| 1 | %% Image removed per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1321149190047473000 |
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| 3 | %% |
| 4 | ->''"I wish I was Jewish. I'm not Jewish, but my wife and my children are Jewish, so that would clear up a lot of identity issues."'' |
| 5 | -->-- ''' Jeff Tweedy''' from Music/{{Wilco}}. Tweedy converted to Judaism in 2018. |
| 6 | |
| 7 | 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 a walking stereotype, particularly when there's no omniscient narrator to simply [[InformedJudaism say so]] or when they don't fit the stereotype. |
| 8 | |
| 9 | Note that having YiddishAsASecondLanguage is a clue but is not conclusive. As Creator/LennyBruce said, all New Yorkers are at least a little Jewish. Having a "Jewish" name ending in -berg, -stein or the like is also evidence but not proof. Most of these names are actually just common German names that many Ashkenazi Jews took when required to adopt some type of surname. Authentically Hebrew names will often begin with "Bar" or "Ben," so they're a good tip-off. Being named "Cohen" or "Cahn" makes it nearly certain. For Sephardic Jews, a common name is "Garcia", but it's also a common Hispanic name that by itself doesn't prove anything. Also keep in mind, simply having a Hebrew-derived name (Joseph, Isaac, Mary, Sarah) is not necessarily proof of Jewishness, as those names were spread worldwide with the Bible. However, other names (Solomon, Asher) were not widely adopted outside of Jewish communities. |
| 10 | |
| 11 | In addition, such a character would often demonstrate "stereotypically Jewish" appearance and personality traits: those include being a BrainyBrunette, [[{{Bookworm}} a love for books and the written word in general]], and [[JewishSmartass a sarcastic wit]] often accompanied by [[SelfDeprecation self-irony]]. In the past, Ambiguously Jewish characters were often depicted as [[GreedyJew greedy and cunning]], but due to the decidedly antisemitic nature of the stereotype, today's writers will almost always ignore or at least [[AllJewsAreCheapskates downplay]] it. |
| 12 | |
| 13 | If the series is set in [[BigApplesauce New York City]] or some [[NoCommunitiesWereHarmed equivalent]], you can usually expect at least one of these. About 12% of New Yorkers are Ashkenazi Jewish, and they've had a great deal of impact on the culture. |
| 14 | |
| 15 | This is the exact opposite of InformedJudaism, which 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. |
| 16 | |
| 17 | If a character is non-human and displays stereotypical Jewish behavior, it's SpaceJews. |
| 18 | |
| 19 | [[noreallife]] |
| 20 | ---- |
| 21 | !!Examples: |
| 22 | |
| 23 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 24 | |
| 25 | [[folder:Anime and Manga]] |
| 26 | * Spike Spiegel on ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' is considered Jewish by some fans because he has a Yiddish family name, a stereotypically (in the US, anyway) Jewish haircut, and carries an Israeli-made Jericho 941 pistol. Obviously he's not played by a Jewish actor since he's an animated character, but while [[Creator/KoichiYamadera his Japanese voice actor]] obviously isn't Jewish, [[Creator/SteveBlum his American voice actor]] ''is''. When asked, the series creators said he was modeled after actor [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yusaku_Matsuda Yusaku]] [[http://i.imgur.com/nf8cQ.jpg Matsuda]], and they just thought the name sounded cool. |
| 27 | * ''Anime/DragonBallZ'': The infamous "Big Green Dub" gave Bulma/"Blooma" a voice that made her sound like a stereotypical JewishMother; combined with her being a genius scientist and the daughter of a wealthy businessman, quite a few fans have jokingly claimed that specific version of her is Jewish. |
| 28 | * ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'': |
| 29 | ** In some circles of ''Gundam'' fandom, hero Amuro Ray and Captain Bright Noa may or may not be Jewish. It doesn't help anything that Amuro looks like a Jewish lesbian woman in ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamCharsCounterattack Chars Counterattack]]''. |
| 30 | ** Speaking of Gundam, presumably Louise Halevy of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'' has Jewish ancestry, as Halévy (from ''ha-Levi'', [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levite "Levite"]]) is a generally Sephardic Jewish surname and Louise's family is from Spain. |
| 31 | ** The Kleins were confirmed by WordOfGod 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 UsefulNotes/WorldWarII-era Jews by the naturals. |
| 32 | * ''Anime/CodeGeass'': |
| 33 | ** [[TheEveryman Ohgi]]. His hair, held back by a hairband, looks vaguely afro-ish, but it was [[http://media.animevice.com/uploads/0/55/83435-ohgi_comp_large.gif that random Star of David]] on his uniform that lead fans to think this. Ohgi also says "Never Again" in response to Nunnally announcing her plan to revive the Specially Administrated Zone of Japan. The ramifications of which clearly compare the "princess massacre" to UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust. |
