Mark W.rites

We’re well into Jewish American Heritage Month. In honor of that, I have some (hopefully) enlightening things to share with you. My people are deeply misunderstood. And vehemently hated by many.

While I can’t do much about the hate, I can help you understand us better. I suspect and hope that some of this will surprise you.

I’ll begin with some demographics, continue with some public profiles, and finish with Jewish identity on the matter of ethnicity vs religion.

Demographics

• It’s estimated that 2.5% of Americans are Jewish by religion, while upwards of 6% are of Jewish descent (more on this below)
• Most Jewish Americans are Ashkenazi (my peeps), with the bulk of the rest being Sephardic, Mizrahi, and Italkim
• About 40% of Jewish Americans live in New York and California
• About 80% of religious American Jews accept the science of evolution, making them by far the largest religious group to do so
• Ashkenazi cuisine has become deeply embedded in American cuisine, primarily with kosher-style delicatessens and bagels

Public Figures

There are many recognizable Jewish Americans, and some that may be new to you. Following are some of my faves:

Activists

• Gloria Steinem: journalist, activist, feminist
• Noam Chomsky: professor, public intellectual, activist, linguist
• Emma Goldman: writer, anarchist, revolutionary, activist

In Music

• John Zorn: composer, saxophonist, conductor, producer, arranger
• Phillip Glass: composer, pianist
• Leonard Bernstein: conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian
• Lou Reed: musician, composer
• Bob Dylan: songwriter, musician

In Film

• Coen brothers (Joel/Ethan): filmmakers
• Jonah Hill: actor
• Jason Schwartzman: actor, musician
• Shia LaBeouf: actor, filmmaker
• Scarlett Johansson: actress, singer
• Natalie Portman: actor, activist, NWSL team co-founder

Authors/Intellects

• Isaac Asimov: science fiction writer, biochemistry professor
• Elie Wiesel: writer, professor, activist, Nobel Laureate, Holocaust survivor
• Ayn Rand: writer, philosopher

Scientists/Academics

• Vera Rubin: astronomer, discoverer of dark matter
• Rosalind Franklin: chemist, x-ray crystallographer, discoverer of DNA molecular structures
• Ray Kurzweil: computer scientist, author, inventor
• Frank Heart: computer engineer, co-founder of first ARPANET computer
• Deborah Tannen: gender linguistics professor, author

Jewish Identity

Jews are considered an ethnoreligious group, which means we share common religious and ethnic background. And ethnoreligious groups are a sub-category of ethnicity, where culture/ancestry are shared. So Jewish ethnoreligious ancestry is what defines identity for most Jews, especially in the U.S.

Only 20% of American Jews say that religion is important to them. Of those who are religious, 37% are Reform and 32% do not identify with any particular branch. This shows that an overwhelming number of Jewish Americans believe it is ancestry, not religion, that defines them.

Ethnic identity without religious affiliation may be attributed to three catalysts:

1. Anti-Semitism. Defined as “hostile actions or discriminations” against Jews as a religious or ethnic group. It is called “the longest hatred,” and is said to date back to pre-Christian Greece and Rome. At which time it was noted as primarily ethnic. So you could say predisposition to anti-Semitism is figuratively and even literally in our DNA.
2. Reform Judaism. A focus on ethics and autonomy, over ceremony tied to Jewish law. Notably a broadening of ancestry as identity. Under traditional Jewish religious law (halakhah), people are defined as Jewish if they are born to a Jewish mother. Reform Judaism is less strict, defining people as Jewish if they are born to either a Jewish mother or father. Its origins trace back to 19th-century Germany, when Rabbi Abraham Geiger attempted to “harmonize Jewish tradition with modern sensibilities.” This coincided with European emancipation from centuries of “Jewish disabilities,” which were legal requirements imposed on Jews (public identifiers, ghettos, etc.). With this modernization and strong ties to cultural connections, religion has become only part of the complex Jewish ecosystem.
3. Shaare Tefila Congregation v. Cobb. In 1982, the Shaare Tefila synagogue was vandalized by neo-Nazis. The congregants filed a civil lawsuit, (rightfully) claiming they were targeted as a racial group. So even though they didn’t consider themselves a race, they were viewed and targeted as such. The case was based on post-Civil-War laws protecting non-white people. The premise dated back to anti-Semitism in the Middle Ages, when Jews were said to have had magic powers and were the source of Black Death (bubonic plague).

So while Judaism is the foundation of Jewish people, we have become an ethnoreligious group, sharing ancestry that binds us by blood. Centuries of persecution, ethnic cleansing, and genocide define our history well beyond religion.

I Know Who I Am

For my own identity, I am a Jewish Atheist. Even though most of my family practices Judaism, I simply don’t believe in God. But I’m a Jew. It’s in my blood.

I’ve heard stories from my family about experiences with Nazis and the oppressors that came before them. I even have a photo of the village where my grandfather lived as a boy. It was leveled by Nazis. I look at it sometimes and wonder how I even made it into the human experience.

To suggest that I’m not a part of this bloodline because I’m an Atheist is absurd. We are a people, and some of us happen to carry forward our religious roots. Just not all of us.

Statistics: Pew Research Center’s “Jewish Americans in 2020”

#Inclusivity #Equality #JewishAmericanHeritageMonth #Jewish #Jews #Culture #Heritage

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