Ambiguously Jewish: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

A character who fits "Jewish" stereotypes, possibly played by an actor who is Jewish in real life, but who is never (or cryptically) actually stated to be a Jew on the show. In some cases, the show might present contradictory evidence on both sides. Often this is because it's difficult to establish a character as Jewish without depicting them as walking stereotype, particularly when there's no omniscient narrator to simply [[Informed Ability|say so]].

This is the exact opposite of [[Informed Judaism]], where that trope is when a Jewish character's faith is plainly stated, usually as an afterthought, but never really exhibited by their thoughts or actions and has no relevance in the plot.

 

{{examples}}

* Spike Spiegel on ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]'' is considered Jewish by some fans because he has a Yiddish family name, a stereotypically Jewish haircut, and carries an Israeli-made Jericho 941 pistol. Obviously he is not played by a Jewish actor, since he is an animated character, and his Japanese voice actor isn't either. ([[Steve Blum|His American voice-actor]], on the other hand...) When asked, the series creators said he was modeled after actor [[wikipedia:Yusaku Matsuda|Yusaku]] [http://i.imgur.com/nf8cQ.jpg Matsuda], and they just thought the name sounded cool.

** The Kleins were confirmed by [[Word of God]] as being from Scandinavia, possibly related to royalty or nobility. However, they ironically go in a different direction than most of the examples because their own faction (the coordinators) is treated with about the same respect as WWII-era Jews by the naturals.

 

== Comic Books ==

* Ben Grimm, the Thing in the ''[[Fantastic Four (Comic Book)|Fantastic Four]]'', was created by Jews, has a Jewish name (Benjamin Jacob), resembles the [[Golem]] legend, and grew up in a Yancy Street neighborhood resembling New York's Lower East Side. Grimm was finally confirmed as Jewish in 2002, 41 years after his first appearance. This ended with an immortal "You don't ''look'' Jewish..." That story explains that he'd been hiding as many signs of his Jewishness as he could ever since the accident, due to his monstrous form, not wanting his monstrousness to be anti-semitism fuel.

* The character of ''[[Moon Knight]]'', aka Marc Spector, was [[Retcon|retroactively]] made Jewish several years after his debut when his creators were informed that 'Spector' was a Jewish name (they'd originally chosen it just because it sounded cool).

* [[Superman]], prior to the Byrne reboot in 1986 (which got rid of some of these elements), is a classic example: his origin story is a modern take on Moses (his people faced terrible destruction, and his parents cast him adrift hoping to spare him; Kandor represents the people he came back to save and take to the promised land); his cultural heritage, which he took great pride in, was a distinctly non-Christian monotheism with an emphasis on intellectual achievement; and his Kryptonian name, "Kal-El," has an ending meaning "God," common in Jewish names such as Nathaniel and Israel. (In fact, in Hebrew, "Kal-El" could translate as either "All [that is under] God," as in, "One Nation, Under God," the American Way; or "The Voice of God," as in, Prophecy, Truth, and Justice.) Superman was created by two Jews, Siegel and Schuster in the late 1930s, and given a name which is a rough translation of the German word "[[Ubermensch]]." The Nazis were fond of this concept, as well; a black-haired Ubermensch who fights for "truth, justice, and the American way" might well have been a [[Take That]], or at least some catharsis, for the creators. In one [[The Golden Age of Comic Books|Golden Age]] [[Elseworld|what-if]] story, Supes even delivered a "distinctly non-Aryan sock to the jaw for you, Adolf!" (Compare and contrast to [[Captain America (comics)]], the blonde, blue-eyed Nazi's worst nightmare.)

* Some suspect ''[[Ultimate Spider-Man]]'' is Jewish, mostly because he has [[Yiddish as a Second Language]] and dated Kitty Pryde, Marvel's Jewish poster girl. He's modeled after Stan Lee, who is Jewish, but it's probably just the [[Big Applesauce]] effect.

* [[Batman]]. His maternal grandfather is Jewish, which is why his mother has a Jewish last name, Kane. Because ''her'' mother wasn't Jewish, however, she would not have been considered Jewish. The name is probably a [[Shout-Out]] to Bob Kane, co-creator of Batman, who was Jewish. Current [[Batwoman]] and distant-relative Kate Kane, however, actually is Jewish.

