Israeli Neo-Nazi? What next?

[onodera]

Judaism and Jewish ethnicity are loosely linked in Russia. Most Jews here are either secular (don't forget for example that many of the Old Bolsheviks were Jews) or Christian.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Wezil
Your claim is b/c a subset of a particular religion's adherents are susceptable to a particular disease then the religion must be a (quasi) race.

To me it is a convenient argument for jews (once a jew always a jew) but ignores the choice of religion. The atheist you mentioned earlier doesn't suddenly become a jew again if he contracts a particular disorder. The disease has nothing to do with what mythical beings he does (or doesn't) subscribe to.

What you fail to understand is that the word Jewish applies to both a religion and an ethnicity. The fact that two are correlated further confuses the issue for most people. If this were not the case, it would be impossible to conceive of the notion of atheist Jews, anymore than one could be an atheist Catholic.

[Wezil]

Okay, and when does ethnicity equal religion?

The wiki article on tay Sachs is fascinating. I never knew there were so many Jews in Quebec and Louisianna.

edit - correct my bad.

[Nikolai]

ETHNICITY

Definition: [n] an ethnic quality or affiliation resulting from racial or cultural ties; "ethnicity has a strong influence on community status relations"

also

Definition: a basis for social categories that are rooted in socially perceived differences in national origin, language, and/or religion.

[Wezil]

So then we are in agreement. Jewishness is a religion that provides an ethnic tie. Some may be of the same race but not necessarily.

[onodera]

Originally posted by Wezil
So then we are in agreement. Jewishness is a religion that provides an ethnic tie. Some may be of the same race but not necessarily.

You're still mixing "Jewishness" and Judaism up. That's like saying Islam is a religion that provides an ethnic tie.
A religion is a religion. Who your dad (mom for Jews) is is an ethnicity.
"Jewishness", like "Hispanicity", can be applied to any race, that's why it says "Hispanic of any race". Most Jews are Europeoids or Semites to be exact, just like most Hispanics are mixed Europeoids and Amerindians.
"Hispanicity" implies Latinoamerican heritage and Catholicism, and "Jewishness" implies one of the Jewish heritages (Ashkenazi, Sephardi, Beta Israel) and Judaism, but the religion and culture is not the mandatory part.
Yes, some people say everyone who practices Judaism is a Jew, but that's a different kind of Jew, just like members of the Nation of Islam are not of the same nation. I might go to the sinagogue tomorrow, convince the rabbi I'm worthy of converting, get my foreskin cut off, drink some Christian baby blood or whatever they do and stop eating pork and stuff. Look, I'm a Judaist. I might become a Jew culturally (I already love my Mom a lot), but ethnically I stay Russian.
These Neo-Nazi boys were ethnical Jews, but their heritage wasn't Jewish. Their heritage was Soviet, and with no SU to look up to like their parents did, they turned to a different source of cultural unity: nazism.

[Sirotnikov]

What onodera said.

There's alot of confusion because the same term is used for religion, ethnicity and heritage/nationality.

Religion - someone who believes in Judaism is of Jewish faith, but many people won't say he's "Jewish"

Ethnicity - someone who is descendant from european or african/asian jewish people, and is presumed to be descended from the hebrew nation of 3000 years ago.

Heritage/Nationality - many non-religious "ethnical" jews consider themselves jews even if they are of mixed ethnicity (say, half-jewish half-somethin else,) depending on the strength judaism and jewish heritage played in their upbringing. There is generally a strong sense of shared fate among practicing and non-practicing jews, and a commitment to one another as 'a people' what ever that is.