| 34 | ** [[GadgeteerGenius Nina Einstein]] by her last name, and apparently curly dark hair. |
| 35 | * [=McCoy=] from ''Manga/Area88'' has a large nose, olive-toned skin, and cares only about money, thereby fitting the stereotype. The only thing off about it is his name, which is Scottish. |
| 36 | * ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'': |
| 37 | ** Some fans like to portray Levi as Jewish, both because of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribe_of_Levi the name]] and because of some of his physical features. The author said he got the name while watching a movie named ''Jesus Camp''. |
| 38 | ** Other characters in the series also possess names which are stereotypically Jewish, most notably, members of the Reiss family. While "Frieda" could be interpreted as simply being a German name, Uri is an extremely Jewish one (being a Hebrew name which doesn't exist in any other language), while "Reiss" is a common Jewish surname. |
| 39 | ** The in-universe explanation is that the characters are [[spoiler:mostly of a fictional race, the Eldian people. That said, there ''are'' several allegories to real-life Jewish people, including the FantasticGhetto and FantasticRacism. The Eldia Empire's enemy is Marley, who are [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Nazis By Any Other Name]], so it seems that this is an {{Invoked}} trope.]] |
| 40 | * The English translation of the StatuesqueStunner themed manga ''Manga/DoYouLikeBigGirls'' turned PhenotypeStereotype Julia Mackenzie into one. As can be guessed from the name, the character was originally meant to represent a general stereotype of American girls, what with her blonde hair, titanic height and large chest. Her weird manner of speech, however, could not be easily translated (FunetikAksent notwithstanding). [[CulturalTranslation Whereas in the original version of the manga Julia would stand out by using English phrases, the English translation has her use Yiddish]]. While this may seem to be a simple case of YiddishAsASecondLanguage, in one case she goes as far as to say "L'chaim!" when toasting - a distinctly Jewish custom which not even the most Yiddified New Yorker would use if they weren't a Jew. |
| 41 | * ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'': Team Rocket's Meowth has a thick Brooklyn accent, is known to use Yiddish words and phrases (most frequently "oy vey"), and [[Creator/MaddieBlaustein his second and most iconic voice actor]] was Jewish. On the other hand, his song "Nobody Don't Like Christmas" has a lyric implying he's not fond of the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur. |
| 42 | * ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventure'' has Jean-Pierre Polnareff, who is named after Jewish singer Michel Polnareff. Other than having a Jewish last name there is nothing to suggest Jean-Pierre is Jewish, and considering him and his namesake are both French it's probably just a case of FamousNamedForeigner. |
| 43 | * ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'': Here, Austria's human name is Roderich Edelstein. He is the only Germanic country in Hetalia with brown hair. He could be considered JewishAndNerdy, as he plays violin, piano, and more. He is also known to be out-of-shape, yet thin, spending all of his time indoors, reflecting the stereotype of Jews as non-athletic. |
| 44 | [[/folder]] |
| 45 | |
| 46 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 47 | * Ben Grimm, the Thing in the ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'', was created by Jews, has a Jewish name (Benjamin Jacob), resembles the {{golem}} legend, [[DependingOnTheWriter sometimes]] has YiddishAsASecondLanguage, 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 Antisemitism fuel. |
| 48 | * The character of ''ComicBook/MoonKnight'', a.k.a. Marc Spector, was [[{{retcon}} retroactively]] made Jewish several years after his debut when his creators were informed that 'Spector' was a Jewish name. They originally chose it because [[{{Tuckerization}} it was a friend's name they thought would fit the character]]. |
| 49 | * ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'': |
| 50 | ** Superman, prior to the Byrne reboot in 1986 (which got rid of some of these elements), is a classic example: his origin story is [[MosesArchetype 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, Jerry Siegel and Joe 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 TakeThat, or at least some catharsis, for the creators. In one [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] {{Elseworld}} story, Supes even delivers a "distinctly non-Aryan sock to the jaw for you, [[UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler Adolf]]!" (Compare and contrast to ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, the [[{{irony}} blonde, blue-eyed]] Nazi's worst nightmare.) |
| 51 | ** Creator/ElliotSMaggin [[http://www.adherents.com/lit/comics/LexLuthor.html stated]] that he saw Lex Luthor as Jewish, and has the character use some YiddishAsASecondLanguage in his novel ''Literature/LastSonOfKrypton''. It should be noted that A) this was [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] Luthor, who was ''not'' a CorruptCorporateExecutive whose primary trait is {{greed}}, B) Maggin is Jewish, and C) Maggin is very, ''very'' fond of Luthor. |
