When I asked someone using the "Zelensky is Jewish" gambit to explain the depth of Zelensky's Judaism, he could not cite such things as in which shul he was raised or attended, if he ever went to form a minyan, what "parashah" was his to learn and recite, and the like. The discussion then simply went away. One may assert anything, but proving an assertion seems to often be an anathema to some.
Many like to trot out the similar "Marx was Jewish," failing to take note of Marx' "satanic: poetry, his racism and urge to name-call, and of course his marriage in the Protestant Kreuznacher Pauluskirche to Jenny von Westphalen.
Soros -- or György Schwartz -- shows no sign of being Jewish, merely of claiming a heritage. Being born "in Budapest to a non-observant Jewish family," as according to Wiki, does not make one Jewish. In fact, the Wiki goes on to quote, "Soros has wryly described his home as a Jewish antisemitic home."
Yuck, yuck.
As to Zelensky, one reads:
"While Zelensky does not profess to be religious, he identifies as Jewish and told The Times of Israel in 2020 that he was raised in 'an ordinary Soviet Jewish family.' 'I never speak about religion and I never speak about God because I have my own personal opinion about it,' he said in the interview. 'Of course, I believe in God. But I speak with him only in those moments which are personal for me'.”This is an enormous topic, as for some to be Jewish means being of an identifiable race, and to others to be observant of religious practices, and to yet someone else to merely "identify" with, as goes the joke about the "lox and bagel" Jew. Like the Christmas and Easter Christian.Putin: My Jewish friends say Zelensky isn't Jewish, is a ‘disgrace’ to the faith
There is even a stream of Judaism which espouses atheism.
Jewish atheism - WikipediaConsider from a long Yom Kippur address (2004) --
Philosophers and theologians agree you can't define God, and sociologists agree you can't define Jews. We Jews are a singular people. Race? Nation? Religion? Have you ever heard of an Episcopalian agnostic or a secular Baptist or a Jehovah Witness atheist? Such contradictions are oxymorons. but secular Jews, atheist Jews and agnostic Jews produce no shock. In fact, they comprise the largest constituency of the Jewish people.That sermon ends: "Recognize that there is Godliness that resides in each of us."I admire that inclusiveness in Judaism. There is no Jewish dogma that excludes non-believing Jews from their identity, from their belonging, from salvation.
Indeed, we are rather proprietary when it comes to such secular Jews. Like Baruch Spinoza, Karl Marx and Albert Einstein (and we can throw in Theodore Herzl and David Ben Gurion), we are proud of our pluralistic Jewish people.
To console me, one of my friends argued that all Jews, regardless of their belief or disbelief, pray the same prayer, only with a different dialect. The traditional Jew prays, "Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad." Not to be outdone, the atheist Jew prays, "Shema Yisrael, I deny Eloheinu, I deny Echad." And the agnostic Jew recites, "Shema Yisrael, I dunno Eloheino, I dunno Echad."
Source: https://www.vbs.org/worship/meet-our-clergy/rabbi-harold-schulweis/sermons/outreach-jewish-secularists-and-atheists
I mention all this because the same architecture of complex thought is found through Christendom as well. A pastor and friend of many years said to me, "the harshest fight isn't between the Catholics and Protestants, or between Episcopalians and Anglicans, but sometimes between two members of my own vestry."
I suggest that there is such between us conservatives as well. To "claim victimhood" is the easy and cheap argument.
Many appear cheap -- and in your word, despicable -- when they drape themselves in victimhood. Or drape themselves with a flag. Or a religion. We see this everyday in our own news. It has seemed to me to be a sort of camouflage over deeper issues, usually having little to do with being a victim or a flag or a religion. But usually it has to do with money, more money and even more money.
Perhaps more than you intended, but there is a bundle over which to muse. Best wishes.
No, no. You augmented my observation quite brilliantly. Thanks again.
*As an aside, we see something similar with “fake” Catholics in America. Virtually all Democrats trying to hide behind a heritage to which they have nothing but visceral contempt for the faith (see the Kennedys and Pelosi, et al). They’ve often been the ones we see for years who used to trot out (to the low-info voters) how they’re “personally against” abortion because of their “religion” (one they don’t really observe), but vote for every infanticide bill to come down the pike, because they don’t wish to impose their views on others.
To shock individuals, I tried a different approach. Were I to run for office, I would say I’m personally pro-abortion. Vacuum it out, stab it in the neck, hamburgerize it, serve it up as a meal with some fava beans, toss it in the trash, use it for fertilizer, use it as a cat toy, use it as a door stop. But I’d never impose my “religious” views on the public and would vote against all pro-abortion bills. I mean, if you’re going to be absurd about something, go all out (because, really, my position isn’t any more ludicrous than the Democrat’s excuse).