, genetic) component -- if you have a Jewish mother, you are Jewish by birth. But Judaism also has other aspects, especially as it allows for conversion IN to the religion (you cannot convert into a race). So to answer simply, "yes and no."
The Nazis saw themselves as a race distinct from Jews so for them, the "no" part was missing. They saw Judaism as a race and not part of theirs.
Next, "race" is a complicated term that has been used at times by anthropologists to discuss people from a certain area, or who share physical characteristics, but that use (which is easy and obvious when we look at skin color) has become unpopular. Race now, has to do with a shared ethnicity or heritage (or other group characteristic). So racial identity might have nothing to do with the conventional, physical "race" concept. Thus, the word "racism" now refers to marginalizing any sub-group.
So by the Nazi's vision of the world, by the application of specific elements of "race" to Judaism, and by the more expansive current use of "race" Jews victimized can certainly be said to be the victims of racism.
I don't agree with what I bolded at all. We don't have a 'gay race'. We don't have a 'transgender race'.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
