Is there such thing as a Black Jew (reject, Israel)
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Not true at all. Judaism is strictly a religion, it is not an "ethnicity" nor a race nor a nationality. Perhaps back in Third Century BCE it could be considered thus, but the reality of the Twenty-First Century CE is that Judaism is a religion, and entirely a religion only.
Any assertion that a white Jewish person of Ashkenazi descent is more fully or "authentically" Jewish than a Sephardi Jew or a Mizrahi Jew or Falasha Jews or Romaniot Jews or Cochin Jews, etc., etc., is entirely bogus. All are Jews and 100% Jewish.
I will state clearly that every major Jewish organization in the world have made statements to support my assertion. Jews do not have have single blood type or complexion or hair texture or eye color or language or typical stature or any physical or psychological "marker" that can distinguish them as a group separate from other ethnicities or nationalities of human beings.
Having said that I do recognize that a Jew can convert to another religion or drop religion entirely ... is that person still a Jew? Some would argue "yes", but in my view a better description would be "formally Jewish" or "ex-Jewish" or "of Jewish descent." I reject the unscientific and man-made construct that a Jew is still a Jew no matter what. If a 6 month old baby born of Jewish parents is adopted by Tibetan Buddhists and grows up to be a Buddhist and becomes a life long monk in a Buddhist monastery, it would arrogant to claim that person is a Jew.
If you are Jewish you are always Jewish. It is inherited. But this has been discussed many time on this thread. If you are Jewish and you choose another religion you are still Jewish.
It is not arrogant. It is how Judaism is passed on. You are born Jewish or you convert.
You can reject this construct of Jewishness but it is a fact of my religion. My daughters children will be born Jewish.
Some Jews also consider the religion inherited, not completely accepting those who have converted; it could then be possible that, according to some, no "true" black Jews have ever existed.
Absolutely not true.
If someone has an Orthodox conversion, there is absolutely no question that, regardless of skin color or any other consideration, that person is definitely accepted as a Jew.
Not true at all. Judaism is strictly a religion, it is not an "ethnicity" nor a race nor a nationality.
The problem is one more of semantics than actual facts.
The word Jew is used for both the ethnicity and the religion. I've suggested that there should be two words: Jew for the ethnicity and Hebrew for the religion (my Army dog tags said Hebrew).
As already posted, a recent study shows that Jews from Europe and the Middle East share the same genetic ancestry (with a little Italian DNA thrown in because, prior to Christianity, many Romans converted to Judaism), and that they're from the Mideast, which is part of West Asia (West Orient):
My great great grandfather (Mr. DaCosta) was a Sephardic Jew from Portugal who was whisked away from his native land by a British ship in the early 1800s and taken to the Caribbean. A few generations later my mother was born from his line and my mom is a very dark woman and she was born to a man (Mr. DaCosta's grandson) who looked like this guy:
A few generations later my mother was born from his line and my mom is a very dark woman and she was born to a man (Mr. DaCosta's grandson) who looked like this guy ...
If you Googled it, you would have seen that Yiddishe punim = Jewish face.
Ohhh....Yeah, I was being lazy. Yup, my late grandpa had his features. Guess I am a "black" Jew via a Sephardic line on my maternal side. Interestingly enough, on my father's side, there is some mystery surrounding my great great grandmother (my father's mother's grandmother). Her name was Mary DeJesus, also from Portugal (perhaps Madeira). She ended up on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts (where my dad was born) and there are some flirting rumors that she was also Jewish. I can't verify this as I have no concrete information on her family.
If someone has an Orthodox conversion, there is absolutely no question that, regardless of skin color or any other consideration, that person is definitely accepted as a Jew.
When you go through the rituals of conversion be it orthodox, reform, conservative you are a Jew. But the orthodox don't view any person as a Jew who converted in with another movement. And in the orthodox you have those who even question conversions within orthodoxy.
... in the orthodox you have those who even question conversions within orthodoxy.
They question those who receive an Orthodox conversion and then do not live as Orthodox Jews (desecrating Shabbat, violating the kosher dietary laws, etc., etc.).
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