Am I considered Jewish?

Question

there is a tribe in somalia called the yibbir that are descended from the hebrews. My grandfather was dfrom that clan, does that make me jewish?

Answer 1

No, you are not considered Jewish.

A Jew is someone who was born to a Jewish mother, or who converted to Judaism according to Jewish law (an Orthodox conversion).

Having Jewish relatives does not make a person Jewish.

Answer 2

it goes by the mother, not the father, so no.

and anyway, what's important is what you believe and do, according to judaism, not where you come from.

peace.

Answer 3

no it doesn't. even if there were some way to say that that clan had any affiliation with judaism, judaism passes through the mother -- the grandfather would play no role.

Answer 4

You could probably apply for Israeli citizenship, yes. (you have to have jewish blood for that, i think it's already happened before)

As far as I'm concerned: you're considered jewish if you think you're jewish and say so.

Answer 5

no your mother has to be Jewish and if shes not your not  

Answer 6

If you don't practice Judaism, then you are not Jewish.

Answer 7

The only way one can be formally considered Jewish, regardless of actual beliefs and practices, is to be the child of a Jewish mother or to formally convert to Judaism.  This is true in the Orthodox tradition even in the case that the father is Jewish and the mother is not (non-Orthodoxy does not necessarily say this).

In another sense, you might possibly identify yourself as ethnically or culturally Jewish.  In this case, you would not actively practice Judaism, but you would identify with other Jews on a cultural level.

Neither of these cases seem to apply to you, so you would really not generally be considered Jewish.  On the other hand, the Reform movements would consider a child of a Jewish father to be Jewish.  In a purely ethnic sense, you have already explained yourself that you have hebrew ancestry, so it would be reasonable for you to identify as Jewish, and in reality, being Jewish is often more of a self-identifying ethnicity than a true test of ancestry.

Answer 8

the question is do you consider yourself jewish? Judaism is a religion and if you dont actively practice it then you are not jewish.

Answer 9

you have jewish blood in you,

but i think in judaism you are only "considered" Jewish if your mother is