How come most Jewish people I know can't stop talking about how they're Jewish?
I had a really good Jewish friend in high school and he was one of my closest friends. I've met his family many times, and they were extremely nice all the time. However, after high school, we drifted apart.
Cue being in college. I find out that my friend and his family are very different than a lot of Jewish people. My college is right next to a neighborhood that has a large population of Jewish people. My school has a lot of Jewish people as well, and I have a couple of friends in the Jewish fraternity (AEPi). I even start dating a Jewish boy, who I am still currently with and love very much. However, as I get to know more and more Jewish people, I get more and more irked. It seems like almost every Jewish person I know can't stop talking about how they are Jewish. They constantly talk about how they go to the rabbi's house every week, who else they know that is Jewish, and how Israel is so awesome.
They stay within the Jewish community, mostly only make friends with Jewish people, and babysit for Jewish families. They talk about how when they find out another person is a Jew, they talk about how they are Jewish. And if that person is a Jew, they must automatically be friends. The president of a club that I am very active in got every Jewish person in the club Star of David shirts and nothing for everyone else. Also, every club I'm in, the Jewish people only try to recruit more Jewish people and no one else. I think that's completely ridiculous and that regular clubs should be made up of all races and religions.
I cooked latkes before with my boyfriend, who has never cooked them before. I thought they turned out delicious. My friend tried it and she said "Non-jews just don't seem to understand how to cook latkes". My boyfriend said she was completely right constantly quoted her for an entire month about how I didn't understand because I'm not Jewish.
They also talk about Israel all the time. How everything is better in Israel, how the coffee and milk and eggs are better, and if they find out something is made in Israel, they must buy it, no matter how crappy it is. I've tasted some Israeli coffee my boyfriend got back and it tasted awful. And I consider myself to have tried a lot of different coffees from a lot of different countries. I was with a friend while food shopping and she bought a really awful tasting yogurt solely on the basis that it was made in Israel.
I have friends of all religions. My Muslim friend has never shoved in my face about how she was Muslim, and neither did all the people in the Muslim Association at my school. I hung out with my friend and her Christian club before, and never even knew that any of them were Christian until she told me later that night. I am Indian, but I don't say to all my friends "Hey, did you know I'm indian? Yeah, I celebrate the Hindu holidays all the time. Oh my god, this food is indian, I need to buy it! Hey indian person, I want to be friends with you because you're indian too!" But that's what most Jewish people I've met do. Every time I meet or hang out with a Jewish person, they let me know they are Jewish immediately. What's up with that?
I'm really sorry if this seems racist, I really not trying to be. And I'm sorry for all the Jewish people that don't do this. I know there are a lot of Jewish people that aren't like this at all. It just seems like all the ones that are are in my school.
Edit: sorry, cut out some stuff and added because it seemed confusing.
Posted May 31, 2011, 11:56 PM UTC · edited