Are jewish people a race strictly speaking

[mikhail]

I mean no offence to anyone by this thread.

However i have always wondered because ive often heard people describe themselves as being jewish but not religious.

Is there such thing as jewish DNA if you like.?

 

[Kandahar]

There's really no such thing as ANY race, as we're all pretty much the same genetically. Race is a very fluid concept that is used to group people together who live near one another and have similar cultures.

 

[Real Korimyr #9]

There is such a thing as Jewish heritage, regardless of religious affiliation. As far as I can tell, according to the Jews, converting religion or refusing to practice religion does not detract from a person's inherent Jewishness, as long as they were born to a Jewish mother.

And, of course, people who dislike Jews have their own theories as to what qualifies a person for Jewishness.

 

[CaptainCourtesy]

Jewishness is a religion and an ethnicity. Jewishness is not a race. Race is a genetic distinction, and refers to people with shared ancestry and shared genetic traits. You can't change your race; it's in your DNA.

Link:

Judaism 101: What Is Judaism?

 

[Kandahar]

Race is a genetic distinction, and refers to people with shared ancestry and shared genetic traits. You can't change your race; it's in your DNA.

Not exactly... Our DNA is all pretty much the same, save for superficial trait differences like how dark our skin is, what shape our eyes are, etc.

What physical traits define, say, a Native American as opposed to a Caucasian? Do ALL Native Americans have these traits? Do ANY Caucasians have these traits?

Physical/genetic differences WITHIN a race are much greater than differences BETWEEN races. That's why "race" is a social construct that has little to do with DNA.

 

[1069]

Well, don't Jews come in all different flavors, like Ashkenazi (white-looking), Sephardi (olive/ mediterranean-looking), Bukharian, and a couple of others that I can't remember?
Aren't there even some black-looking Jews?

 

[CaptainCourtesy]

Not exactly... Our DNA is all pretty much the same, save for superficial trait differences like how dark our skin is, what shape our eyes are, etc.

What physical traits define, say, a Native American as opposed to a Caucasian? Do ALL Native Americans have these traits? Do ANY Caucasians have these traits?

Physical/genetic differences WITHIN a race are much greater than differences BETWEEN races. That's why "race" is a social construct that has little to do with DNA.

This is a more sociological/anthropological stance. Biologically, our DNA is pretty similar to that of chimps. The differences are minor and therefore the interracial differences are even more minute. Rosenberg's study showed some of the genetic differences between peoples that mirror long perceived racial notions. However, because of the high degree of mixing, many of these genetic differences have lessened. The debate about race continues in scientific circles, both in the social and the physical sciences.

 

[CaptainCourtesy]

Well, don't Jews come in all different flavors, like Ashkenazi (white-looking), Sephardi (olive/ mediterranean-looking), Bukharian, and a couple of others that I can't remember?
Aren't there even some black-looking Jews?

Good example of why Jews are not a race. One can convert to being Jewish, regardless of their biological makeup.

 

[Tashah]

Aren't there even some black-looking Jews?

The Falasha Mura of Ethiopia are Jewish and may be the descendants of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. They were a persecuted people in the latter stages of the 20th century, as Ethiopia prohibited the practice of Judaism and the teaching of Hebrew.

In 1985 and again in 1991 with the assistance of the US government, Israel airlifted thousands of Falasha Jews from Ethiopia to Eretz Yisrael. Under pressure from Israel in 2004, Ethiopia granted the remaining 18,000 Falasha permission to freely emigrate to Israel. There are now approximately 80,000 Jewish people from Ethiopia living in Israel.

The Falasha immigrants suffered discrimination in Israel during the early years. In the Israel of today however, the Falasha are no longer viewed as a curiosity, but as a familiar and integral part of Israel's ethnic mosaic.

 

[Gardener]

One can convert to being Jewish, regardless of their biological makeup.

Seeming as I have never had somebody ring my doorbell and greet me with a "Have you received the word of Judaism?", I wonder, though, how often this happens, exactly? I have had countless Jewish friends over the years, and not a single one has ever so much as hinted that I should convert, and this despite our friendships. Do you have any figures on how many actually do convert toJudaism? I can't think it would be at all signifigant numbers wise.

I would think that out of all religions, Judaism is one of the least likely to be made up of converts, and especially as those who wish to promote a certain agenda focus only on the religious rather than ethnic, I would think it helpfull to debunk the notion that signifigant numbers convert to Judaism.

I may be assuming much here,but if you are Jewish by birth, Tashah and Shayah are Jewish by birth, Jacob is Jewish by Birth and , say, 99.97% of the rest of the word Jewry are Jewish by birth, then your arguments would be strengthened considerably in terms of ethnicity.

 

[1069]

Seeming as I have never had somebody ring my doorbell and greet me with a "Have you received the word of Judaism?", I wonder, though, how often this happens, exactly?

My ex-husband married a Jewish woman, and converted.
I have a coworker who is engaged to a Jewish guy, and is also planning to convert.
Those are the only two instances I know of.
Like Catholicism, though, I don't think Judaism is a very "evangelical" religion.
It's not easy to convert.