Counting Jews / The making of a minority
JVL Introduction
Are Jews an ethnic minority?
In this article from Novara Media last year, reposted now by The Pickle, Joseph Finlay takes a step back in history, explaining why British Jews have historically eschewed being assigned an ethnic identify.
So if secular Jews don’t get counted in the census, it has been a choice broadly endorsed. Until now.
The Board of Deputies, historically opposed to the idea, has had a change of heart, protesting about the undercounting of Jews in the 2021 census.
Finlay argues that: “Until very recently, it made no sense for Jews to claim ethnic minority status; to do so would have constituted a social demotion. The recent reversal seems to be based on a questionable belief that the opposite is now the case.”
Thanks to Novara Media and Vashti for permission to repost.
This article was originally published by the Pickle on Thu 1 Dec 2022. Read the original here.
Counting Jews / The making of a minority
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Please take these numbers as indicative
In the UK religious groups get help with security costs
I think when I read the article the Jewish Community gets roughly 75% of this pot of money, despite being a tiny minority of the minority groups who face attack
Jews don’t count
Methinks not
If like lying apartheid supporting Starmer I don’t suppose they even count left wing Jews! Starmer considers them to be the wrong kind of Jews!
Jews are a religion not a race — Zionism like the Nazis focuses on blood ( and violence) in their attempt to create a Jewish caliphate on stolen land.
………..perhaps you need to ask the IHRA for a definition of what constitiutes a Jew?
Surely there is such a thing as ‘cultural Jewishness’? Just as there are many people who would not consider themselves ‘Christian’ but for whom christian religious festivals and customs are an important part of their lives, I get the impression that there will be Jews for whom Jewish religious festivals are a part of their lives, although they do not go to a synagogue.
I am, of course, speculating from the outside, but as a person of Jewish heritage and deep religious feeling, I try to follow a synagogue online (there is no real-world synagogue anywhere nearby) as I feel deeply out of place in any other religion, but then I stumble over cultural-religious traditions that I don’t understand and can’t make sense of – and among those I suspect there would be traditions which even non-religious household will still follow.
Elspeth – you are right. Many of us are ‘cultural’ Jews.
We may or may not observe some of the religious traditions – because they are fun. For example, the grant-giving British Shalom-Salaam Trust (which supports projects across Israel/Palestine/Golan) is run entirely by secular Jews and runs an annual Zoom Seder Night to celebrate Pesach (Passover), in conjunction with JVL, and remember refugees everywhere, and especially those who are Palestinian. Personally, I try to light Chanukah candles, because they remind me of childhood (when an aunt gave me a Chanukiah – a candelabra) to try to keep me in the faith. The faith bit didn’t work, but the tradition has stuck and reminds me of that aunt.
But cultural goes much wider. It includes language – I grew up absorbing hundreds of Yiddish words which my parents sprinkled through their conversation. Also music, especially klezmer, food (Ashkenazi from Eastern Europe), literature, humour, and innumerable references and understandings. That’s why being Jewish may involve religion, but it may not, and I do object to being excluded from census and diversity questionnaires because my Jewishness is cultural – I am happy to say it derives from my ‘ethnic origin’ – not religious.
No one seems to be worried about giving the state a convenient source to compile a list of all ethically or religious Jewish citizens and residents. Why make it easy for the next fascist regime, which may not be that far away?
I don’t see any problem with us identifying as an ethnic group and am one of those who has put Jewish down as my ethnicity. It’s not a promotion or demotion, just a matter of fact.
The whole question of how to define Jews is complicated and controversial, so I’ve developed a handy rule of thumb to help out. There are three elements of Jewishness: ethnicity, religion and culture – perm any two from three and you’re in! Personally, I was brought up in a left-wing secular household, but had a lot of contact with religious grandparents, so I’ve got the ethnicity and the culture, but not the religion. And I’m definitely Jewish!
Well said Mike Scott, you’ve pretty well nailed it in a concise fashion. I’m disappointed that an earlier comment of mine agreeing with the the nuanced nature of Jewish identity was not published, possibly because it pointed out the opportunist overt or covert antisemitism demonstrated by some earlier posters. If so I don’t understand why JVL would want to provide a forum for such views.
[JVL ed – we don’t provide, and have never provided, a forum for such views – whether opportunist or covert…]