| 52 | * Some suspect that ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'' is Jewish, mostly because he has YiddishAsASecondLanguage and dated Kitty Pryde, Marvel's Jewish poster girl. He's modeled after Creator/StanLee, who is Jewish, but it might just be the BigApplesauce effect. This has also been suspected of the mainstream Spider-Man, with fans and some writers have pointed out that Peter Parker is very much driven by (presumably Jewish) guilt and that Aunt May very much conforms to the Jewish Mom stereotype. (And, as more than one wise guy has pointed out, his name ends in "-man".) However, perhaps under the influence of some Catholic editors, Aunt May's maiden name was revealed as [[{{Oireland}} Reilly]], Peter's mother was named as Mary Parker, née Fitzpatrick, and one (Catholic) Marvel editor declared that Peter's compulsive guilt is typically Catholic. |
| 53 | * From ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'', Dan Dreiberg (Nite Owl), Jonathan Osterman (Dr. Manhattan), and Rorschach, son of Sylvia Glick, and Sally Jupiter (the original Silk Spectre), who changed her last name to hide Polish ancestry (although with a name like Juspeczyk a Catholic background might be more plausible). Given Creator/AlanMoore's interest in the history of the comic-book medium and the history of superheroes, it is not hard to imagine that he might have made many of his superheroes ambiguously Jewish as a deliberate allusion to the ethnic background of so many of the creators of the superhero-comic form. |
| 54 | * Shilo Norman was shown consulting a rabbi in the 2006 Creator/GrantMorrison-written ''[[ComicBook/SevenSoldiersOfVictory2005 Seven Soldiers: Mister Miracle]]'' miniseries. This background makes him virtually the only comic superhero who is [[TwoferTokenMinority both]] black and Jewish. It might also be noted that Norman has escaped death after dying, much like [[UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} another Jewish celebrity]]. |
| 55 | * WordOfGod said that Wiccan of the ''ComicBook/YoungAvengers'' was Jewish long before this was mentioned in passing in the actual comics. Given that his real name is Billy Kaplan and the fact his grandfather is Magneto, it's not exactly a surprise. |
| 56 | * ''ComicBook/XMen'' BigBad Magneto (real name Max Eisenhardt but known by an assumed name of Erik Lehnsherr) has occasionally had his ancestry cast in doubt like this. It's a well-established part of his backstory that he was in a Nazi concentration camp, but other groups were placed in those as well. Briefly, Creator/{{Marvel|Comics}} implied that he was Romani or just avoided mention of his ethnicity for a while out of fear of being called anti-Semitic (having him be a Roma was apparently completely okay), but it was eventually confirmed that he's Jewish. On a similar note, he is also the grandfather of Wiccan. |
| 57 | * ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMarvel'': G.B. Blackrock. His surname sounds like an Anglicization of Schwarzstein, and creator ComicBook/BobBudiansky 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. |
| 58 | * The entire Fritsche family in ''Supurbia''. In issue five, we meet the parents of Nightfox, a.k.a. Paul Fritsche: Asher and Stella Fritsche. Asher is a Hebrew name from ''Literature/TheBible'', and one that is very uncommon among non-Jews. Stella, likewise, is a very common Anglicization of Esther. Fritsche is a German name, but it obviously could be a Jewish name also, especially in the United States. On the other hand, their characterization is very stereotypically [=WASPy=]. Also, Paul's estranged wife, Alexis, seems to be getting involved with a business associate named Jake Weintraub, a name which is ''very'' Jewish. |
| 59 | ** The Metzger family is another interesting case. Metzger, again, is a German last name, but one that could be Jewish, especially in the United States. The father's name is Jeremy, while the two children are named Eli and Sara. All three names are of Hebrew/Biblical origin. That being said, the mother, Batu, is a princess of a tribe of Central Asian Amazons, so the children would not be Jewish (by Jewish law, at least) even if the father is. |
| 60 | * In ''ComicBook/{{Runaways}}'', Chase Stein's religious background has never been revealed, but his last name ''is'' Stein, and his longest known relationship was with Gert Yorkes, who was explicitly Jewish. |
| 61 | * WordOfGod is Stormer and her brother Craig from ''ComicBook/JemAndTheHologramsIDW'' are part-Israeli. Stormer however doesn't seem to mind celebrating Christmas (in contrast, her band-mate Pizzazz mentions being Jewish when forced to participate in Secret Santa). |
| 62 | * Katherine Kane, ComicBook/{{Batwoman}}, is explicitly Jewish (and therefore not this trope) in both her 21st Century incarnation and in ''ComicBook/DCComicsBombshells''. Because of this, an argument can be made that ComicBook/{{Batman}} is ambiguously Jewish, as Kate's (also Jewish) father Jacob Kane was Martha Wayne's brother, making Bruce himself Jewish under Jewish law, even if there is no indication that he is practicing. |
