TURNS OUT THEY ARE JEWISH
What percentage of Americans do you think are Jewish? Would you be surprised to learned it’s less than 2%? The number of Jewish people in the world is actually less than. .02%. Century after century nations kill us off, perform genocide, but somehow a handful of us endure. I’m proud of all the contributions Jews have made to the world. Though only 2% of the Americans, their impact in science, literature, social justice, music, all the performing arts far outweighs their tiny portion of the populace. (More than a third of Nobel prize winners are Jewish. And despite being a miniscule part of the American population, more than 2/3s of the white people who joined the Freedom Riders were Jewish.) You can look around and see how many people are Jewish, but I’m here to let you know there are even more than you’d ever suspect.
THEY’RE A JEW? WHO KNEW?
As a child, growing up Jewish had nothing to do with religion. Each December we had a nice little Christmas tree and on Easter I got chocolate bunnies just like my classmates. All I knew about being Jewish was that somehow it made us different from other people. Different enough to make people not like us, including people who didn’t even know us. Different enough when my parents were young members of my parents’ family had been slaughtered just for being who they were. Who my parents were. Who I was. But I also knew that this difference was something to be proud of. I always had the feeling that while this difference estranged me from some people I didn’t know, it also gave me a connection to some people I didn’t know.
Being a white Christian is the American default. While there’s definitely privilege attached to being the presumptive norm, there can be another kind of pride in being part of a smaller “out” group. My father may not have ever celebrated Yom Kippur, but whenever we watched TV he never failed to point out anyone who was Jewish. Not the obvious ones (#BarbraStreisand) but people like William Shatner, Rod Serling, Tina Louise, and Michael Landon were Jewish. It’s hard to express how excited I was the day I learned Ginger Grant and “Little Joe” were Jewish! Dad was especially excited to point out people who’d changed their names, like Lorne Greene on Bonanza (“Larry Greenberg!”) or Bob Dylan (“If you meet him say hello to Mr. Zimmerman.”) So, while I may have been born to be on the outs, and possibly in danger, with most of America, there was also this idea that somehow I was in some way importantly, connected to Neil Diamond and Gloria Steinem. A huge old movie buff, I remember how thrilled I was whenever I discovered Lauren Bacall or John Garfield was “just like me”. Even today, as a secular Jew I still get that same thrill when I hear Daniel Day-Lewis or Bruno Mars is part Jewish.
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I started this site for 2 reasons:
1) My husband has converted to Judaism, and he loves all the scholarship, rituals and holidays that don’t interest me much. he doesn’t argue, isn’t outraged by social injustice, and isn’t as afraid of the world’s growing antisemitism the way I am. But like my dad, it’s impossible for me not to point out Jewish notables who pop up on TV or in conversation. (“Jeff, take science fiction – you got your Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Harlan Ellison, Gene Roddenberry, and throw in Captain Kirk and Spock while you’re at it!”)
2) It’s maddening to see how limited people’s idea of Jewish people is. It’s the last remaining stereotype no one finds troubling to express. Whether they’re openly expressing surprise about a Jew’s athletic ability or appearance (“Really? But she’s so pretty…”) no one seems reluctant to voice this seemingly benign form of anti-Semitism. I have a good friend who, upon hearing that P!nk was Jewish, said, “Really? She doesn’t seem Jewish.” Um, what would she need to do or look like to “seem” Jewish?
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I STARTED THIS SITE FOR 2 REASONS:
THERE ARE ALL KINDS OF Jews, AND THEY'VE MADE LASTING CONTRIBUTIONS TO OUR CULTURE
Look, there are all kinds of Jews. I still continue to be amazed at how many parts of our culture, from Barbie dolls to comic books to blue jeans, have Jewish roots. Since I still get that little frisson of excited surprise when I find out someone was Jewish (Marcel Marceau) or that urge to share that yes, someone like David Beckham can be Jewish, I thought I’d share my intel with the world. For gentiles, I hope this site might broaden their conscious or subconscious notions about the Jewish people. And for Jews, I hope you occasionally get that little naches I described when you unearth a “new Jew”!
In the Jewish tradition, if your mother was Jewish, you are considered Jewish. And no distinction is to be made from between converts are those “born Jewish”. I’ve followed that guideline here, but also included some individuals whose fathers were Jewish. And because I felt like it. And because initially Jews were patrilineal, not matrilineal. (That changed because in pogroms and massacres Jewish women were so often raped there was no way to be certain who a child’s father was.)
