[r9etb]

I've been asked by others if my former boss is an Anti-Semite. My answer is an emphatic NO. I am half Jewish. I am familiar with Anti-Semites. Ron is not one of them.

Statements like this have always intrigued me. What is it about Judaism that allows one to be "half Jewish?" Does this guy believe and worship as a Jew (halfway), or does he merely count "Jewishness" as an essentially genetic characteristic?

Anyway, I've always thought it was askew, in some way.

[George W. Bush]

What is it about Judaism that allows one to be "half Jewish?" Does this guy believe and worship as a Jew (halfway), or does he merely count "Jewishness" as an essentially genetic characteristic?

You may recall during the final vote on Shamnesty, Harry Reid was making these same exact claims for himself. As if we're supposed to care one way or the other regardless of how Jewish they are. I could care less about someone's breeding history and official pedigree.

I think you're Jewish if your mother is Jewish. I always thought that was the official standard in ancient and in modern times. You can also become Jewish, this was true in ancient times as well though not common. But Judaism has never been a proselytizing religion the way that Christianity or Islam is.

[bcsco]

What is it about Judaism that allows one to be "half Jewish?"

It could simply be that one parent is of Jewish descent, the other isn't.