* The character of G.B. Blackrock from the Generation One ''Transformers'' comic published by Marvel Comics. Blackrock sounds like an Anglicization of Schwarzstein, and creator Bob Budiansky said he based the character's name off that of his friend Gary Bennett Schwartz; both Budiansky and Schwartz are Jewish. Nevertheless, Blackrock's religious or ethnic background is never referred to explicitly in the comic. Also, there was an amusing incident during the scraplet outbreak wherein Goldbug (an alternate name for Bumblebee) telephoned Blackrock for help; Blackrock's secretary mispronounced Goldbug as Goldberg.

 

 

* Maury Ballstein of ''[[Zoolander]]''.

* Miracle Max and his wife in ''[[The Princess Bride (film)|The Princess Bride]]''. This was somewhat [[Lampshaded]] in [[The Princess Bride (novel)|the book]]. Billy Crystal, who played Max, once referred to the pair as "little Jewish trolls."

* Screenwriter Daniel Waters gave Max Shreck, the [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]] and tertiary villain of ''[[Batman Returns]]'', some Ambiguously Jewish characteristics, most notably [[Yiddish as a Second Language|a few Yiddish expressions]] [[All There in the Script|slipped into the script]], although these were dropped in the actual film. Max's portrayer, [[Christopher Walken]], is actually a Methodist, although he ''is'' a native New Yorker and reportedly knows some Yiddish (and said that he based his characterization of Max on Meyer Wolfsheim, the Jewish gambler in ''[[The Great Gatsby]]''). Andrew Bryniarski, who played Max's son Chip in that movie, is of Russian descent, so he could easily be Jewish. The novelization, however, mentions that their family celebrates Christmas.

* The two backpackers in ''[[An American Werewolf in London]]'' have Jewish names and come from New York. A nurse says that she thinks one of them is Jewish because he's circumcised, but another nurse counters that lots of gentiles are circumcised these days. It's never confirmed one way or the other.

 

== Literature ==

** Cohen the Barbarian. Besides his Jewish surname, there's that "wholesale destruction" joke. However, the stereotype wasn’t played up very often, and his name mainly serves as a pun.

** The entire dwarfish species is ambiguously Jewish, although the author says that this really wasn't his intention (so are the golems, and that almost certainly ''was''). ''Thud!'' added a clear, also probably unintended parallel between the Dwarvish minority in Ankh-Morpork and ''Muslims'' in the western world. It's a shame Ambiguously Semitic isn't a trope, really.

* In another odd case where the character is Jewish or Irish (or arguably both), the [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]] Melmotte in ''The Way We Live Now'' is a [[Fauxreigner]] who has likely altered his name to sound French. His wife is explicitly Jewish, and his name could be interpreted as a clever adaptation of the Jewish name Malamud, and there is a lot of prejudice by the author and characters which relies on the assumption that he is Jewish. David Suchet, who played him in the ''Masterpiece Theatre'' series, has Jewish ancestry. On the other hand, the author's notes during writing peg him at one point as an Irish-American originally named Malmedy. So, Melmotte's background basically depends on what [[Anthony Trollope]] was thinking about at any given point while writing.

* Irene Adler, from the [[Sherlock Holmes]] story "A Scandal in Bohemia," and many other Holmes stories by writers other than Doyle. Certainly, her name sounds Jewish, and it has been theorized that she was inspired, at least in part, by Sarah Bernhardt.

* ''[[The Clique]]''. A number of minor characters have Jewish-sounding last names and reference bat mitzvahs. Also, Massie Block has a Jewish surname, and (along with her mother) easily fits the Jewish American Princess stereotype, has a mother who sounds "ready to sue" upon believing that Jesus was mentioned in her daughter's history class, and mentions bar mitzvahs. The author, who has a physical appearance not unlike Massie's, is Jewish.

* Many have interpreted Ebeneezer Scrooge from A Christmas Carol as a particularly crass anti-Semitic caricature, being that he's an exceptionally stingy moneylender with a Hebrew name, who doesn't celebrate Christmas. This is most likely a case of [[Unfortunate Implications]] though, as Dickens had no problem with stating the similarly offensive Fagin is Jewish in Oliver. Nevertheless, several adaptations have run with this, to varying degrees, [[A Muppets Christmas Carol]] being a notable example.

