Ashkenazi Jews are genetically a mix of Israelite and Roman populations with some Eastern European sprinkled in. But the European versus non-European dichotomy is new. Back in the day there was the Mediterranean and Rome and Greece and so on and then the rest of the world.
I don’t think it’s totally accurate to say Hitler killed Jews because they were Middle Eastern. There are genetic differences between Ashkenazi Jews and ethnic Germans and certainly Hitler made a big deal about the Aryan thing. But really I think his main motivation was that he thought Jews ran the world (I wish), invented communism (a leftist anti-Zionist anti-Semitic Jew did), and stabbed Germany in the back at the end of WWI (leftist anti-Zionist Jews were overrepresented among the commies that wanted Jews to surrender).
This was an excellent article and I learned quite a few things about the Jewish landscape. I'm a secular Iranian and I've also experienced the loony Left's antics when it comes to opposing Islam. It's all too similar to your experiences so I won't labour on it now, but I just wanted to say that I sympathise with your plight and I'm sorry that you didn't find allies where expected. Please know that you have many many Iranian friends. Am Yisrael Chai.❤️🫂
I do think Ashkenazinormativity can be a problem in certain American Jewish spaces because a lot of raw Jewish traditions and teachings that were done by Sephardic scholars like Maimonides and certain foods and customs and music and praying scale too of the ancient Israelites are forgotten as a result of a more Eurocentric adaptation of Judaism. Also I do feel like there’s an idea now among younger Americans among Gen Z that Jews are white. So it’s great that there’s more mizrahi and Sephardic media presence. However, the division between Sephardim and Ashkenazim is problematic within itself too and can alienate one another. I think in general these labels should be thrown out and these groups should all harmonise and learn from each other and different scholars. Being Jewish should not mean having to be a certain color at all and we should all learn from each other.
It’s a good article. I would say that there is a “racial” or genetic element to being Jewish, in that you can take a DNA test and it can tell you if you are of Jewish descent. Just like there’s a “racial” element to being Italian or Greek or Egyptian or Chinese or a member of any other people.
But the white/brown dichotomy is stupid. I mean it’s just ahistorical. Look at a Lebanese Christian and look at a Greek. Can you say the Lebanese is a brown middle eastern and the Greek is a white European?
Great article the irony is Ashkenazi Jews were slaughtered because they weren’t European.
Ashkenazi Jews are genetically a mix of Israelite and Roman populations with some Eastern European sprinkled in. But the European versus non-European dichotomy is new. Back in the day there was the Mediterranean and Rome and Greece and so on and then the rest of the world.
I don’t think it’s totally accurate to say Hitler killed Jews because they were Middle Eastern. There are genetic differences between Ashkenazi Jews and ethnic Germans and certainly Hitler made a big deal about the Aryan thing. But really I think his main motivation was that he thought Jews ran the world (I wish), invented communism (a leftist anti-Zionist anti-Semitic Jew did), and stabbed Germany in the back at the end of WWI (leftist anti-Zionist Jews were overrepresented among the commies that wanted Jews to surrender).
This was an excellent article and I learned quite a few things about the Jewish landscape. I'm a secular Iranian and I've also experienced the loony Left's antics when it comes to opposing Islam. It's all too similar to your experiences so I won't labour on it now, but I just wanted to say that I sympathise with your plight and I'm sorry that you didn't find allies where expected. Please know that you have many many Iranian friends. Am Yisrael Chai.❤️🫂
Strong piece. Thank you for it
A lot of Ashkenazim are also very brown looking too. In fact, I’d wager a larger percentage of us were until the Teutonic scourge
I do think Ashkenazinormativity can be a problem in certain American Jewish spaces because a lot of raw Jewish traditions and teachings that were done by Sephardic scholars like Maimonides and certain foods and customs and music and praying scale too of the ancient Israelites are forgotten as a result of a more Eurocentric adaptation of Judaism. Also I do feel like there’s an idea now among younger Americans among Gen Z that Jews are white. So it’s great that there’s more mizrahi and Sephardic media presence. However, the division between Sephardim and Ashkenazim is problematic within itself too and can alienate one another. I think in general these labels should be thrown out and these groups should all harmonise and learn from each other and different scholars. Being Jewish should not mean having to be a certain color at all and we should all learn from each other.
That’s funny. You don’t look Seraphic.
It’s a good article. I would say that there is a “racial” or genetic element to being Jewish, in that you can take a DNA test and it can tell you if you are of Jewish descent. Just like there’s a “racial” element to being Italian or Greek or Egyptian or Chinese or a member of any other people.
But the white/brown dichotomy is stupid. I mean it’s just ahistorical. Look at a Lebanese Christian and look at a Greek. Can you say the Lebanese is a brown middle eastern and the Greek is a white European?