# irish jews **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 12, 2003, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-jews/201278 "2003-09-12T20:33:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DuhCow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b38774/32.png) [@DuhCow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DuhCow)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-jews/201278/1 "2003-09-12T20:33:56Z")
is there such a thing as irish jews? can you basically hail from any country, or any ethnicity and be labeled that? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-jews/201278/2 "2003-09-12T20:42:58Z")
Judaism is a religion. Period. It doesn’t matter what ethnicity you are, or in what country you reside. ---
**Author:** ![chattywine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5daacb/32.png) [@chattywine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chattywine)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-jews/201278/3 "2003-09-12T21:06:23Z")
Sure there are [a bit about them here.](http://www.isjm.org/jhr/IInos1-2/ireland.htm) I recall a documentary film was made about them somewhat recently called _Shalom Ireland_ surely Google would have something on it. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-jews/201278/4 "2003-09-12T21:22:20Z")
Max Grodenchik (the actor who played “Rom” on _star Trek: Deep Space Nine_) tells an amusing story along these lines. He was traveling in Ireland and a cabbie asked him: “So, are ye Catholic or Protestant?” Grodenchik was a bit taken aback by the boldness of the question and replied: “Well, I’m Jewish.” The cabbie immediately asked: “Yeah, but are you _Catholic_ Jewish or _Protestant_ Jewish?” ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-jews/201278/5 "2003-09-12T21:26:51Z")
In fact, both Robert Briscoe, who was mayor of Dublin in 1956 and 1961 and his son, Ben Briscoe, mayor of Dublin 1988, were Jewish, as were Sir Otto Yaffe, mayor of Belfast in 1899, and Gerald Goldberg, mayor of Cork in 1977. Current estimates show about 1400 Jews in the Republic and 500 in Northern Ireland. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-jews/201278/6 "2003-09-12T21:28:31Z")
That’s Sir Otto Jaffe. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-jews/201278/7 "2003-09-12T21:34:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DuhCow \* > is there such a thing as irish jews? can you basically hail from any country, or any ethnicity and be labeled that? \*\* I am an irish/italian jew by marriage. So is my friend Shamus O’Goldstein. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-jews/201278/8 "2003-09-12T21:44:37Z")
Well, since Ireland was settled by one of the Lost Tribes… ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-jews/201278/9 "2003-09-12T21:56:11Z")
At one of the local synagogue celebrations, I met a woman born in Belfast. She told me that there was a synagogue there. Etnicity is irrelevant. Judaism is a religion, and in some ways a culture. There are Jews all over the world in a multitude of sizes, shapes and colors. Remember that Sammy Davis Jr, the Candyman himself, was a Jew. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-jews/201278/10 "2003-09-13T02:46:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Captain Amazing \* > \*\*In fact, both Robert Briscoe, who was mayor of Dublin in 1956 and 1961 and his son, Ben Briscoe, mayor of Dublin 1988, were Jewish, as were Sir Otto Yaffe, mayor of Belfast in 1899, and Gerald Goldberg, mayor of Cork in 1977. Current estimates show about 1400 Jews in the Republic and 500 in Northern Ireland. \*\* That brings up the famous anecdote about Yogi Berra, the American baseball star. Years ago, a teammate was reading the paper, saw an article about Robert Briscoe, and said, “Hey Yogi, did you see this? A Jew just became mayor of Dublin.” And Yogi replied, famously, “Only in America!” Another famous Irish Jew: Israeli politician Chaim Herzog was from Ireland, and spoke with a noticeable brogue. Of course, the most noteworthy Irish Jew of all is fictional: Leopold Bloom, the protagonist of James Joyce’s “Ulysses.” ---
**Author:** ![AnnaLivia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/edb3f5/32.png) [@AnnaLivia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnnaLivia)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-jews/201278/11 "2003-09-13T02:51:10Z")
Sure. The people at the Progressive Temple in Dublin are really nice. As in nicer than the people at the synagogue that I’ve attended since I was a wee AnnaLivia. One of the only regrets I have about going to Scotland instead of Ireland. There’s even a Jewish museum that gets packed with nice old guys on Sunday mornings. There are other congregations as far North as Belfast and as far south as Cork (although the community has gotten very small). In fact, there’s a website. It gives you mostly college communities, but gives a general climate/nearest synagogue [Uni Guide](http://www.aj6.org/guide/unis/index.shtml) ;j Hannah Levy ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-jews/201278/12 "2003-09-13T03:28:15Z")
