OK, so a while ago, there were a few posts dealing with what it means to be Jewish. In some of them, some people said that there is no such thing as a Jewish race, or, if you want to get technical and say that there is no such thing as race, then there’s no Jewish Ethnicity.
OK, if that’s true, then, when you see a Jew who looks typically Jewish, that is, seems to have what we would consider typically Jewish looks or features, then what ethnic group are they part of?
There is such a thing as a Jewish race if you use a tribal definition, i.e. the “Irish race”, the “English race”, etc.
If you look at my friend Steve, who is blond-haired and blue-eyed, yet is a Jew ( and not by conversion, I might add ) , what race is he :)?
- Tamerlane
The OP is probably referring to the American stereotype of the Eastern European Jew: short, curly brown hair, dark brown eyes, larger-than-normal nose, etc.
But it ain’t the only group there is, trust me. I’m a Jew with light brown eyes and medium brown hair. The nose is a touchy subject.
Really, as a genotype Jews can range from african to european to middle-eastern and many others. It’s impossible to nail down one ‘Jewish race’. Especially as a religion it admits new members from many areas of the world.
Don’t confuse people who follow the Jewish religion with Jews. If one believes in ethnicities, then yes, Jewish is an ethnicity. Jews of course come from many places, the principle division being Ashkenazi (European) and Sephardic (N African). Jews do tend to look like the people from the region where they or their ancestors are from, but also retain stereotypical Jewish features; it isn’t just about the face–figure, hands, etc. are all clues to a practiced ethnicity-guesser. I suppose that the most stereotypical Jewish look is Eastern European–German, Polish, Russian.
OK, I think I understand. Thanks.
Awww, c’mon. Be proud of that huge schnozz. There’s no need to be ashamed, Pinoc…er, JC. 
OK, I’m just playing. Anyway, MsRobyn fits the stereotype pretty well. So, it’s not entirely off base, but there’s still a lot more diversity than you might think. Hell, Sammy Davis Jr. was a Jew, wasn’t he? 
Yes, he was, but he was a convert.
The Falashim are Ethiopian Jews and they looks like - surprise! - typical Ethiopians. Very very dark.
There was a colony of Jews in Beijing who looked - surprise! - like Chinese people.
The “typical Jewish look” is really only the “typical” look of the Sephardim and Askenazim, the Jews of Western and Eastern Europe respectively. Jews of Middle Eastern descent look like Arabs and vice versa - something many folks are aware of but probably don’t want to dwell on.
Even among the European Jews, quite a few of long-term Jewish descent on both sides of their family don’t conform to stereotype.
And if you go to the middle east you’ll see loads loads of people who fit the stereotype, but aren’t jewish. Just about everyone from that area of the world “looks jewish”.
Here’s a relevant staff report on the subject of Jewish Religion and Ethnicity.
People tell me I “look Jewish,” but then people have also told me I look Armenian, Arab, Romanian, Hispanic, or pretty much anything except East Asian or Swedish. But my maternal grandmother is blonde, very fair-skinned, and has blue eyes, hardly anyone ever thinks my sister is Jewish, people mistake my dad for Indian all the time, and one of my aunts is a redhead with freckles and people constantly think she’s Irish.
And yet we’re all Jewish as far back as anyone knows, and also Ashkenazic Central/East Euopean as far back as anyone knows (although I’m working on moving that date farther backward), and FWIW apparently there’s a theory that many Baltic Jews (like my paternal grandfather), particulary Lithuanian ones, were originally Sephardic Jews who wandered north off the Iberian Peninsula and took a rather circuitous route through Germany before they ended up in the Baltics. So maybe that has something to do with my dad’s decidedly non-Baltic appearance.
(A little suprised nobody has given you the short answer)
If you’re in America, the answer to this is simple: Ashkenazi. The majority of American Jews, especially those who have prominent roles in the American Jewish community, are Jews of Ashkenazi descent. Ashkenazi culture is also what most people here consider “Jewish” culture- things like lox, bagels, dreidels, and latkas are all typical of Ashkenazi culture, and would be largely foreign to Jews of say, Sephardic descent.
There are Sephardim and other Jews who are (rightfully so, IMHO) annoyed when these Ashkenazi traits end up getting labeled as “Jewish” traits/culture. The only thing that you can really call Jewish without simultaneously offending at least one Jew out there is Judaism.
OK, thanks. Yeah, I was talking about in America. Lately I’ve been realizing that I need to clarify sometimes which country I’m talking about since this is an international message board (sort of).
No worries. Glad to help.
Now I’ve got to figure out how to slap down Airball Dorks up there.
Hey, man, if you want help, let me know.
Robin
Bring it, Rob!
In addition to the earlier posts…
Posters here in the past have pointed out that racial traits of Jews are reinforced by the religions marriage laws and the age of the religion. Over thousand of years of having to marry within the community the racial traits strengthen.
One might also note: Do other races really look more alike?
Kind of on the subject… As I understand it, belonging to the Jewish religion is primarily a matrilineal issue, because it was the only way to guarantee the child’s parentage. Given that we now have DNA testing, wouldn’t anyone descended from a Jew now be able to access that heritage?
Am I making sense?
boofy_bloke:
Incorrect. The matter of matrilineal descent is due to laws derived from verses of the Torah. Any attempt to guess at the reason G-d decreed such would not be a binding legal foundation, it would merely be conjecture. Thus, technological advance cannot obviate that law, based on said conjecture.
Yes, you are making sense. However, we are discussing religion here. Oil and water…
Dan Abarbanel