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How common is it for other people of Polish origin to discover they are actually Jewish?


delphiandomine 88 | 18,163
25 Dec 2011 #91
Isn't this one of the things that makes America a great country?
EM_Wave 9 | 311
25 Dec 2011 #92
Yep, people are very mixed. I like it since the women are sexy.
a.k.
25 Dec 2011 #93
Yep, people are very mixed.

Mixed with who?
EM_Wave 9 | 311
25 Dec 2011 #94
There are many different combinations.
a.k.
25 Dec 2011 #95
Oh, I know. You Americans consider an Irish-Hungarian couple as mixed.
markskibniewski 3 | 200
27 Dec 2011 #96
According to Jewish law, a person who is born to a Jewish mother is a Jew (whether they keep the religion or not)
that is very racist law.

Racist no just practical as in olden days women were considered property and were raped and traded/ sold all the time. I call this law "The Mutt Law"

Scarlet unless you are a practicing Jew I wouldn't worry too much about it. You are what you are. My wife is a practicing Jew, however , I am raising all of my children Roman Catholic. I respect my wife's beliefs as she does mine. The only difference between a Jew and a Christian is one more belief. We are all African anyway.
EM_Wave 9 | 311
3 Jan 2012 #97
Oh, I know. You Americans consider an Irish-Hungarian couple as mixed.

Well they are ethnic mixes...
Nickidewbear 23 | 609
28 Jun 2012 #98
My maternal grandmother was an proper anti-Semite she realy hated zyds, but Iv'e just discovered her mother's maiden name was Kaplan and was actauly Jewish and therefore technically I'm also Jewish. How common is it for other people of Polish origin to discover they are actually Jewish?

So, you're a kohenet--Kaplan means "priest" or "bishop". By the way, the Matrilineal Jewishness thing wasn't recognized until 586 BC-70 AD. Read the studies by J.R. Wilheim and Nehemia Gordon.
yehudi 1 | 433
28 Jun 2012 #99
So, you're a kohenet--Kaplan means "priest" or "bishop". By the way, the Matrilineal Jewishness thing wasn't recognized until 586 BC-70 AD.

It means priest, which would mean a descendent of Aharon, Moses' brother. That makes her not a Kohenet, since there's no female priesthood in Judaism, but rather a "Bat Cohen", which means the daughter of a priest. And there is no such thing as a "Bishop" in the Jewish religion.

You say matrilineal jewishness wasn't recognized till 586BC. That's a pretty long time ago. I think it's safe to say she's Jewish.
Nickidewbear 23 | 609
28 Jun 2012 #100
But Matrilineal Jewishness was recognized only by Ezra. And anyway, banot-Aharon HaKohen are called "kohenet" in the singular. To answer your question, by the way, plenty of "Poles" find out that they're Jewish through DNA or like John Kerry HaKohen found out that he's Jewish--granted that John Kerry is Austrian-Hungarian American, nonetheless.
sugarblossom2 - | 2
21 Oct 2013 #101
This is very interesting. I can relate to your question and I have a similar story. I am a 37 yr old female, third generation Polish American. There has been a "rumor" in my family that my mother's family is Jewish. Recently, it has been discovered, yes....discovered that we are in fact Jewish by my mother's Great or Great Great Grandmother whose name was Kagan (or maybe spelled Kegan). I was told that it was often kept a very grave secret out of fear of persecution if you were Jewish hiding in Poland. It was never spoken of until recently. So, I can relate to your story. I also wondered what it meant to be a Polish Jew as well since I grew up not fully knowing my ancestry. Could my ancestors have been holocaust survivors? What were the lives of my female ancestors like and how may that have shaped who I am or am not today. I am not an Ashkenazi Jew, my maternal Aunt is a survivor of very aggressive, sudden onset breast cancer and was tested for the Ashkenazi gene as they are genetically predisposed to aggressive breast cancer. If your even think you might be Jewish, they doctors will test you for that just so that they can learn more to help Ashkenazi women. So your ancestry can help catch some health problems before they hit hard and help others as well.

I know some people have posted statements of disbelief wondering how does someone "discover" or not know of their ancestry.
I also hope this helps some people understand that this is not unusual and that wanting to know about where you came from does not mean you have identity issues or are "latching on" to an identity. Some people just find their own ancestry more interesting and enriching than others. Some don't.
Nile 1 | 154
21 Oct 2013 #102
I was told that it was often kept a very grave secret out of fear of persecution if you were Jewish hiding in Poland

You mean if you were a Jew hiding during WWII?

, yes....discovered that we are in fact Jewish by my mother's Great or Great Great Grandmother whose name was Kagan

I wouldn't know but so tell me please if there is any specific Jewish gene? Otherwise your claim would quite foolish. How do you know that your great grandma or her offspring didn't willingly change her/his allegation and decide not to be Jewish and marry outside Jewish community?
yehudi 1 | 433
21 Oct 2013 #103
She means that she's ethnically Jewish and/or that she's a Jew according to Jewish law. If she's happy to find that out then good for her. Why is it foolish in your eyes?
ZIMMY 6 | 1,601
21 Oct 2013 #104
we are in fact Jewish by my mother's Great or Great Great Grandmother

This is getting silly. So you want to claim Jewishness because you 'might' have 1/8 Jewish genes? Even that doesn't count if your line was not continually matriarchal.

\

Could my ancestors have been holocaust survivors?

