Is Judaism really a race?

[Rebecca]

I'm fifteen and in Biology we're learning about genetics. We're learning about mutations and, according to the curriculum, one is more common among JEWS. I'm Jewish, so this made me very uncomfortable, and a little defensive. My parents were converts.

But I was wondering. Is it really a race? Am I getting defensive for nothing? Also, if I'm NOT wrong, would it be something I'm allowed to complain about?

 

[Arch]

There is a Jewish RACE, or ethnic group. These are the descendants of Jacob.

There is a Jewish RELIGION, called "Judaism", to which one can convert. Most members of the religion are also members of the race, but not all.

Certain genetic illnesses, such as Tay–Sachs disease, are FAR more common among people of the Jewish race.

 

[Scooterpoopatlarge]

No, it's an ethnicity.

Nothing to be defensive about. There are several genetic anamolies that are almost unique to Jewish people. I call them "anamolies" because they have minimal impact on physiology.

(Some people try to argue that Judaism can't be a race or ethnicity because you can convert to the religion. The truth is there are very few converts, and those who do convert often end up marrying an ethnic Jew.)

 

[EddieJ1]

A Christian is someone who follows Christianity.

A ______ is someone who follows Judaism.

Fill in the blank. You can't. There is no word for someone who follows the religion of Judaism

Often, the term "observant Jew" will substitute for the nonexistent word.

Judaism is absolutely NOT a race. It is ONLY a religion.

Jewishness is almost an ethnicity, in practical terms, but not by definition. As another has said, it is like being a member of a tribe -- or a family.

 

[John“Redleg”]

Judaism is a religion it's not a race for Jews they are an ethnicity a branch of Caucasians. Your family converted to Judaism that doesn't make you a Jew or change your race it simply means you believe their religious beliefs. .

I would question this teachers term of mutation as your being taught genetics her/his interpretation genetic mutations may be question or even called fraudulent teaching.

 

[bananat]

Judaism is strictly a religion.

"Jew" or "Jewish" can refer to the race or the religion. Perhaps we should revive "Hebrew" to refer to the race.

 

[DarksideJohnny]

They were God's chosen people, therefore defined by distinguishable characteristics.

 

[jackie]

GOD spent 14 hundred years teaching the children of Israel how to be Jewish. Their blood line was Hebrew.

 

[DreBearaPediatrician]

judaism is a religion jewish is a religion or ethnic group

 

[MaurogIV]

Judaism is a religion. Jews are an ethnicity.

Until very recent times they were closely enough entwined to consider them almost one and the same. Think of Jews as a tribe because that's what they have been for a long, long time - you can be born into a tribe, you can be accepted into a tribe, and in some cases you can be expelled from a tribe.

Since conversions to and fro were not common enough to offset genetics, Jews on the whole have plenty of genetic coherence. This doesn't refer to very recent converts, of course.

 

[polskajason]

No. You are a perfect example of why Judaism can't be a race, as the child of converts.

However, there are specific ethnic groups within Judaism. Ashkenazim, for example, were historically a relatively isolated ethnic group and have a propensity towards Tay-Sachs and a few other diseases.

 

[DreBearaPediatrician]

judaism is a religion jewish is a religion or ethnic group

 

[Julz]

Here's the thing about that. Some people think it's "racist" to view the Jews as a race, (notice the double speak? If Jews aren't a race, how can it be racist?).

However, ome ultra orthodox Jews DO view Jews as a race, and in Israel, immigration law allows any person who was born to a Jewish mother as a citizen of Israel if they are a believer or an atheist.

The issue of race or religion when it comes to the Jews is a difficult question, because unlike Christians, where there are Christians in Germany and Italy, yet those countries contain specifically Germans and Italians, Jews are not only everywhere in the world, but also share similar genetic traits despite living in different nationalities. You mention your parents were converts, so this probably does not apply to you.

I would say that Judaism is certainly a religion and that is what gives Jews their nationality, however, when you consider that this nationality has existed for thousands of years, and that historically Jews have intermarried with other Jews, it does create a type of selective breeding. This is perhaps why certain diseases are prevalent to Jewish people.

The other thing that complicates the issue is the Ashkenazi Jews who were historically Khazars who converted to Judaism in the 7th century AD. While they do not share the genetics of the Hebrew Semetic people, they are a definite race. In fact, most Jews alive today are Ashkenazi, usually the number is given as 90%. And when you get a DNA test to see if you are Jewish, the main two branches are Sephardic and Ashkenazi, Sephardic being the older, but smaller class of Jews.

So while people will probably call you an anti-semite for suggesting that the Jews are a race (even if you are Jewish), the fact remains that there are some indications of similar genetic traits. With that said, I believe everyone is an individual first, so it is really a moot point. I regard Jews as a religion, nationality, and race, but that does not mean I think they are better or worse than say, Spaniards or English.

 

[Nightwind]

Race is an invented concept. Genetically speaking, two white people can be just as different from one another as a white person and a black person. We defined races according to a very few, select traits such as skin color.

However, being Jewish is an ethnicity. In general, Jews are more related to one another than they are to non-Jews, just as I am more related, overall, to Northern Europeans than to Italians or Asians or Africans.

Populations have traits that are more or less common within them. Being of African decent makes you much more likely to develop sickle-cell anemia, for example. Multiple sclerosis is very rare in Latino populations (I think it's MS, it might have been something like Parkinsons...I had a co-worker who had to be aware of family genetics).

Asians tend to be shorter than Europeans. Certain groups of Africans tend to be taller than Europeans.

These things don't make a group inferior or superior. They're just how genetics sort themselves out.

If your parents are both converts and don't have a Jewish background, then genetic traits associated with the Jewish population are not relevant to you.

All changes to genetic code are mutations, good and bad. "Mutation" is not a judgement term.

 

[Astaroth]

It's an ethnic identity you dolt- things like Tay Sachs are common mutations among certain orthodox groups. There's also Askenazi, Mizrahi, and Sephardi within the Jewish ethnic identity.