# Who is a Jew? (removed from thread on Jewish heads of state)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-a-jew-removed-from-thread-on-jewish-heads-of-state/961719>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [March 18, 2022, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-a-jew-removed-from-thread-on-jewish-heads-of-state/961719 "2022-03-18T14:39:50Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 1

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**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\
**Post date:** [March 18, 2022, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-a-jew-removed-from-thread-on-jewish-heads-of-state/961719/1 "2022-03-18T14:39:50Z")

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Puzzlegal: This thread started out as a side discussion here:

> [@Jewish heads of state/government](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-heads-of-state-government/431613/39):
>
> Israeli Jews don’t have to practice Judaism. It comes to us naturally. Because of this thread I tried to look up if Netanyahu is religious. Wikipedia says he was born to secular Jewish parents but other than seeing one of his ex-wives converted to marry him (which could have been a political move) I’m not seeing much on his beliefs.

Puzzlegal: There was discussion as to “how Jewish is President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s current head of state?”, and it led to this digression. As there seemed to be a lot of interest in this, it is now its own thread. Everything above this point was added by me, Puzzlegal, for context. Below this sentence is a post made by Alessan.

> [@Jewish heads of state/government](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-heads-of-state-government/431613/38):
>
> It doesn’t fit the OP’s requirements perfectly because it doesn’t distinguish between Jewish by ethnicity and practising the religion.

That’s because Jews don’t make that distinction, either.

As far as most Jews are concerned, if your mother is Jewish and you self-identify as Jewish, then you’re Jewish. It doesn’t matter if you’re an atheist or a Lubavitcher, you’re as Jewish as any other Jew.

The division between “cultural Jew” and “religious Jew” that people in this threat are trying to apply is an imposition of a Gentile worldview on Jewish thought, and is deeply offensive. Please stop.

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