> [@](#): > > Remember that Sammy Davis Jr, the Candyman himself, was a Jew. Although he did convert. And that just confirms that you can be many religions while hailing from any country or claiming any ethnicity. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-jews/201278/13 "2003-09-13T06:27:41Z")
**Moderator’s Note:** Even though it’s about a.) religion, b.) ethnicity and c.) Ireland, it’s still a General Question. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-jews/201278/14 "2003-09-13T14:03:52Z")
**AnnaLivia** Tell me more! I’ve always been fascinated by the affect of different languages and cultures on Jewish traditions. Jews in Europe created the Ashkenazic culture,Yiddish and gefilte fish. Jews in Spain and the Middle East created the Sephardic culture, Catalan, Ladino, and some really amazing falafel. What effect have Ireland and Scottland had on the Jews? I’ve heard rumors of a tartan belonging to a clan Kohaine. In the conflict between the Orange Men and the Green Men, where have the Goldmans and the Silverbergs been? ``` Can you get audio files of Hava Negila on the bag pipes? Does anybody make Kosher haggis? ``` ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-jews/201278/15 "2003-09-13T14:12:54Z")
There is a small [Irish Jewish Museum](http://www.cs.tufts.edu/~zblocker/ijm/) in Portobello, which was the Jewish Quarter of Dublin in the 19th century. The story is that following various pogroms in Eastern Europe, many Jews made their way west, aiming for America. Some came via Ireland, liked it, and stayed. I used to live in Portobello in a house built by a Jewish immigrant in 1846, and there was a mezuzah embedded in the doorframe. The quarter is no longer exclusively Jewish, but my house was round the corner from a kosher deli, the synagogue, and the best damn bakery in Ireland (the Bretzel), which is also kosher. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-jews/201278/16 "2003-09-13T14:16:19Z")
dropsman- I have met Jews who believed that. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-jews/201278/17 "2003-09-13T14:28:24Z")
Well, it appears that the Bretzel is [no longer kosher](http://www.bretzel.ie/history.html), though the last time I was lucky enough to shop there, in 2000, the certificate was still on the wall. I should also point out that Leopold Bloom, the main protagonist in Joyce’s Ulysses, was Jewish, though this was apparently intended to give him ‘[outsider](http://www.findarticles.com/m0411/3_48/64507455/p1/article.jhtml)’ status. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-jews/201278/18 "2003-09-13T17:23:04Z")
Donal F. Begley writes in his monograph _The Peoples of Ireland_: > [@](#): > > In the aftermath of the promulgation of the Russian anti-semitic laws of 1881, thousands of Lithuanians, Polish and Russian Jews were compelled to seek asylum in these islands. The Irish census returns for 1881 and 1901 reveal that in that twenty-year period the number of Jews resident in Ireland rose from 472 to 3,769. Most were listed as residents in the larger cities like Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Limerick and Waterford. The census statistics of 1901 for Dublin show that there were 261 drapers, 223 pedlars and hawkers, 200 students, 88 commercial travellers, 72 tailors, 66 domestic servants and 64 dealers among the Jews of foreign birth. . . . > > A comprehensive account of the Jewish settlement in Ireland from earliest times to 1910 can be read in _The Jews in Ireland_, by Louis Hyman, published by Irish University Press, 1972. ---
**Author:** ![slipster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@slipster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slipster)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-jews/201278/19 "2003-09-13T17:23:38Z")
In **Ulysses** Stephen Daedelus’ boss quips that Ireland is the only country without anti-Semitism because it is the only country that didn’t “let them in”. IIRC, the man making the assinine remark is Jewish. Later in the day Bloom has a run-in with an anti-Semite at his local pub. It is this passage in particular which made the novel notorious in America, and which was used as the primary basis for banning it; while Bloom is drinking he hears, with distaste, a drunken British soldier using foul language. Bloom is a native-born Irishman married to a Catholic. ---
**Author:** ![spogga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ab097/32.png) [@spogga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spogga)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2003, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-jews/201278/20 "2003-09-13T19:16:48Z")
DOCCATHODE: Have you ever tasted regular haggis? If not, don’t, it’s bloody awful…God only knows what kosher haggis would taste like!!! ☹ ;j [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irish-jews/201278.md?page=2)