Culture
Jew wins idol
Ben Morris
Published: 23.08.06, 16:53
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26 Talkbacks for this article
1. U R RADICALS
(08.23.06)
2. Paula Abdul is NOT a Jew
bobba fett ,   eisham, israel   (08.23.06)
"Jewish pop star Paula Abdul." ?? that's a new one to me. according to a simple google search, and wikipedia, it is easy to find that Paula was born to a Jewish father of Syrian extraction. She appears on a poster lobbying for the plight of Jews kicked out of Arab lands. None of that makes her Jewish, according to Jewish laws maintained since the medieval days. According to Jewish laws redefined during the Crusades (because of untracable heritage due to rape and pillaging by Crusaders and sometimes Moors against Jews): If her mother is Jewish, of if Paula went through a proper conversion to Judaism, then she is Jewish. That's it. there is no other way to be or become Jewish. Could she be "mixed" if her mom was Jewish and her dad was Christian? Well, yes. She'd then be 100% Jewish AND 100% Christian. That, my dear open minded friends, is how Taoists and Buddhists and others can see the possibility of multiple beliefs in a single soul. However, when it comes to "degrees of Jewishness", a person is either Jewish or they are not Jewish. That tradition dates back even to the days before the Crusades, when we as Jews, did in fact trace lineage through the father. Therefore, despite the best intentions of my Confucian, Taoist and Buddhist friends, who have no problems identifying people as "half Christian, half Jewish and half Buddhist on top of that if you like" ... the fact is, there are no half-Jews. That sort of "classification" of calling people "half Jewish" or "a quarter Jewish" etc., is the same kind of claptrap that the Nazi party executed in Germany and Europe during the dark days of the rise of the Third Reich, the establishment of the Nuremberg laws on 'Aryan racial purity', and the Holocaust that followed. we should not let our enemies' definitions of us become our own definitions of ourselves. and at the same time, we must remember what our own definitions really mean, beyond the simple semantics. n.b.: i'm sure paula abdul is a great person, regardless of my opinion of her talents. this opinion is not a reflection or judgement of paula. it's just a clarification of fact through all the hocus-pocus of putting up smoke and mirrors around the very real issue of personal lineage.
3. Paula Abdul is 100% Jewish
Jake   (08.23.06)
Paula Abdul's father is Brazilian-Syrian Sephardic, and her mother is Canadian Ashkenazi. She is definitely Jewish. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paula_Abdul
4. #2
Adam ,   Manchester   (08.23.06)
Her mum was a French Canadian Jew... you have way too much time on your hands to come up with all that......
5. Paula Abdul is 100% Jewish
Schoko ,   Israel   (08.23.06)
Reread wikipedia!
6. Paula Abdul is Jewish #2 Bobba Fett
Shaka   (08.23.06)
A simple google search does shows that her father is Jewish but also shows her mother is Jewish too. Therefer two Jewish parents equals Jewish Child. You should read what you are googling fully bobba fett.
7. who is jewish
honest man ,   earth, solar system   (08.23.06)
whoever has desire to be jewish, whoever who cries with death of an israeli soldiers, whoever who travels long distance to purchase israeli product from a special market, the criteria goes on and on... all these people are more jewish than people like Norman Finkelstein, and Noam Chomsky, the shame of jewish population
8. bobba: wrong but still interesting
sk ,   USA   (08.23.06)
While it seems you are wrong in this case, I still thought your talkback had other useful info.
9. Paula Abdul is not Jewish
Egal ,   Helena, TX USA   (08.23.06)
This is an important life or death manner. We need to discuss, argue and debate about her....If you say Abdul is not Jewish you are endangering Israel's existence, and "Israel has the right to defend herself"... So, let's twist the reality and all agree that she is Jewish (but in realith she is not). The world will be divided into those who think she is Jewish, those of think she is not, and Paula herself (and she doesn't have a say about it). what an important issue for discussion, don't you think?
10. I had no idea she is Jewish, thanks #3..
yafa ,   Israel   (08.23.06)
Amazing I always thought she was an african-american blend of sorts
11. i was ignorant thank you for your enlightenment :)
bobba fett ,   eisham, israel   (08.23.06)
dear everyone, i made a mistake in writing that paula abdul is not jewish. i am sorry most especially to paula abdul. sorry, paula. please accept my apologies. i had simply not absorbed the following from a few sources including wikipedia: " Although actually of Sephardic (through her father) and Ashkenazi (through her mother) Jewish descent, " yes, i made a mistake by not seeing that text even though i read it with my own eyes. ignorance is no excuse. for the sake of justice, people in good societies should accept responsibilities for their mistakes and seek genuine redemption in order to keep living positively, and i do that here. thank you sincerely for your enlightement and forgiveness of the error in my ways. i do appreciate it. :)
12. You are all a punch of racists!
Ari ,   Jerusalem   (08.24.06)
Who cares a Jew or a not a Jew, what matters is she is a good person or not! Stop looking at things in a Jew not a Jew manner! Peace.
