Someone born not a Jew, but desires to be a Jew, becomes a Jew when he or she fully embraces the history, language, and fate of the Jewish people as his or her own and when a legitimate Jewish community, whether religious or secular or somewhere in between, accepts him or her as a Jew, as one of their own. This is the historical de facto standard among the Jewish people.
This understanding of who is a Jew has been the tradition of the Jewish people well before Jews had even formed a national ethno-religious tradition. Hence, why Jews come in all shapes and colors in this world of ours! It’s all about adding members to the tribe – ha’amím/the People – as family members, as participants in Jewish food rituals, and as productive members of the tribe, the People-hood. In doing so, the Jewish people gain diversity and a greater chance of survival as a unique and thriving ethno-religious culture.
“Anthropologists Monica Janowski, who conducted fieldwork in Malaysia, asserts that “sex merely initiates a person.” It is the ongoing feeding of a person throughout life that “is vital in the production of a human being.” Relatedness must be “built up through appropriate feeding throughout life.”[17]
Similarly, Janet Carsten, who also conducted fieldwork on Malaysia, argues that “It is through living and consuming together in houses that people become complete persons – that is, kin.” “Personhood, relatedness, and feeding,” she argues, “are intimately connected.”[18]” – The Substance of Kinship: How Ruth the Moabite Became a Daughter in Judah
(https://www.thetorah.com/article/the-substance-of-kinship-how-ruth-the-moabite-became-a-daughter-in-judah)
The laws and myths of Torah back up this understanding of “kinship.” The story of Cain says he found a home among the other peoples of the continent, non-Levantines, and married into his family from them. The myth of Exodus says that other non-Hebrew people joined and became part of the Moses clan as left Egypt. The story of Ruth clearly lays out what it takes to be a Jew in this world, to be accepted into the family of Jews. And so this process continues in this modern world of Jews today.
There are Jews by birth, and this birthright cannot be taken away. But, if you leave the tribe or are removed from the tribe, you lose the kinship to your People. Similarly, there are Jews not by birth among the People, who have been accepted into the communities of Jewish families. Some our religious “converts” and others are “adopted” into the People. All are expected to add their uniqueness to the history and well-being of our ethno-religious culture. And, hopefully, children, of course, to pass down the traditions and Jewish ways of life. Adopted and religiously converted Jews are considered as having been re-born as Jews by birth.
In Western Jewish communities of Europe and North America, we have phenomenon occuring that is quite disturbing, for it violates historic Jewish tradition on who is a Jew. There is an erasure of Jews of Color in European nations, Canada, and the United States, because the majority of Jews in these nations are Ashkenazi in decent. Which means, Jews of these families now look like the white populous that they had at one time immigrated into, and behave in subtle and privileged racist ways, accordingly.
As demonstrated above, Jews are not “white” – not historically and not presently. And it is a shame that this impression of “white”ness has taken root in Western Jewish communities, leading to suspicions of the authenticity of Jews of color in Western nations and, by extension, in the world. This must stop!
“Reading the article, I winced, reflecting on my own continual learning as a scholar of Jews and race. In both content and context, the article typified the very problems it seeks to redress: the erasure of Jews of color in American Jewish life.” – Marc L. Dollinger, To Accurately Count Jews of Color, We Need to Radically Change Our Assumptions about Jews
(https://www.jta.org/2020/05/20/opinion/to-accurately-count-jews-of-color-we-need-to-radically-change-our-assumptions-about-jews)
Jews are members of an ethno-religious family-based community. Jews come in all colors, shapes, and “races.” Not all Jews are religious, but many are observant to varying degrees. We have a history and literature that dates back into the B.C. era of the Middle East. The majority of modern Israel’s citizenry is comprised of Arab Jews. But, in the European-American West all Jews are assumed to be white. But, again, there are Arab, Asian, Ethiopian, and black Jews here, too! At least 11% of the U.S. Jewish population are Jews of color. They must be embraced, recognized, and uplifted as vital members of the tribe, the Jewish people!
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