THREAD (10) on Jewish status. There is an ongoing pattern of abuse on here of Jews attempting to strip other Jews of their status in order to silence them. JoCs, those of one-parent descent, and those Jewish via conversion have been particularly targeted. This must stop. 0/

No one is Jewish by blood. Having Jewish parentage is correlative to being Jewish, not causative. No one is half Jewish or a quarter Jewish. You're either Jewish or not Jewish. Race science and blood quantum has no place in deciding Jewish status. 1/

Being Jewish by birth is a halachic status that is not about blood or genes. It is precisely what it says it is: A parent of this person was Jewish, and therefore this person is considered Jewish for ritual purposes. It is a status arbitrated by rabbis. 2/

Patrilineal and matrilineal descent, according to Reform responsa, are to be assumed as basis for halachic status when confirmed "through appropriate and timely public and formal acts of identification with the Jewish faith and people." https://www.ccarnet.org/responsa-topics/on-patrilineal-descent/ 3/

I interpret this to mean those of one-parent descent who participate in communal Jewish practice are halachically Jewish. Status via parentage is then a mixture of parentage, knowledge, and action, and anyone with the parentage can gain status through knowledge and action. 4/

Being Jewish by birth does not automatically mean one knows anything about Judaism, nor does it mean that it gives someone status that allows them to "speak on behalf" of Jews. There is a problem in our community with conflating Jewish parentage with Jewish knowledge. 5/

People who convert are just as likely to have the level of knowledge to speak about Jewishness clearly, because in order to have gained halachic status they were required to learn. One born of Jewish parents has confirmable status. They may or may not be educated. 6/

Because of the nature of the Reform responsa, one born of Jewish parentage is always able to gain halachic status simply by participating publicly in communal Jewish practice. So at any point halachic status is easily gained. This is not due to genetics or blood. 7/

Children whose adoptive parents are Jewish have parentage status so long as their parents say they do. See the below text and link. I ignore the SA distinction between father and mother, as Reform grants both genders equal rights. https://www.ccarnet.org/ccar-responsa/rr-200-206/ 8/

Halachic status is arbitrated by rabbis, not by random Jewish individuals. If you fear someone is "pretending" to be a Jew, publicly questioning their status is always inappropriate. Further, ask yourself why you would do that anyway. If you're still concerned, ask a rabbi. 9/

23andMe is a fun novelty- I've had fun with it myself. Being Jewish is not related to it or "Jewish blood." Before you decide to talk about your "Jewish blood quantum," learn about the idea's historical roots in race science and how it has harmed Jews in the past. 10/