What does it mean to be Jewish?
In Jonathan Freedland's new play Jews. In Their Own Words. he asked 12 Jews to sum up 'Jewish' in just one sentence. We asked 21
“Being in a close community, looking out for each other.” Phil Dave, Talk TV host
“That warm feeling you get being part of a tradition that connects you to our past and our future.” Natalie Press, school administrator
What am I, chopped liver?” Graham Gouldman, 10CC
Cooking too much, feeding anyone the moment they walk through the door and giving them things to take home in foil.” Nigella Lawson, TV chef and author
“Can I have two sentences?” Bennett Arron, stand-up comedian
“Oy vey – two words that say everything and nothing.” Jacob Fortune-Lloyd, actor, star of Brian Epstein bio-pic The Midas Man
“It’s not a religion, it’s a feeling of belonging.” Russ Kane, writer and broadcaster
“It’s about being part of a transnational community that connects me with others all over the world.” Toby Cohen, financial technology analyst
“In my experience the Jews are ‘a difficult minority’ for the English.”
Julia Pascal, playwright and theatre director
“Being a Jew means so many different things to me – most of all it means family, and the wider community, which I feel extremely fortunate to be part of.”
Jonny Benjamin, author and Mental Health Campaigner
“Being Jewish allows me to live my life based on a solid foundation of ethics, morals and values that have shaped my identity.” Sharon Walters, teacher at Kerem school
“Being part of an enriching and evolving culture of wisdom and tradition.”
Maxine Levy, art and yoga mentor
“It’s belonging to an ethnicity that could get me killed, along with a comedic tradition and some shared trauma, culture and history.”
Andrew Gold, Living on the Edge podcaster and presenter
“I am a product of Jewish immigrants and Holocaust survivors and have
a responsibility to represent those things, as the possibility of me being alive is so slim.” Rashida Jones, actress daughter of Quincy
“Being part of a culture that accepts so many unique people.” Madison Grant-Gold, Year 10 pupil at JCoSS
“Family history, contemporary politics, and everything in between.” David Legmann, UJS sabbatical officer
“Jewish for 5783 years!” Saul Hyman, tennis coach
“We have to work so much harder just to stay in the same place.” Maureen Lipman
“I’m an atheist, but I’m very proud of being Jewish which means I have a good work ethic, get Jewish humour and I’m allowed to tell Jewish jokes.” Daniel Radcliffe, actor
“She wants me to describe Jewish in one sentence, with my back, and everything else I have to do, and I haven’t eaten yet, no, I can’t do it, I’ll just tell her that, but I feel so guilty, so maybe I will, yes, okay, I’ll send her something, but do I get paid?” Ivor Baddiel, script writer and author
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