I think since Jerry Seinfeld was playing himself and he is really Jewish, one needs no further evidence of his religious persuasion.
Also, another place to look for George would be the episode where George and Susan discuss children. Any mention there? (I don’t remember any.)
Harvey Korman has played Italian gangsters? How did I miss that?
Anyway, I specifically remember Jerry telling George something like: “George, one thing you have to remember about the Jewish people is…”, in a way that made it clear that George was not Jewish.
Early in the show, I too assumed they were ALL Jewish, but was soon disabused of that notion by the trickle of clues. After that, I always assumed the Costanzas were Spanish, since the mom is so fond of paella…Timmy
Sorry, that’s not correct. Plenty of Jewish circles have a token Gentile or two. I know a few Gentiles that are as “stereotypically Jewish” as any Jew. And it’s incredibly easy to pick up Jewish and Yiddish mannerisms and words, especially living in the NYC area. My aunt’s best friend is of Norwegian and Swedish ancestry, and boy does she look it! But she’ll let loose with a torrent of Yiddish that’ll curl your toes and impress your grandma.
I think the problem is that the “neurotic New Yorker” thing has been conflated with the “stereotypically Jewish” thing.
I always thought:
Jerry: Non-practicing Jew who is a neurotic NYer.
George & his family: Completely neurotic New Yorkers who happen to be Italian,
Elaine: Not Jewish, neurotic.
Kramer: May or may not be of Jewish ancestry, but a)doesn’t cosider himself Jewish and b) defies all stereotypes anyway.
Wasn’t there an episode where Elaine had Christmas cards made with her photo on it, only she didn’t realize the photo revealed her nipple until AFTER she had mailed out all the cards?
If so, then we know the character Elaine celebrates Christmas.
You forget episode 152 “The Yada Yada”:
He is. I can’t tell you how religious he is (I would say not very), but he was born Jewish.
I think TJ555 The Golfer was joking when he wrote that, Splanky. Wondering whether Woody Allen is Jewish is like wondering if the Pope is Catholic.
I agree with the theory that George’s mother is Jewish, his father is Catholic, and he was raised Catholic before the invention of Festivus. Estelle once said that she “wouldn’t ride in a German car” and is seen wearing a chai.
Also James Caan and Paul Muni.
My mom would take issue with this statement. She was raised in Brooklyn, and she only needs to watch something for about two minutes before she can tell if the “Italians” are real or fake. If she says that a guy isn’t really Italian, you can bet money that she’s right.
(And this is even more impressive if you know that she doesn’t have a drop of Italian blood in her body 
)
gasp Mel Brooks is Jewish?!
all-
three-
stooges!
**I reread my OP to see if I may have inadvertantly given the impression that SIL’s husband has quizzed me about my religious beliefs/heritage, or that I was sensitive about such things. I see nothing in my post that either states or implies either of these two things.
You have something in common with SIL’s husband. He, too, makes assumptions about me based solely on my ethnicity.
I don’t think either group as a whole can be fairly characterized as behaving in any particular way in this specific regard, which is why my description was of this one specific person and not the whole group.
O. J. Simpson?
Not a Jew.
BTW, here’s a link that sorta ties in with this subject:
Good article. It must be older because Monica and Ross from FRIENDS are definitely Jewish. The Holdiay Armadillo told me so.
And do Christmas lights, cards or cookies mean someone is not Jewish? I know lots of Jews who celebrate the season if not the reason for the season (of course, you could say that about a lot of gentiles, too!)
This was all before Adam Sandler came along with his inspirational song!
Yes I did. Thanks.
Mjollnir Your link tied in extremely well, not just sorta!
Yeah, I’ve always thought that the Jewish stereotype was actually pretty similar to the (especially Italian) Catholic stereotype, despite the obvious religious differences. In the stereotype world, the Jews just seem to act like wealthier Italians.
Jews and Italians similiar?
It’s the guilt. Oh, God, the guilt.
One question:
So isn’t the guy, like, your brother? How can he be your sister-in-laws husband and not be your brother?
Sorry if this question is silly.
To answer the OP, I think Costanza is definately Italian, b/c I remember him in an episode trying to get an Italian Pizzaria’s attention to him tipping the guy big bucks and mentions that he is one if his fellow “countrymen”. In all likelihood then, he should be Catholic, though HMMV.
Elaine is definately meant to be non-Jewish, as she qualmed a Rabbi about “his faith” and “his people” in an episode I watched.