History Main / InformedJudaism

* ''Series/EighteentoLife'': The Bellows often reference orthodox Jewish traditions throughout the series. However, they rarely do anything specifically Jewish in the series such as following particular traditions.

* Other informed Jews from Creator/MarvelComics: Iceman, Justice (Vance), Legion, ComicBook/MoonKnight, Sasquatch, the Two-Gun Kid, Volcana, and Wiccan.
* Averted with Kitty Pryde. While the generally atheist Wolverine was unable to drive Dracula off with a makeshift cross, Kitty's Star-of-David pendant burned Dracula's hand, due to the fact that she possessed true faith. ([[FridgeBrilliance Unlike most stories where it's merely the cross that repels vampires, in the Marvel universe, it really is the religious faith, regardless of the symbol displayed, that actually does the trick.]]) A number of other stories also make use of her Jewish faith.
* Generally averted for Marvel characters who are also mutants. The theme of being persecuted for ''two'' things tends to make it more-than-informed. Magneto, for example, is not only explicitly Jewish but survived Auschwitz.

This has occasionally sparked controversy, in cases of religious figures in ''other religions'' who have explicitly claimed Jewishness via ancestry. A particularly well-known recent example is the late [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Marie_Lustiger French Cardinal Lustiger]], the former archbishop of Paris and a son of Polish Jews (his mother was killed during the Holocaust). He described himself as a "fulfilled Jew" all his life and maintained Jewish customs even as a Roman Catholic clergyman (he was known to recite Kaddish for his mother at a synagogue even after he became a cardinal, for example). Still, he was subject to much criticism by both Jewish and Christian groups.

* ''ComicBook/YTheLastMan'': The Hartle Twins on two occasions they mention that they are Jewish. [[spoiler: In both cases, it was to avoid being mistreated by the Israeli troops of Alter Tse'elon.]] It does not work.

* Willow Rosenberg from ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. Jewish name, check. Talks about her very observant father (who won't even let her watch ''A Charlie Brown Christmas'') as she nails crosses to her wall,[[note]]not for religious reasons, just to keep out vampires[[/note]] check. Responds to "what are you doing for Christmas" with "Being Jewish. Duh." And...that's it. In seven seasons, she only ever does one thing that's a Jewish custom or practice - placing a stone on [[spoiler: Tara's]] grave. When we meet her mother, she doesn't seem to be into her faith much either, implying her father is the heavily Jewish parent. It's also worth noting that by Season 4, Willow identifies as [[UsefulNotes/{{Wicca}} Wiccan]] and seemingly no longer practices Judaism (but does make a joke about herself being Jewish in Season 5).

* On {{Series/Alphas}}, the only indication we get that Red Flag leader Anna Levy is Jewish is her last name [[spoiler: along with her headstone bearing a Star of David]].
* Max Bergman of ''Series/HawaiiFive0'' has never been referenced as Jewish on the show, and shows absolutely zero stereotypical Jewish traits; he does avoid shrimp, but that's due to an allergy, not keeping ''kashrut''. The only way you'd know it at all is if [[http://www.dfw.com/2010/10/18/351502_qa-masi-oka-of-hawaii-five-o.html you happened to see an interview with his actor]].

* Ron Stoppable from ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'': his Bar Mitzvah is the focus of an early episode, which gets a ContinuityNod during a ChristmasEpisode. He obviously doesn't keep kosher.

* Matt Albie on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Made funnier (and {{lampshaded}}) in The Christmas Show, where he is the one pushing doing a Christmas show while others are lukewarm at best to the idea.

It makes sense if you think that both the mothers of Ross and Monica, and of Rachel were gentiles, but Ross and Monica's mother converted, and Rachel's mother didn't. This would make Ross and Monica fully Jewish, but Rachel not Jewish at all, although part of a Jewish family. It would also explain the families connection-- why Monica & Rachel were such good friends in spite of being such different people. Their parents may have belonged to the same synagogue, and their fathers my even have been friends.

* ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'': Nathaniel Kurtzberg...but only according to WordOfGod.

* ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'': Nathaniel Kurtzberg...well, according to WordOfGod.

* ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousTalesOfLadybugAndCatNoir'': Nathaniel Kurtzberg...according to WordOfGod.

* ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'': Nathaniel Kurtzberg...according to WordOfGod.

* Arnold says Kaddish for his lover over his mother's objection in ''Film/TorchSongTrilogy''.

* ''Series/SingleDrunkFemale'': Sam mentions she was the only Jewish girl in her school growing up, and that her dad had a shiva (a Jewish period of mourning), though other than these few mentions her Jewishness doesn't come up at all, with no sign of her or Sam's mom practicing Judaism otherwise — although Samantha mentions once that, as a kid, she hated that her family did not aknowledge Christmas as a holiday in any way.