 

* George and the rest of the Costanza family on ''[[Seinfeld]]''. On the one hand, they have an Italian last name ([[All Jews Are Ashkenazi|though it could be Sephardic]]), Frank is allegedly a member of the Knights of Columbus, and why would they need Festivus as a Christmas alternative if they could have just celebrated Hanukkah instead? Frank also sold statues of Jesus to Koreans. On the other hand, they are all played by Jewish actors and George is the avatar of co-creator [[Larry David]], who is also Jewish. Jason Alexander said he wasn't sure what ethnicity George was meant to have until Estelle Harris was cast as his mother, saying [[Jewish Mother|"She can't be anything but Jewish."]] Wikipedia says that they are a Jewish-Italian mixed marriage, but this is clearly just a [[Retcon]], as David admitted that they didn't really think about any of this, just choosing names that they liked for the characters and casting the best actors and actresses available.

* Paul Buchman and his relatives on ''[[Mad About You]]''. Casting [[Mel Brooks]] as Paul's Uncle Phil was a heck of a clue, though. There was even ambiguity for Jamie Buchman. The closing tag to one episode showed her telling Paul that she had relatives in Israel. When he looks doubtful, she says "Don't assume." Helen Hunt is actually one-quarter Jewish.

* Buddy Sorrell on ''[[The Dick Van Dyke Show]]'' was originally one of these... until they eliminated all doubt by having an episode about his Bar Mitzvah. Also a very early example of [[Very Special Episode]].

* At least some people think that ''[[Jerry And Millie]]'' (especially Millie) were supposed to be Jewish.

* Kipp Steadman on ''[[Less Than Perfect]]''. He'd occasionally use "shalom" as a greeting. Also, at one point, the main character threatened to tell his boss that he doesn't go the synagogue on Friday evenings, to which he responded with "Oy vey".

* Fox Mulder of ''[[The X-Files]]''. David Duchovny, himself descended from Russian Jews, said early in the show that he would "assume Mulder is Jewish until told otherwise." Not all the show's writers agreed. The evidence for and against includes:

* Artie Nielsen, born Arthur Weisfelt, of [[Warehouse 13]] has numerous hints dropped throught the first two seasons, but is placed firmly in this category by the [[Christmas Special|Christmas episode]] of Season 2 which reunites him with his father, played by Judd Hirsch. As a sort of retro lampshade to this sudden Judaism, his [[Team Dad|de facto daughter]], Claudia, when invited to say grace at the (gentile) Christmas dinner table, intones "Baruch atah adonai eloheinu melech...", although she is rapidly put right by the two older gentlemen.

* In at least one episode [[Starsky and Hutch|Starsky]] has a Star of David on his dashboard and a menorah in his apartment. (Paul Michael Glaser is Jewish in real life.)

 

== New Media ==

* ''[[I Love Bees]]'' has a whole planet of ambiguous Jews. There are religious dietary restrictions and [[Jewish Mother]] stereotypes, but the characters have names like Zaman and could conceivably be Muslim.

 

== Theater ==

* ''[[Death of a Salesman]]'' has been seriously analyzed for decades [http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/19/us/on-religion-since-the-opening-curtain-a-debate-is-willy-loman-jewish.html?pagewanted=all (NY Times article)] on the subject of whether the Lomans were Jewish. [[Arthur Miller]] was brought up Jewish and based the character of Willy Loman on his uncle who was a salesman in the Depression. Miller stated in a 1969 interview that Willy Loman's religious or cultural background seemed irrelevant, but acknowledged in the 50th anniversary edition of the play that the Lomans could have been assimilated Jews. Loman lacks any identifying features of a Jewish (or any other) background, but this can be interpreted both ways; either Willy Loman was written without religious or cultural background to act as [[The Everyman]] and represent the broader American experience, or else his conspicuous ''lack'' of these features is a sign of how he abandoned an immigrant past in his drive for the [[American Dream]].

* The Hollanders from ''[[Don't Drink the Water]]''. Woody Allen wrote this one and actually played Walter Hollander in the second movie version.

