This is really interesting conjecture, and makes a lot of sense to me. I'd like to see the paper trail you find. It surprised me when an Israeli Jew on LinkedIn dismissed my opinion as that of a "white guy", because all my life I thought of Jews as white people. Probably because the few American-Jewish friends I have had have presented and self-identified as white.
Thanks for reading and replying, Tom. I appreciate it.
What you describe in terms of the self-identity of your Jewish American acquaintances has been my experience, too. Additionally, I’ve read at least one report on the effects of the IHRA definition of anti-semitism (where it tends to suppress speech), and of the people interviewed and polled, most of those with Jewish heritage themselves identified as ‘White’. So, I don’t think that’s terribly uncommon, though it’s clearly a deep and complex conversation within the Jewish community itself.
Famously, Whoopi Goldberg got in hot water for making a casual comment about how she always considered Jewish people to be White. Her comment was seen as taboo, even offensive. At the same time, I read her statement as a legacy from the perspective of Black Americans who couldn’t afford the luxury of trying to figure out exactly who was Jewish and who might be White — better to treat them uniformly so as to not run afoul of social convention. One’s life could literally rest on the lack of distinction.
It’s complex, and I’m appreciating the complexity.
(By the by, the report I mentioned is “Unveiling the Chilly Climate — The Suppression of Speech on Palestine in Canada,” from 2022. It can be found here: https://www.ijvcanada.org/unveilingthechillyclimate/ )
Thanks for replying! I'd like to link to this post in my next post, if that's OK. It's about why we need to carry on in our efforts to stop this genocide.
This is really interesting conjecture, and makes a lot of sense to me. I'd like to see the paper trail you find. It surprised me when an Israeli Jew on LinkedIn dismissed my opinion as that of a "white guy", because all my life I thought of Jews as white people. Probably because the few American-Jewish friends I have had have presented and self-identified as white.
Thanks for reading and replying, Tom. I appreciate it.
What you describe in terms of the self-identity of your Jewish American acquaintances has been my experience, too. Additionally, I’ve read at least one report on the effects of the IHRA definition of anti-semitism (where it tends to suppress speech), and of the people interviewed and polled, most of those with Jewish heritage themselves identified as ‘White’. So, I don’t think that’s terribly uncommon, though it’s clearly a deep and complex conversation within the Jewish community itself.
Famously, Whoopi Goldberg got in hot water for making a casual comment about how she always considered Jewish people to be White. Her comment was seen as taboo, even offensive. At the same time, I read her statement as a legacy from the perspective of Black Americans who couldn’t afford the luxury of trying to figure out exactly who was Jewish and who might be White — better to treat them uniformly so as to not run afoul of social convention. One’s life could literally rest on the lack of distinction.
It’s complex, and I’m appreciating the complexity.
(By the by, the report I mentioned is “Unveiling the Chilly Climate — The Suppression of Speech on Palestine in Canada,” from 2022. It can be found here: https://www.ijvcanada.org/unveilingthechillyclimate/ )
Thanks for making this incredibly important point!
Anti-semitism as it's being touted these days is weaponized against the left, and not the right -- even those who actually are anti-semitic.
And the race issue is compelling as well.
I look forward to your further writings on this topic.
Thanks so much, Diana! I appreciate the feedback, and I’m glad you got something out of what I’ve put forward here.
Thanks for replying! I'd like to link to this post in my next post, if that's OK. It's about why we need to carry on in our efforts to stop this genocide.
Please do! I look forward to reading what you have to say.
I just posted it. Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks.