Talk:Jews

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 24 April 2024

Palestine is a relatively new term and becomes political very quickly. Recommend using Levant or Western Asia however being that this topic is about the Jews recommend using the language that they use to describe where they are from, that being their ancestral homeland of Ancient Israel/Judea Samaria. F smithers (talk) 10:23, 24 April 2024 (UTC)

 Not done for now: please establish a consensus for this alteration before using the {{Edit extended-protected}} template. '''[[User:CanonNi]]''' (talk|contribs) 11:46, 24 April 2024 (UTC)

The area's been known as Palestine for over 2,500 years. Largoplazo (talk) 12:33, 24 April 2024 (UTC)

Edit, Jews are not a race or ethnic group

Edit, Jews are not a race or an ethnic group

"A reevaluation of the anthropological genetics literature on Jewish populations reveals them not simply to be a body of genetically related people descending from a small group of common ancestors, but rather a “mosaic” of peoples of diverse origins. Greek and other pre-medieval historiographic sources suggest the patterning evident in recent genetic studies could be explained by a major contribution from Greco-Roman and Anatolian-Byzantine converts who affiliated themselves with some iteration of Judaism beginning in the first and second centuries ce and continuing into the Middle Ages. These populations, along with Babylonian and Alexandrian Jewish communities, indigenous North Africans, and Slavic-speaking converts to Judaism, support a mosaic geography of Jewish ancestry in Europe and Western Asia, rather than one arising from a limited set of lineages originating solely in Palestine."

See

https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/702709?journalCode=jar

The Geography of Jewish Ethnogenesis.pdf

Also there is no Jüdische Typus

"It has been argued that Jews are not genomically distinct from non-Jews."

Eran Elhaik, https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/genetics/articles/10.3389/fgene.2016.00141/full In Search of the jüdische Typus: A Proposed Benchmark to Test the Genetic Basis of Jewishness Challenges Notions of “Jewish Biomarkers, Frontiers of Genetics Vol.7, 5 August 2016: ‘Claims that Jews can be accurately distinguished from non-Jews . . and carry “Jewish heritage” in their DNA . . are . .frequently made. Supporters of the alternative school have consistently dismissed any racial notion of Jews over the past centuries, citing the ongoing failures to provide a robust test for Jewishness and the rich historical, archeological, and linguistic evidence for Jews’ history of assimilations and mixtures with non-Jewish populations rather than seclusion periods. This position can be summarized as: “A Jew is a Jew because he chose to be a Jew and not because he was forced – because of biology or by some external social force – to define himself as a Jew”.’

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_studies_of_Jews

2601:444:300:B070:F9EE:7B8A:A564:1D43 (talk) 01:24, 3 May 2024 (UTC)

 Not done. Although there's a correlation, neither "race" nor "ethnic group" typically refer to populations which are exclusively bounded by genetics. See our articles on Race and Ethnicity. GordonGlottal (talk) 02:17, 3 May 2024 (UTC)

That's not exactly the case. European Jews are all practically the same genetic group,but Ashkenazim do have a percentage of at least 20% Slavic+Germanic which makes them a bit different from Italkim, Sephardim, and Romaniotes, but other than that they're mostly all southern European and Levantine. They also cluster quite close to Mizrahim such as Iraqi Jews from what I've read, but when it comes to Yemenites and Ethiopians, then it becomes a bit confusing.

In the end though, ethnicities aren't really defined by genetics in the first place,so it's mostly culture and religion. Yamnaya (talk) 17:10, 15 May 2024 (UTC)

We are an in fact an ethnic group. Stop trying to erase our history. Enough.

The argument presented here seems to cherry-pick findings from genetic studies to push an agenda that diminishes the validity of Jewish ethnicity. By focusing solely on genetic diversity within Jewish populations, it disregards the broader context of Jewish identity, which encompasses a rich tapestry of history, culture, and tradition.

Reducing Jewishness to a mere collection of genetic markers overlooks the lived experiences and shared history that have shaped Jewish communities for centuries. It perpetuates a reductionist view that undermines the complexity of Jewish identity and ignores the cultural, religious, and historical factors that bind Jewish people together.

