Comments on: On Being Jewish and White

By: Other ways to spend Cindy McCain’s clothing budget | Writes Like She Talks

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:33:56 +0000

[...] is privilege – I’m privileged just by virtue of my skin being white (although there’s controversy over whether Jews should consider themselves caucasian). But I’m not expected to feel guilty about that, rather, I’m expected to use my [...]

By: What if you’re not quite white? « Professor, What If…?

What if you’re not quite white? « Professor, What If…? — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 20:42:44 +0000

[...] For more on the construction of whiteness and Jewishness, see here. [...]

By: Kelli Busey

Kelli Busey — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 13:43:33 +0000

And I assumed my Jewish friends were white and thereby enjoyed the same social status as I. Thank you for helping me to understand. I will start another rumor about Jewish people, they are loyal, enterprising, loving, and generous to a fault.

By: Algebra Solutions

Algebra Solutions — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 23:04:50 +0000

I agree, its a culture thing. “Jew” and “White” are exclusive groups. Jews are semitic like the Arabs but they have mixed with whites to varying degrees. A white looking Jew like Alicia silverstone can be considered white but not if they identify themselves as belonging to a some other group (like Jews) because then they belong to that group.

By: Janine deManda

Janine deManda — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 23:04:34 +0000

Sam said, “I think there’s a confusion between “white” and “American culture” going on here. The Ashkenazi weren’t black; they weren’t automatically relegated to the back of the bus in Mississippi. But they weren’t automatically in the American mainstream, either; assimilation meant denying their identity.”

is the phrase “restrictive covenant” familiar to you? or the weight of the word “restricted” as it as used against jews in the u.s. up at least through the civil rights era? or maybe “christians only” in classified ads? no, the ashkenazim weren’t black*, but there were racist laws and socially acceptable exclusionary practices that they had to cope with in the united states. for a shorthand version, check out the films “gentlemen’s agreement” {1948}, “school ties” {1992}, and “focus” {2001}.

*yes, amazingly enough, it is possible to be other-than-black and still be the target of racism in america.

By: Janine deManda

Janine deManda — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 21:56:57 +0000

Thlayli said, “Every so often on Buffy forums, I would see someone question why the red-haired green-eyed Alyson Hannigan was cast as a Jewish character.”

whomever was questioning was not only being stereotypic, but underinformed – alyson hannigan’s mother is jewish.

By: Janine deManda

Janine deManda — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 19:23:57 +0000

Ephraim said, “I think it’s possible, in this case, to make a distinction between being/identifying as white and acknowledging that one has white privilege. As an ashkenazish yid, i’m loathe to “identify” as white because i think it takes a really dangerously short view of history and is in some ways disrespectful of my elders who faced and suffered from very explicitly racial oppression. But, i think that comes with even a greater obligation to acknowledge that i am the beneficiary of white privilege in this time and place.”

and i just wanted to say, “yes, exactly. thank you.”

By: ARP Tuesday Links at Anti-Racist Parent - for parents committed to raising children with an anti-racist outlook

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 10:25:43 +0000

[...] On being Jewish and white: I spend a lot of time discussing race here. And I’m a regular at other blogs that deal with race-related issues. But I have never read a post that explored what it means to identify as Jewish and white. The Girl Detective has tackled this issue over on Feministe. I’m a black woman and reading Girl Detective’s post touched a few nerves that I really can’t articulate. (Something like “Why the determination to be accepted as white?” The definition of “whiteness” has always been more about power, class and social structure than genetics. As the writer acknowleges, there was a time when, say, Italians were viewed as “not white,” today, they are white. Or is it jealousy? Black people, even though many of us (including me) have white Northern European ancestors, will never be able to opt in to the white power structure.) But this really is an insightful post. Check it out: I’ve written before on how angry I was when fellow progressives began to inform me that while some Jews consider themselves white, it’s only because they’ve assimilated into white culture. They never explained what white-looking Jews actually are, if not white, but the message was always clear: if we Ashkenazi (Eastern European) Jews think we’re white, well, it’s just because we wanted some of that tasty privilege so badly that we suppressed our real identity to get it. I’d known, of course, that many white extremists still considered Jewishness a race, but hearing such comments come from leftists surprised and upset me for a couple of reasons: 1) they were presuming to know more about a Jew’s identity than a Jew would, and 2) those who were people of color were surely familiar with the frustration at having others dictate how they should define themselves. Read more… [...]

By: Molly

Molly — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 06:23:21 +0000

This is interesting, as I’ve always viewed Jewishness the exact opposite way. It seems to me that many or most Jews are treated as white and have white privilege (on other words, are “white” as far as that goes), BUT because of anti-Semitism that sometimes/often questions Jewish whiteness, I trust Jews who feel that they aren’t simply white or don’t have (as much/much/any) white privilege. They know what they’re facing in the world a helluva lot better than I do, so they absolutely get the benefit of the doubt (versus, say, Joe Blond Christian Straight Guy who claims to “not have” white privilege without any good explanation for why that would be).

I guess my main thought is that I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with people saying that, and I hope they open their eyes at some point.

By: Feministe Posts « The Girl Detective

Feministe Posts « The Girl Detective — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 05:05:00 +0000

[...] This Is What Anti-Semitism Looks Like (or “How to Get 120 Comments On Your Blog Post”) On Being Jewish and White Literature: Not Enlightened Yet (which attracted several MRA trolls – [...]