You seem unaware that approximately 3 million non Jewish Poles died during almost 6 years of Nazi rule. That too was a holocaust for all those innocent victims.

What were the lives of my female ancestors like and how may that have shaped who I am or am not today.

You don't think that your male ancestors had any role in shaping who you are today?

Some people just find their own ancestry more interesting and enriching than others.

You might want to study your Polish roots. You might be surprised.
Nile 1 | 154
21 Oct 2013 #105
She means that she's ethnically Jewish and/or that she's a Jew according to Jewish law. If she's happy to find that out then good for her. Why is it foolish in your eyes?

Your simplifying opinion on the issue.
yehudi 1 | 433
21 Oct 2013 #106
It's not complicated.

Could my ancestors have been holocaust survivors?

Not distant ancestors. The holocaust was about 69 years ago. If your grandparents are alive just ask them.
Nile 1 | 154
21 Oct 2013 #107
It's not complicated.

But it is not as simple as you make out to be. Is there any specific Jewish gene?
yehudi 1 | 433
22 Oct 2013 #108
Is there any specific Jewish gene?

There isn't one specific gene, there are many genes that are common in the Jewish gene pool. Since Jews (until the past hundred years) married among themselves for centuries there developed a gene pool that has characteristics, both good and bad. Just like any ethnic group that keeps separate from others. That's why there are some genetic diseases that are more common among Jews, and that's also why we get more Nobel prizes. It's all in the genes.
Crow 155 | 9,025
22 Oct 2013 #109
How common is it for other people of Polish origin to discover they are actually Jewish?

i don`t understand question. Ethnicity is ethnicity and religion is religion.

One can be Polish and in the same time exist as believer of Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism or Rodoverie, etc. One can be even atheist
yehudi 1 | 433
22 Oct 2013 #110
i don`t understand question. Ethnicity is ethnicity and religion is religion.

That's right, you don't understand. Not every group of people defines identity the way you do. For Jews, ethnicity and religion overlap.
We are an ethnic group (tribe/nation/ people) that has its own religion.
Crow 155 | 9,025
22 Oct 2013 #111
alright, i respect your choice man. Actually, we Serbs also have sort of unique religious path in comparison to other Christians and Slavs. We are last Slavs who in its Christianized form celebrate old universal Slavic family custom that was (is) known as SLAVA. For us, Our Lord Jesus Christ and His beloved Mother goes hand in hand with cult of ancestors and Svetovid.

So, i understand your concept. Simplistically speaking, you Jews can`t comprehend your ethnicity without your God. We Serbians also can`t separate our ethnicity from SLAVA custom- from our spirituality. That`s why we incorporated our rodoverie in Christianity.

you must admit, this world is so fantastically diverse.
archiwum 13 | 125
22 Oct 2013 #112
More like Mischling. Which is one grandparent.

You are only Mischling if you do not have an appearance of.
Nile 1 | 154
22 Oct 2013 #113
There isn't one specific gene, there are many genes that are common in the Jewish gene pool..

If I understand you correctly it is possible for someone to send a sample of DNA to a laboratory and they would be able to tell with 90% accuracy that that someone is Jewish or at least his genome is Jewish.
ZIMMY 6 | 1,601
25 Oct 2013 #114
"How common is it for other people of Polish origin to discover they are actually Jewish?"

How common is it for other people of Jewish origin to discover they are actually Polish?
f stop 25 | 2,507
25 Oct 2013 #115
I found this link: igenea.com/en/jews
yehudi 1 | 433
27 Oct 2013 #116
It works like this:
When you apply for an immigrant status you have to provide a document that shows your a Jew, whether by birth or converted. If a person is Jewish according to Jewish religious law but his spouse is not (and therefore his kids are not), they can also immigrate and become citizens. The idea behind that is sort of a negative of what the germans did: If you're someone the nazis would have killed, then we'll let you in.

I'm not aware of any DNA tests to prove Jewishness.
delphiandomine 88 | 18,163
27 Oct 2013 #117
Would I be right in assuming that such a person would have to fufil his duties with the IDF?
Bieganski 17 | 890
27 Oct 2013 #118
Not necessarily. Take for example the American Jew Samuel Sheinbein who at the age of 17 murdered a love rival then fled to Israel and immediately gained citizenship in a cowardly attempt to avoid justice:

Copying and pasting more than 100 words is not permitted.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Sheinbein

I would like to think the IDF wouldn't want him anyway but you never know. It is safe to say though the he most certainly won't ever be getting a Nobel Prize in life.
Harry
27 Oct 2013 #119
The article you link to has not a word to say about IDF service, so we must conclude that you posted it solely because you wanted to post something about an 'evil Jew' and to attempt to make Israel look bad. Perhaps I should reply to your post by linking to a Pole who raped a child and then fled the USA (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polanski)? At least that would be on topic, given that the man is of Polish origin and of partly Jewish descent.
Bieganski 17 | 890
27 Oct 2013 #120
Your British cohort asked about IDF conscription as it pertains to immigrants to Israel. I cited a very relevant example of an age-eligible Jewish person who immigrated to Israel but who didn't serve in the IDF. Given that the Israeli government rubber-stamped his citizenship application and then went further to protect him by denying his extradition to the United States it could very well have turned out that this murderer could have gone on to don an IDF uniform for you to admire from afar. But it didn't turn out that way.

Now, do you care to tell us what the convicted French fugitive Raimund Liebling has to do with any of this?


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