"Ask A Jew" Wednesday

[u/AutoModerator]

It's everyone's favorite day of the week, "Ask A (Anti-Zionist) Jew" Wednesday! Ask whatever you want to know, within the sub rules, notably that this is not a debate sub and do not import drama from other subreddits. That aside, have fun! We love to dialogue with our non-Jewish siblings.

[u/GreenIguanaGaming]

Hi guys! I'm an Arab Muslim. Always enjoy passing by here.

My question relates to this video.

Quick intro: you can skip to the question part if it's TLDR.

So I think we all saw the Lucas Gage video where he uses a gladius to "make his ancestors proud" while tearing up the Israeli flag. He very quickly starts antisemitic tropes and blames everything on "The Jews" even mentions 9/11 🤦‍♂️ - - I'm atleast pleased to say that most of the comments under that video were calling it out.

Someone combined that video with one from Shahid Bolsen, he's an American Muslim revert who has interesting insights on politics and Islam.

Here's the question

On the topic of Antizionism being conflated with antisemitism.

Shahid speaks about the identity of Jewishness.

Classically, he says, in Islam and rabbinically, "a Jew" is one who follows and participates in Judaism. That the identity should stop there but it doesn't. He adds that the Historian Shlomo Sand says that non-religious Jews identify strongly as Jewish in one or more of 3 ways:

1. By "Jewish blood" (which is more or less an antisemitic concept according to Sand)

2. By the collective trauma of the Holocaust.

3. The State of Israel. Which presents them with a place to go to be safe.

Shahid adds that this means that the non-religious Jewish identity is a construct forced upon them by Antisemites.

A Jewish person who does not believe or follow Judaism is still Jewish because non-Jews who hate Jews insist that they are Jews and won't allow them to be anything else.

I started to understand Jewishness as an Ethno-religious identity but I'd like to know how accurate Shahid's conclusion is to understand the concept further.

I am aware of the origins of JudenHass and Antisemitism which caused a shift.

Hate towards the people of the Jewish faith became a racist association between a language and race which made hate against Jewish people unavoidable. Even if a Jewish person became Christian, they'd still be considered Jewish.

Any opinions, thoughts or insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys.

Edit: clarification

[u/specialistsets → u/GreenIguanaGaming]

By "Jewish blood" (which is more or less an antisemitic concept)

This is definitely not an antisemitic concept. Jews have always used direct descent (either matrilineal or patrilineal, depending on the time period and denomination) as the primary means of defining one as a Jew. Conversion has always been a rare and complex process.

[u/salkhan → u/specialistsets]

I was always under the impression matrilineal was the 'go to' definition on being Jewish. But this thread has opened my eyes in terms of wider definitions. But my own thoughts on these non-matrilineal definitions, is that if you widen them so much, don't they become meaningless? I mean if I follow practices traditions and holidays and decide to commit to if from today, does that make me Jewish? They will be in-group definition somewhere, that's why religious laws exists, so that you can delegate decisions to a higher power rather than man.

[u/Saul_al-Rakoun → u/salkhan]

What makes you Jewish is formally obligating yourself to uphold the covenant that God transmitted to the Jewish people by Moses's hand at Sinai.

The only passive way you can find yourself obligated to uphold the covenant is to be born to a woman who is obligated to uphold the covenant. All other ways to become obligated require human action.