is Bailey Jay Jewish?

[doctor screw]

I would love to mix my fried chicken with her matzo ball soup

[Ben]

Interesting and funny interview w/ Bailey:

[doctor screw]

some more

[ashymon]

An 'ethnic background' to what, exactly? If you meet someone who is a Muslim, is that their 'ethnic background'? Don't understand the concept, being Jewish, Muslim, Christian or Atheist is not ethnic, which as a word is derived from the Greek for nation -in fact there are two words I would happily abolish -Ethnic (+ ethnicity) and Race.

Well you are definately ignorant (not that I have ever seen ignorance on these forums before). Judiaism is a religion, just like Islam and Christianity are, I will grant you that. But to be Jewish is to classify someones ethnicity as well. There were seven tribes of Israel and they belong to a definate ethnic class. Arabs are an ethnic class as well, but Muslims are not. Muslims can be any ethnic class. Just like any ethnic class can practice the Jewish faith but that does not make them Jewish from an ethnic perspective. There are Arabs that believe in Judaism (although not many), Persians, Hispanics, etc. There are Arabs that believe in Islam, as there are Caucasians, Asians, etc. But the only way to be of the Jewish race is to have been born from a Jewish mother, fathers dont count.

[MdR Dave]

We could argue ethnicity v. bloodline, define when the latter becomes the former, and still not reach a consensus on what "Jewish" (or more correctly, "Hebrew") is, much less define Bailey's ethnicity (and that question seems to have been answered).

But ashymon, you'll find that Stavros is definitely not ignorant, by any definition of the word.

[ashymon]

We could argue ethnicity v. bloodline, define when the latter becomes the former, and still not reach a consensus on what "Jewish" (or more correctly, "Hebrew") is, much less define Bailey's ethnicity (and that question seems to have been answered).

But ashymon, you'll find that Stavros is definitely not ignorant, by any definition of the word.

Well since I dont know him I cant judge other than from the reply but I will take you at your word and apologize for letting my temper flare.

[Stavros]

Well you are definately ignorant (not that I have ever seen ignorance on these forums before). Judiaism is a religion, just like Islam and Christianity are, I will grant you that. But to be Jewish is to classify someones ethnicity as well. There were seven tribes of Israel and they belong to a definate ethnic class. Arabs are an ethnic class as well, but Muslims are not. Muslims can be any ethnic class. Just like any ethnic class can practice the Jewish faith but that does not make them Jewish from an ethnic perspective. There are Arabs that believe in Judaism (although not many), Persians, Hispanics, etc. There are Arabs that believe in Islam, as there are Caucasians, Asians, etc. But the only way to be of the Jewish race is to have been born from a Jewish mother, fathers dont count.

But to be Jewish is to classify someones ethnicity as well

Just like any ethnic class can practice the Jewish faith but that does not make them Jewish from an ethnic perspective

I think you are trying too hard to claim that there is such a thing as a Pure Jew, which from what you say must be a claim of lineage to some ancient tribe, provable from dna? Don't know. Some people might claim there were twelve, not seven tribes, or that some of the 'tribes of Israel' were from Judea not Israel, because there were competing Jewish polities at the time, and if there ever was a unified Jewish state, it didn't last -so in what way and when were these '12 tribes' the foundation of what you call Jewish 'ethnicity'? If you accept there has been some inter-marriage and miscegenation since the Bronze Age, the notion of purity seems to be so romantic as to be fit only for a novel rather than real life.

Part of this comes back to the use of the word Ethnicity, a word that became common currency among social scientists when they could not explain the co-existence of more than one nationality in a state without denying that state its political legitimacy. So they took these 'minor nationalisms' and relegated them to something called Ethnicity -I see no need to use the words, but then I would like to see the word Race abolished, as it has no meaning apart from having spurious convenience as a political label.

And I still cant believe this thread is alive.