Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Jewish identity is so much more than a person’s biology

Ira Bedzow, PhD
Physician
February 17, 2020
224 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share

Recently I made a self-deprecating joke among friends, when one of them said, “that’s so Jewish,” to which another quipped, “What do you expect? It’s in the genes.”

The idea of a Jewish gene is not necessarily new, but it has become more popular and more concerning in recent years.  For example, today, direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies, like 23andMe and Ancestry.com, identify people with certain genetic markers as being a percentage Jewish, leaving those customers who have previously considered themselves as anything but Jewish wondering what this report means.

The 2017 National Jewish Book Award in the category of “Education and Jewish Identity” went to The Origin of the Jews: The Quest for Roots in a Rootless Age, whose last chapter was dedicated to the genetic roots of the Jewish people.  Also in 2017, the head rabbi of the Eretz Hemdah Institute in Israel issued a ruling that, according to Jewish law, specific genetic tests may be used as proof of Jewish descent.

This ruling allows immigrants from Europe who have lost all other evidentiary support to still be able to claim that they are part of the Jewish community without having to undergo conversion.

In one respect, the search for genetic similarities among Jews is neither surprising nor alarming.  Given the traditional Jewish assumption that the Jewish people began as a family sired by Abraham before it became a nation, it’s only natural to assume certain common genetic markers are shared between Jews.  For any close-knit family, where relatives marry each other through generations, genetic similarity should be a natural consequence.

What I am really concerned about regarding the Jewish gene or Jewish genetic markers is that people will think they know me—will developing preconceived notions about me—because they know my genes

What about the person who converts to Judaism? That person presumably does not possess the requisite Jewish gene to be considered part of “the club” based on biology alone, yet Judaism accepts conversion as a legitimate way to join the Jewish family.  On the other side, consider a person who converts to a different religion.  There is a principal in the Talmud that “once a Jew, always a Jew.” But from a social, cultural, and even political perspective, community-affiliation demands voluntary engagement.  For someone who opts out of the community, I cannot imagine there being a moral justification to force that person to do so based on his or her biology or previous affiliation alone.  It’s like forcing a divorcee to continue to attend family dinner.

In Israel, where there is a “Law of Return,” which gives Jews from all over the world the right to gain Israeli citizenship, the Israeli government recognized the political limitations accepting personal Jewish identity contrary to communal Jewish engagement when it refused to apply the law to Oswald Rufeisen, a Polish-born Jew who became a Catholic friar in the Discalced Carmelite Order.  Contrary to the way President Trump speaks about Jews and Israelis, Jewish Law and Israeli Law are not the same.

It’s dangerous to think a Jew or anyone else possesses any trait by virtue of their genetics – whether that trait is exceptional or debase.  Every once in awhile, articles are published in various news outlets about Jewish genius or creativity or Jewish humor and anxiety.  Similarly, television and movies constantly allude to Jewish stereotypes as genetically determined.  For example, in season three of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Midge gives her audience a primer on the Jewish people.  Yet, the idea of the Jewish gene as a social or cultural marker is not only prejudicial, it is incorrect.  Research has already shown the unreliability of the “Warrior Gene” and the strict genetic determination of complex human traits such as intelligence or character.  There are too many environmental and social factors that affect a single gene’s expression, let alone a combination of many genes that all impact a person’s behavior, to think that knowing that a person has a particular gene will tell you who that person is.  Moreover, given how different even siblings could be, depending on their shared and unique life experiences, it is absurd to think that shared Jewish genetic common markers can justify saying that all Jewish are alike in any particular way.

Jewish – or any – identity is so much more than a person’s biology.  The way that I see myself and choose to be seen by others is influenced by my beliefs, life-choices, the people with whom I share experiences, and the friends and relatives who I deem as family.  It may be interesting to know what your genes say about your past, but it doesn’t tell the whole story … just a very small part of it.

Ira Bedzow is an associate professor of medicine and director, Biomedical Ethics & Humanities Program, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

The environmental impact of anesthesia

February 16, 2020 Kevin 1
…
Next

Patient bias may endanger both physicians of today and the future

February 17, 2020 Kevin 2
…

Tagged as: Genetics

Post navigation

< Previous Post
The environmental impact of anesthesia
Next Post >
Patient bias may endanger both physicians of today and the future

More by Ira Bedzow, PhD

  • Medical students creating their own oaths: Is that the best way to enter the profession?

    Ira Bedzow, PhD

Related Posts

  • Match Day: Leaving behind my polished applicant identity and becoming a physician trainee

    Simone Phillips
  • One person’s wasteful medical spending is another person’s income

    Edward Hoffer, MD
  • The value of in-person feedback

    Micaela Stevenson
  • Recognizing the secret identity of physicians

    Lindsay Mazotti, MD
  • A physician’s addiction to social media

    Amanda Xi, MD
  • Why whole person care is needed for better population health management

    Trisha Swift, DNP, RN

More in Physician

  • Raw humanity on night float: inspiring patient encounters and overcoming challenges

    Johnathan Yao, MD, MPH
  • Revolutionizing emergency medicine: Overcoming long-term challenges with innovative solutions for physicians and patients

    Anonymous
  • The pediatric health care system tested to the limits: an inside look at the “at capacity” period during the tripledemic

    Jacqueline Bolt, MD
  • How chronic illness and disability are portrayed in media and the importance of daily choices for improved quality of life

    Juliet Morgan and Meghan Jobson
  • How biased language and stigmatizing labels affect patient care and treatment