* Nathan Detroit of ''[[Guys and Dolls]]'' is often thought of as Jewish, mostly because of his use of the Yiddish word "nu," but no one ever spells this out. When the show was written, Nathan Detroit was probably intended as an [[Expy]] of Arnold Rothstein, a well-known Jewish gambler.

* In [[Richard Wagner]]'s ''[[Parsifal]]'', Kundry's backstory is that of the Wandering Jew. [[Unfortunate Implications]] regarding her character abound in this religious-themed work.

 

== Video Games ==

* Bridgette Tenenbaum from ''[[BioShock (series)]]'' is presumably Jewish, as she has a Jewish name and was a prisoner at a Nazi prison camp.

** Ditto Sander Cohen.

* The Baron of Hollywood in ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines]]'' is named Isaac Abrams, and he both owns a jewelry store and is a major (albeit secret) player in the film industry.

** The Tremere primogen, Maximillian Strauss, also has a fairly Jewish-sounding name.

 

== Web Original ==

* May I present ''[http://www.jewornotjew.com/index.jsp Jew or Not Jew]''.

* As seen [[Twofer Token Minority|here]] on [[This Very Wiki]].

* ''[[Lackadaisy Cats]]'' gives us a frigid psychopath named Mordecai Heller. [[Captain Obvious|This is a markedly Jewish name]], especially considering [[Roaring Twenties|the time period.]]

* The German general in Humon's post-WWI "American in Berlin" series was eventually revealed to be named Benjamin. After people criticized her for giving him a Jewish name, she responded by asking when she said he wasn't.

 

== Western Animation ==

* Almost every character in ''[[Drawn Together]]'' has exemplified Jewish stereotypes; several of them know Hebrew song lyrics and the entire cast celebrated Hannukah. This is most likely just another way of making fun of Jews, however, given [[Dead Baby Comedy|the nature of the show]]. It's [[Self-Deprecation]], too, since the creators are Jewish. The show would every now and then parody how Jews frequently parody themselves in Hollywood. Yeah, this gets meta.

* Zoidberg from '' [[Futurama]]''. He fulfills many, many Jewish stereotypes but is never exactly confirmed.

* Jay Sherman from ''[[The Critic]]'' is played by a Jewish actor, and the character has any number of jewish-seeming manurisms. However, as a baby, he was adopted by parents who are rich, white, stereotypical Protestants, which would make him Protestant as well. Duh. However, when presented with the posibilty of finding his birth-mother, he expressed hope that she was Jewish, which, as previously noted, would make him Jewish as well. Verdict: Borderline Jew. according to: [http://www.jewornotjew.com/profile.jsp?ID=251 Jew or Not Jew].

** In that same episode when he asked the man at the adoption agency if he was Jewish the man replied, [[Deadpan Snarker|"Oh, what do YOU think?"]]

* '' [[Regular Show]]'': There aren't too many Gentiles named Mordecai.

* ''[[Fish Hooks]]'': Bea Goldfishberg? Also, her best friend [[Heroes Want Redheads|Oscar]] is incredibly neurotic, and sports a "Jewfro."

* Walter Wolf on '' [[Animaniacs]]'' talks with an [[Alter Kocker]] accent and has thrown a few "meshuggenehs" around. On that note, Slappy Squirrel has used the term "bubbeleh" at least once and sarcastically said that she thought that a bird on Skippy's head was a new yarmulke. Probably [[Big Applesauce]] again.

** Interestingly, potatoes are a common Jewish food at Hanukkah time - if you're Ashkenazi. If you're Sephardi, you'll probably have rice instead.

* Filbert in ''[[Rocko's Modern Life]]'' is Woody Allen in turtle form.

* On ''[[Hey Arnold!]],'' [[Dumb Muscle|Harold]] came off this way before it was confirmed by a Bar Mitzvah episode. Also, [[Born Unlucky|Eugene]] has the last name "Horowitz" and [[Geek|Sheena]] can at least recognize Hebrew at a glance.

* Many ''[[Daria]]'' fans think that the title character's surname, "Morgendorffer," sounds Jewish, though [[Word of God]] says that that isn't intentional. The same is true of Tiffany Blum-Deckler, who is Asian despite her commonly-Jewish last names.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Religion Tropes]]

[[Category:This Might Be an Index]]

[[Category:A Nice Jewish Index]]