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There's a couple of reasons. One is that it's a term with a history of being used in a pejorative manner. In cases like this, adjectival forms e.g. Jewish perso
by moomin 10y ago
There's a couple of reasons. One is that it's a term with a history of being used in a pejorative manner. In cases like this, adjectival forms e.g. Jewish person are preferred over noun forms e.g. Jew.
Another problem is neither "Jew" nor "Jewish" is particularly precise. For instance, in America, it typically refers to someone of Ashkenazi extraction, not a believer in Judaism.
- pm90 10y agoAre you saying that the Syrian "community" mentioned in this article are not followers of Judaism? I did not know that...I had assumed that the different "sects" of "Jews" were similar to the different sects of Islam or Christianity: in that they differed in certain beliefs, but still considered themselves as Muslim or Christians.
- moomin 10y agoWhat I'm saying is that "Jewish" may refer to someone who is an atheist but celebrates Hanukkah. There's probably someone in their family who is practicing. The problem being, "Jew" refers both to both a belief system and a racial characteristic, and without qualification it can be thoroughly unclear. This is even true of more precise terms e.g. "Hasidic". There's a very tight-knit ethnic group that share a bunch of religious practices, but the adjective refers to both things. Aside: if you're not easily offended, watch Chanuka Honey on YouTube. It's an extended joke about American Jewish culture, but religion barely features.