    Joan Naidorf, DO
  • Emulating Michael Jordan’s winning mindset: a path to success for health care professionals and entrepreneurs

    Harvey Castro, MD, MBA
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • A patient’s perspective on the diminishing relationship between doctors and patients

      Michele Luckenbaugh | Conditions
    • Unmasking wage disparity in health care: the truth behind the Elmhurst Hospital physician strike

      Kevin Pho, MD | KevinMD
    • Why affirmative action is crucial for health equity and social justice in medicine

      Katrina Gipson, MD, MPH | Policy
    • How electronic health records preserve patients’ legacies in the words of oncologists

      Marc Braunstein, MD, PhD | Physician
    • Unmasking the brutal reality of gun violence in America: a call to action for unity and meaningful change

      Osmund Agbo, MD | Policy
    • Emulating Michael Jordan’s winning mindset: a path to success for health care professionals and entrepreneurs

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • The growing threat to transgender health care: implications for patients, providers, and trainees

      Carson Hartlage | Policy
    • Breaking point: the 5 reasons American doctors are dreaming of walking away from medicine

      Amol Shrikhande, MD | Physician
    • “Is your surgeon really skilled? The hidden threat to public safety in medicine.

      Gene Uzawa Dorio, MD | Physician
    • It’s time to replace the 0 to 10 pain intensity scale with a better measure

      Mark Sullivan, MD and Jane Ballantyne, MD | Conditions
    • Breaking the cycle of racism in health care: a call for anti-racist action

      Tomi Mitchell, MD | Policy
    • Revolutionize your practice: the value-based care model that reduces physician burnout

      Chandravadan Patel, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Why doctors aren’t to blame for the U.S. opioid crisis [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Raw humanity on night float: inspiring patient encounters and overcoming challenges

      Johnathan Yao, MD, MPH | Physician
    • Is AI the solution for the shortage of nephrologists? ChatGPT weighs in.

      Amol Shrikhande, MD | Tech
    • Unlocking the secrets of cancer conferences: an end-of-life counselor’s journey among pharmaceutical giants

      Althea Halchuck, EJD | Conditions
    • Why HIPAA is failing and what you need to know to protect your data [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Revolutionizing emergency medicine: Overcoming long-term challenges with innovative solutions for physicians and patients

      Anonymous | Physician

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 1 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

CME Spotlights

From MedPage Today

Latest News

  • What Drug Did FDA Just Approve for COVID?
  • PET Scan for Alzheimer's Dx; Predicting Colon Cancer Survival
  • What Happens When We Classify Kids' Weight as a 'Disease'?
  • Sotagliflozin Gets FDA's Blessing for Heart Failure
  • Cardiorespiratory Monitoring Can Be Telling of Outcomes in Extremely Preterm Infants

Meeting Coverage

  • No Access to Routine Healthcare Biggest Barrier to HPV Vaccination
  • Trial Results Spark Talk of Curing More Metastatic Cervical Cancers
  • Cross-Border Collaboration Improves Survival in Pediatric Leukemia Patients
  • Monoclonal Antibody Reduced Need For Transfusions in Low-Risk MDS
  • Less-Invasive Surgery for Pancreatic Cancer Proves Safe, Effective
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • A patient’s perspective on the diminishing relationship between doctors and patients

      Michele Luckenbaugh | Conditions
    • Unmasking wage disparity in health care: the truth behind the Elmhurst Hospital physician strike

      Kevin Pho, MD | KevinMD
    • Why affirmative action is crucial for health equity and social justice in medicine

      Katrina Gipson, MD, MPH | Policy
    • How electronic health records preserve patients’ legacies in the words of oncologists

      Marc Braunstein, MD, PhD | Physician
    • Unmasking the brutal reality of gun violence in America: a call to action for unity and meaningful change

      Osmund Agbo, MD | Policy
    • Emulating Michael Jordan’s winning mindset: a path to success for health care professionals and entrepreneurs

      Harvey Castro, MD, MBA | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • The growing threat to transgender health care: implications for patients, providers, and trainees

      Carson Hartlage | Policy
    • Breaking point: the 5 reasons American doctors are dreaming of walking away from medicine

      Amol Shrikhande, MD | Physician
    • “Is your surgeon really skilled? The hidden threat to public safety in medicine.

      Gene Uzawa Dorio, MD | Physician
    • It’s time to replace the 0 to 10 pain intensity scale with a better measure

      Mark Sullivan, MD and Jane Ballantyne, MD | Conditions
    • Breaking the cycle of racism in health care: a call for anti-racist action

      Tomi Mitchell, MD | Policy
    • Revolutionize your practice: the value-based care model that reduces physician burnout

      Chandravadan Patel, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • Why doctors aren’t to blame for the U.S. opioid crisis [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Raw humanity on night float: inspiring patient encounters and overcoming challenges

      Johnathan Yao, MD, MPH | Physician
    • Is AI the solution for the shortage of nephrologists? ChatGPT weighs in.

      Amol Shrikhande, MD | Tech
    • Unlocking the secrets of cancer conferences: an end-of-life counselor’s journey among pharmaceutical giants

      Althea Halchuck, EJD | Conditions
    • Why HIPAA is failing and what you need to know to protect your data [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Revolutionizing emergency medicine: Overcoming long-term challenges with innovative solutions for physicians and patients

      Anonymous | Physician

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Jewish identity is so much more than a person’s biology
1 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...