* ''Series/SingleDrunkFemale'': Sam mentions she was the only Jewish girl in her school growing up, and that her dad had a shiva (a Jewish period of mourning), though other than these few mentions her Jewishness doesn't come up at all, with no sign of her or Sam's mom practicing Judaism otherwise.

** Tien and Chaozu are also revealed to be Jewish in ''[[WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged The Christmas Tree of Might]]''

-->''WesternAnimation/HomeAdventuresWithTipAndOh'', "Home for the Holidays"

This is a trope that pops up in a number of WesternAnimation {{Christmas Episode}}s; due to the [[FleetingDemographicRule nature of the shows' audience]], the [[ExecutiveMeddling powers that be]] will want to place AnAesop in to show that the characters keep a [[TokenMinority diverse]] set of friends or peers. As a result, a character's Judaism is mentioned at some point in the episode, or perhaps a menorah will just be shown in the background, in order to keep up that diverse appearance. After all, who really knows what other religiously affiliated holidays [[SmallReferencePools are celebrated by a large enough group of people]] in the mid to late period of December? This will in fact be the only mention of religion throughout the episode (if not the series), as Christmas itself (assuming the name is used at all) will not be depicted as having any religious significance, but rather just be a "[[DoTheyKnowItsChristmasTime Warm, Feel Good Time]]", thus making this revelation of a major character feel shoehorned in. This is also despite the fact that since the Jewish calendar is a lunar one, there is no guarantee that Hannukah and Christmas will in any way overlap: Hannukah could be completely over way before Christmas starts.

* In the first episode of season 2 of ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'', one of the graves for Church and Tex is marked with the Star of David. WordOfGod refuses to comment on whose grave it is.

* In ''Film/PineappleExpress'', James Franco plays a pot dealer named Saul Silver who's dealing in order to pay for care for his "bubbie" (Yiddish for grandma)--though, weirdly, there's one moment where a character is asked to describe Seth Rogen's character (who has the rather goyish-sounding name Dale Denton), and he says "I think he was a Jew." This can be explained by the fact that Rogen was originally cast as the pot dealer and Franco as the friend. In most other films featuring Rogen and/or Franco, Rogen's character is identifiably Jewish while Franco's character is apparently a Gentile (in real life both actors are Jewish).

* This trope appears in -- of all things -- Franchise/TheMuppets 2008 ChristmasSpecial, ''Film/AMuppetsChristmasLettersToSanta''. Zoot, saxophonist for the Electric Mayhem, shows up for the Christmas Eve celebration toting a menorah and greets the hostess with a calm "Shalom." Floyd the bassist observes the menorah and remarks that he'd never been aware that Zoot was Jewish.

* Ziva on ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' is a former Israeli Mossad agent and wears a Star of David. She is more a subversion of the trope, although it's less evident in earlier seasons. She's shown in flashbacks to have been raised in an observant household, observes Jewish mourning rituals, makes references to celebrating Jewish holidays, and prays. It's not a perfect portrayal, but it's less topical than other examples here, and somewhat [[JustifiedTrope justified]] in that her job with Mossad was basically espionage and assassination, which would preclude strict adherence to ''any'' religion for practical reasons.

* On ''Series/BroadCity'', both Abbi and Ilana are explicitly Jewish, although it rarely has any bearing on the plot. The exception is a season 3 episode where they take a free trip to Israel in a parody of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birthright_Israel Birthright Israel]] (a foundation that sponsors free trips to Israel for Jewish youth).

* ''Series/ThePractice'': Jamie is Jewish, but this was only established by her mentioning it.

* ''Series/SingleDrunkFemale'': Sam mentions she was the only Jewish girl in her school growing up, and that her dad had a shiva (a Jewish funeral service), though other than these few mentions her Jewishness doesn't come up at all, with no sign of her or Sam's mom practicing Judaism otherwise.

* Similarly, during his long run as writer on ''ComicBook/IncredibleHulk'', Creator/PeterDavid decided that long-time supporting character Doc Samson is Jewish, although it had never been mentioned before. He may have been influenced by the fact that the name "Samson" is rarely used by anyone but Jews these days (and even then pretty rarely), despite it being an InSeriesNickname.

* Other informed Jews from Creator/MarvelComics: Iceman, Justice (Vance), Legion, Comicbook/MoonKnight, Sasquatch, the Two-Gun Kid, Volcana, and Wiccan.

* On {{Series/Alphas}}, the only indication we get that Red Flag leader Anna Levy is Jewish is her last name[[spoiler: along with her headstone bearing a Star of David]].