Anthony Weiner

Marilyn says:

I agree with “Anonymous”. Jewish is unique because it can be both an ethnic heritage and a religion. Think of what for ages has defined a country: a common language, common cultural customs, marriage within their geographical area that produced physical traits such as blondes in Scandinavian countries and dark haired people in sourthern Europe, similar modes of dress, usually a common religion and probably more I haven’t thought of.

When the Jews were displaced from their original country homeland some 2000 years ago they, in essence, became a traveling country.

I don’t think many people realize this.

No matter where they travelled in the first 1,900 years of dispersion, e.g., Spain, Italy, England, Turkey, Germany, Poland, Russia, the Arab countries and other European/Asian countries, they maintained themselves as if the lived in a defined country. They did not marry outside the group, actively kept religious and dietary practices, passed on customs, dress, and generally maintained all the criteria that we identify ethnic heritage by, and what people living in cities, towns, villages, and farms in an actual country defined by specific geographical boundries are identified by in their heritage.

Through these years of travel the Jews may have assumed the citizenship of the countries they settled in but their ethnic heritage remained Jewish. I am Polish by ethnicity. My husband is Jewish. He does not practice the Jewish religion but he identifies himself, when asked, as Jewish. When asked what is he, he doesn’t answer “nothing” (not of the Jewish religion) or his Nationaliy, American, or his state of residence, Illinois. He understands people are asking about ethnicity and answers “Jewish”.

If my husband wanted to practice Buddism and was asked “what are you?”, would he say Buddist? No, because we don’t knee-jerk-answer a question like that by saying what religion we are, we answer with our ethnicity heritage.

But the Jewish religion is unique because it is commonly associated as being both, and that just reinforces the viewpoint that the Jews maintained a traveling county through their constant adherance to their native customs, religion being the solidifying one through the ages.

On the other hand, I having a Polish heritage could become a member of the Jewish religion. If I was a member, if someone asked me what I am, would I say “Jewish”? No, of course not, I’d say Polish because no one identifies themselves by religion when asked this question. Why should Jewish people be different and identify themselves only by the religion they practice? Or be identified by others only by the religion they practice? It makes no sense when the rest of the world is not identified that way. When a Jewish person answers “Jewish” they should be answering their ethnic heritage, not religion.

I look Polish. I have the high cheekbones, the blue eyes, and you could put me in a group of Warsaw Poles and I’d look like most of them. I live in the U.S. but when asked here what I am I do not say “American”. I say Polish. If I lived in another country my first response might be to identify myself as American but then I would add Polish. I never would add Jewish if that was my religion. That’s not the question people are asking.

I personally don’t believe in any formal religion (the one I was raised in lost me when I was nine and they adamently insisted only
“……… went to heaven”, and as indoctrinated as I was going through the parochical school, I absolutely knew that this could not be true and thus their credibility was gone forever in all things they tried to teach) but if I was forced to choose a religion in my next life I would choose the Jewish religion. After 48 years of being married I have learned much about the principles of this religion and I admire it, especially how maturing children are expected to be responsible. For instance, instead of praying to a God for forgiveness, children go directly to the one they transgressed against, acknowledging their error and thus learning much in this process.

To sum up, here’s an example easy to remember when talking about this subject. If a Chinese couple moved to Russia, they would assume a Russian Nationality but they and their children would always have the Chinese ethnicity if there was no intermarriage. If their children intermarried then you have a mixed heritage of Russian and Chinese in future generations. In the last 100 years there has been more intermarriage among the Jews and thus they are joining the great melting pot of mixed heritage, at least here in America, but for 1900 years they adhered to all aspects that made them one ethnic group. One of my grandchildren is 1/4 Jewish, 1/4 Polish, 1/4 Irish, 1/4 Japanese but this 4 year old boy knows what diverse cultures his heritage is and quickly rattles them off. His favorite holidays are Chanukah, Xmas, and Halloween.

There certainly are mixed opinions on this subject but I think if people can examine this objectively they can see the logic of this “travelling country” and thus it being a clear ethnic idenity.