13. I DID A SEARCH..SHE IS CHINESE
DACON9   (08.24.06)
14. To Bobba, we all make mistakes
(08.24.06)
I admire your mea culpa. It's not often seen. Thank you. The only little quibble I have now is when you said that Jews shouldn't define themselves using their enemies' definitions. True, but I would just ask you to remember that not every non-Jew is an enemy. (You didn't actually say they all were, but it can be implied, so I just wanted to nit-pick over that one. ) Cheers!
15. #12 Thank you Ari
Ibrahim ,   US   (08.24.06)
16. TO # 13
K-GIRL ,   Sydney Australia   (08.24.06)
YES U ARE RIGHT. SHE HAS CHINESE EYES :)
17. #12 Racists?
Bechor   (08.24.06)
Why are we racist? To say that I am a Jew is no more racist than to say that the person walking down the street is white or black. It is not a discriminatory or derogatory statement, it is simply a fact. I am a Jew and very proud to be one. That does not make me a racist. Why should I not be proud of my heritage? www.globaljewishcommunity.com
18. You all miss the point!
Steve Meltzer ,   Westborough, MA - US   (08.24.06)
If any of you actually read the article, you would know the that story is NOT about whether or not Paula Abdul is Jewish. The story is really about Beth Schafer and her success -- for the first time Jewish music is being taken seriously by the largely non-Jewish public in the US as a legitmate genre. What I'd really like to see is what people have to say about that. For my shekels, the merging of Jewish themes (and yes, Hebrew) with comtemporary music styles is one way we can help keep our children Jewish -- and Beth does this masterfully. I hope those of you who have "talked back" tp this article have actually listened to her music -- if you haven't, go to www.bethschafer.com and take a listen. I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the power, passion and praise in Beth's music, which is blzong blazing a trail on the Jewish music scene in here in the US. I look forward to seeing your reactions to what the article is REALLY about.
19. #13- Dacon9
David ,   New York   (08.24.06)
But is she Sephardic or Ashkenazi Chinese?
20. #11 Bobba Fett
Shaka   (08.24.06)
lol great answer Bobba Fett
21. The Jew Game
Shaka   (08.24.06)
Admit it all of you Jews me included paly the Jew Game. Any famous person whether an actor, singer, politician, athleter etc. we Jews try to make a Jew out of them. I heard so and so is Jewish. . . Really? Winona Ryders last name is really Horowitz and she is Jewish . . . Really? Just like Adam Sandlers Song of Happy HanuKa. . . we Jews do it as a sense of pride at the amazing accomplishments of such a small minority of people in the world doing so many great things. It has nothing to do with racism and anyone who thinks that is an Anti-Semite?
22. kol ha kavod, no.18
zila ,   jerusalem   (08.24.06)
EXACTLY thanks for sticking to the topic and commenting intelligently on it.
23. let's talk about been a human being!
Zahav   (08.24.06)
amazing and shameful how an article like this can create so much "fight" and intranquility in people's mind and words...
24. what a lot of crap
pilpelet   (08.26.06)
jewish not jewish is this what it comes down to. im jewish but its just part of me, not my whole identity ........im a mother ,a student,a lover, a worker,,,,,,,,,,, a hundred other things , if we want the world to see that we are people just like them we first have to see ourselves that way....ive never seen an article about a christian american idle winning .. why because the religion of the winner is not relevant to there sinning abilaty,............. so what is our problem!
25. #18
Connie ,   VA, USA   (08.27.06)
I'm glad I came across this article. I've been wondering the music scene is like in Israel, especially the music of jews who have accepted Yeshua as their Lord and Savior. As you probably already know, Contemporary Christian music and praise and worship music has a very large audience in the US. I will check out her web site tonight or in the morning. It is my hope that perhaps as the jewish and american styles merge it will find an audience in Israel also.
26. interesting comments
Schafer ,   FL   (08.29.06)
As the subject of this article and the winner of American Idol Underground, what is most important and exciting to me is not so much my religion of my beliefs, but that the music appealed to and garnered the votes of people of different religious backgrounds. I do not want to convert anyone to or from Judaism and would hope that no one wants to alter my faith. What is exciting is recognizing what we have in common. If we are in fact all made in G-d's image, I would hope that we could treat eachother with respect and celebrate our diverse faiths through some decent and inclusive music.
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