Haplogroup Frequencies of some Israeli Groups

[Springa]

Sure, and that's why half the "jews" in Israel are not really Jewish.
I've lived most of my life pretty much surrounded by Jews, and I'll tell you, all of them ate pork, none gave a shit about religion (except when they had their bar mitzvahs), some celebrated Christmas even, they never feasted or anything like that. But they strongly considered themselves as Jewish, went to the Jewish club, hung out together, had Yiddish last names, most looked Jewish (whatever that means) and so on.
So, no, it's not just a religion. It's a cultural/ethnic group with very strong historic ties, wether they're orthodox, liberal, reformist, atheist, communist or whatever.
Bob Dylan? He was a Jesus freak once in his life. Didn't stop being Jewish.
Trotsky? Atheist and communist. As Jewish as Ariel Sharon's Rabbi.
Rosa Luxembourg - same thing.
Millions of people in Israel: Atheists, but still zionists. Or even non zionists. All Jewish.
And so on...

SwordandCompass said:

Nope sorry "jewish" is just a religion.
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/742430.stm
www.jewishsf.com/bk010309/sbaychrom.shtml

[IranianLion]

This is unrelated to the topic of the thread but I'll ask anyway.

Melnorme and the other Israelis, do the Iranian Jews in Israel still consider themselves as a semi-distinct group? How have they integrated? Do they still celebrate norouz? I know that Shaul Mofaz and Moshe Katsav are Iranian-born but are Iranian Jews a powerful group in Israel or are these exceptions?

[Melnorme]

IranianLion said:

This is unrelated to the topic of the thread but I'll ask anyway.

Melnorme and the other Israelis, do the Iranian Jews in Israel still consider themselves as a semi-distinct group?

'Semi-distinct'? Yeah, I guess. Not more than any other non-Ashkenazi ancestry group in Israel, though.

How have they integrated? Do they still celebrate norouz? I know that Shaul Mofaz and Moshe Katsav are Iranian-born but are Iranian Jews a powerful group in Israel or are these exceptions?

They're relatively well-integrated. Unlike other Jews who immigrated from Muslim lands, they managed to bring a fair amount of $$$ with them when they left. They aren't as successful as Ashkenazi of course ( who is? ), but they're fairly well-represented as small-business owners, etc.
Remember that compared to other ancestry groups in Israel they are not that large, probably around 200,000 people or less.

What is norouz?

[IranianLion]

Melnorme said:

'Semi-distinct'? Yeah, I guess. Not more than any other non-Ashkenazi ancestry group in Israel, though.

They're relatively well-integrated. Unlike other Jews who immigrated from Muslim lands, they managed to bring a fair amount of $$$ with them when they left. They aren't as successful as Ashkenazi of course ( who is? ), but they're fairly well-represented as small-business owners, etc.
Remember that compared to other ancestry groups in Israel they are not that large, probably around 200,000 people or less.

What is norouz?

I'm guessing you're Ashkenazi. Even 200,000 sounds too much to me. There are many Iranian Jews in the USA (probably more than in Israel). But, still, I'm surprised that the Israeli President and Minister of Defense are both Iranian Jews. I should imagine the Jews from Arab countries had to emigrate very rapidly. ;D

So people in Israel still place much emphasis on the origin of Israelis? Do the Ashkenazi keep to themselves and the others likewise?

Norouz is the Iranian New Year. Celebration of nature and all that rubbish...

[Melnorme]

IranianLion said:

I'm guessing you're Ashkenazi.

No, my heritage is primarily Syrian and Bulgarian.

So people in Israel still place much emphasis on the origin of Israelis? Do the Ashkenazi keep to themselves and the others likewise?

Hmm, well, a 'social gap' exists, but it's not comparable to that between, say, African-Americans and European-Americans.