He was really Jewish! He was a member of my rabbi's congregation in Cinci - and when I used to lead HHD services there in college, would experience him participating profoundly in Yom Kippur from the bimah. Really nice guy.
Jews Don't Count isn't just the brilliant title of David Baddiel's excellent book that I'm sure you've read, Mark. It's also a deeply embedded, baked-into-Western-culture reality that erases people's Jewishness/Judaism when that trait is not what killed them. If Jerry Springer or Margot Stern Strom had been killed *because* of their Judaism, the Times would absolutely have mentioned it, because, as Dara Horn titled her excellent book just as brilliantly, People Love Dead Jews.
I think there are two forces at play. One is the "Jews Don't Count" issue already commented on. The other is an "if I mention they're Jewish, is that antisemitic?" concern (which is nuts, it's not like you're outing them, especially when it's core to their identity as you aptly point out).
He was really Jewish! He was a member of my rabbi's congregation in Cinci - and when I used to lead HHD services there in college, would experience him participating profoundly in Yom Kippur from the bimah. Really nice guy.
Jews Don't Count isn't just the brilliant title of David Baddiel's excellent book that I'm sure you've read, Mark. It's also a deeply embedded, baked-into-Western-culture reality that erases people's Jewishness/Judaism when that trait is not what killed them. If Jerry Springer or Margot Stern Strom had been killed *because* of their Judaism, the Times would absolutely have mentioned it, because, as Dara Horn titled her excellent book just as brilliantly, People Love Dead Jews.
I think there are two forces at play. One is the "Jews Don't Count" issue already commented on. The other is an "if I mention they're Jewish, is that antisemitic?" concern (which is nuts, it's not like you're outing them, especially when it's core to their identity as you aptly point out).
I never found the video, but here is the audio of Belzer's "Ballad of Bob Dylan". It turns up every couple of months on my ipod.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paJdQg6Qv_k&ab_channel=adampodlofsky