Moreover, the dismissal of the concept of a "Jewish Typus" and the assertion that Jews are not "genomically distinct" from non-Jews without acknowledging the broader context of Jewish history and identity is deeply troubling. It not only overlooks the resilience of Jewish communities in maintaining their distinctiveness throughout history but also echoes anti-Semitic rhetoric that seeks to delegitimize Jewish identity.

This argument not only fails to provide a comprehensive understanding of Jewish ethnicity but also risks perpetuating harmful stereotypes and biases against Jewish people. It's important to approach discussions about Jewish identity with nuance and sensitivity, recognizing the multifaceted nature of Jewishness beyond genetic markers.

In addition, I must point out what I feel is utmost hypocrisy.

1. Selective Application of Identity: People who argue that Jews are solely a religious group often ignore the fact that Jewish identity is not simply religion, in fact the religion itself centers around the ethnic and tribal identity of the jewish people, the practices itself center around the Land of Israel, that is what it is. One example is the Shmita, plus the Hebrew calendar, etc.

2.Ignoring Historical Prejudice: Historically, Jews have faced discrimination and persecution based on their ethnicity, regardless of their religious beliefs. Anti-Semitic rhetoric often targets Jews as a racial or ethnic group, regardless of whether they practice Judaism. Denying the ethnic dimension of Jewish identity while perpetuating stereotypes and prejudice against Jews as a group is contradictory.

Disregarding Self-Identification: Many Jews identify strongly with their ethnic or cultural heritage, even if they are not religiously observant. Dismissing Jewish identity as purely religious disregards the self-identification and lived experiences of Jewish individuals and communities who see themselves as part of a broader ethnic or cultural group.

3.Double Standards: Those who claim Jews are only a religious group may fail to apply the same logic to other religious communities. For example, they may acknowledge the ethnic or cultural aspects of other religious groups, such as Muslims or Hindus, while denying the same complexity to Jews. This double standard reveals a bias against Jews and undermines the consistent application of principles of identity and diversity in Wikipedia.

The other thing I notice is the contradiction of you attempting to deny the racial or ethnic dimension of Jewish identity in order to justify speaking about Jews as a unified group, despite acknowledging the wrongness of racism. 74.71.4.108 (talk) 15:00, 24 May 2024 (UTC)

Can't see a single source in all that wall of opinion text. Only ones I can see are by OP. Selfstudier (talk) 15:07, 24 May 2024 (UTC)

@Yamnaya and Selfstudier: Note that before the first reply to this request the OP was blocked as one of the many recent socks of User:SteveBenassi. Genetic studies of Jews was just protected for 6 months because of this editor and similarly themed edits. I suggest that we collapse this thread. Meters (talk) 18:21, 24 May 2024 (UTC)

Sock or not, I would still like to see a proper response to the points made. With sources. I understand that Elhaik might be somewhat controversial, so if we had a couple sources saying that research is fringe or at least not mainstream, that might do. Idk anything about the first one but same idea. OR should the discussion be at the genetics article? Selfstudier (talk) 18:26, 24 May 2024 (UTC)

Now I see that there is a collapsed thread there in the genetics article that I think maybe should not actually be collapsed. Selfstudier (talk) 18:38, 24 May 2024 (UTC)

Yep, I will take my concerns there, so can go ahead and collapse this one here. Selfstudier (talk) 18:44, 24 May 2024 (UTC)

I promise I am not that person, Nor am I a sockpuppet. This is an IP address, and a densely populated neighborhood. 74.71.4.108 (talk) 20:32, 24 May 2024 (UTC)

Thats why its my opinion. With all due respect I have never used this site before in this manner, but I found the comment I was responding to, to be incredibly offensive and bordering on antisemtism. Perhaps my bias is apparent and I can recuse myself if you'd like. 74.71.4.108 (talk) 20:34, 24 May 2024 (UTC)

Edit proposal

I would sincerely ask that you directly, clearly and unambiguously emphasize the Semitic origin in the first paragraph. Thanks. Bagyblazha (talk) 15:24, 6 May 2024 (UTC)