| 63 | * ''ComicBook/RequiemVampireKnight'': The vampire knight Lord Mortis mentions being a Holocaust survivor when he was alive and expresses an immense dislike towards NaziProtagonist Requiem. However, its never spelled out whether or not he is Jewish, since they were not the only group persecuted by the Nazis. In any case, it doesn't really serve to make him more sympathetic, because to become a vampire means he must have had an extremely violent past as a mass murderer or serial killer in his human life (the ones we meet were former Nazis, satanists and past dictators). |
| 64 | * ComicBook/{{Ragman}}, Rory Regan, was often thought to be Jewish by fans during the comic's original run in the 1970s -- his status as the son of an impoverished immigrant who worked collecting old fabric, ownership of a pawn shop in a very Lower East Side-like neighborhood of Gotham and ambiguous appearance sealed the deal. The second run as a NinetiesAntiHero not only canonized his Jewishness, but made it central to the character. |
| 65 | [[/folder]] |
| 66 | |
| 67 | [[folder:Films -- Animation]] |
| 68 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'': The Genie uses a lot of Yiddish phrases, his supervising animator Eric Goldberg has gone on record saying he always imagined him as being Jewish, and his voice actor Creator/RobinWilliams was widely considered an "honorary Jew". Serves as a GeniusBonus, since [[OurGeniesAreDifferent genies in the original Arabic folklore]] could be of any faith, which includes Judaism. |
| 69 | ** Iago the parrot is voiced by Jewish comedian Creator/GilbertGottfried and therefore has a strong New York accent. He even uses the word "kvetching" in a bonus feature, while excusing the word as "[[SpaceJews a bird expression]]." |
| 70 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}}'': |
| 71 | ** Hades has a tendency to say "Oy Vey" when aggravated. On the other hand, he's a [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Greek god]]. |
| 72 | ** Phil similarly uses YiddishAsASecondLanguage a few times, despite being a [[FaunsAndSatyrs satyr]]. |
| 73 | * ''Franchise/{{Madagascar}}'': |
| 74 | ** Melman the giraffe gives off strong Creator/WoodyAllen vibes. Also, his last name is "Mankiewicz". He's also voiced by Creator/DavidSchwimmer. |
| 75 | ** Kowalski's Jewish vibes aren't initially so strong, but they increase over the movies and series, with his knack for over-analysis and lyrical exaltation setting him close to his compatriots from Eastern Europe, and the shape of his head vaguely resembling the Kippah. |
| 76 | * ''WesternAnimation/SharkTale'': One of Don Lino's associates, fellow crime boss Ira Feinberg, falls into this. He has a very Jewish-sounding name and is voiced by the Jewish Creator/PeterFalk. Not to mention the long history of [[KosherNostra Jewish involvement with organized crime]]. |
| 77 | * ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse'' shows Peter B. Parker stepping on a glass at his wedding (a Jewish tradition) and his [[Creator/JakeJohnson voice actor]] is half-Jewish. Other than that, it's not brought up. [[spoiler: In the sequel film, this would make his baby girl Mayday of Jewish heritage as well.]] |
| 78 | * Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head from the ''Franchise/ToyStory'' series have to have gotten that Yiddish accent from somewhere. It also helps that the couple are voiced by Creator/DonRickles and Estelle Harris (who are both Jewish) respectively. However, Mr. Potato Head crosses himself in the first film. Mr. Potato Head belongs to Creator/{{Hasbro}}, a company founded by a Jewish family. |
| 79 | * Miriam Mendelsohn from ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'' could possibly be this, due to her curly hair and distinctly Hebrew first name (as well as her Polish/German Jewish surname). |
| 80 | [[/folder]] |
| 81 | |
| 82 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 83 | * The entire town of Sweethaven in the ''Film/{{Popeye}}'' movie almost makes it feel like you're watching ''Theatre/FiddlerOnTheRoof''. (You can remove the "Ambiguous" from Geezil.) It's worth noting that Bluto was played by Paul L. Smith, a RealLife BadassIsraeli [[note]]He grew up in UsefulNotes/{{Florida}} but went to UsefulNotes/{{Israel}} to fight as a volunteer in the Six-Day War, then settled there permanently after he retired from acting.[[/note]], and that Creator/RobinWilliams, while not a Jew, often incorporated Yiddish-isms in his comedic acts. |
| 84 | %%* Maury Ballstein of ''Film/{{Zoolander}}''. |
| 85 | * Miracle Max and his wife in ''Film/ThePrincessBride''. This was somewhat [[{{Lampshading}} lampshaded]] in [[Literature/ThePrincessBride the book]]. Creator/BillyCrystal, the Jewish actor who played Max, once referred to the pair as "little Jewish trolls." |
| 86 | * Mr. Bernstein in ''Film/CitizenKane''. Particularly suspicious is a brief scene in which Charles's overly [=WASP=]y first wife, Emily Norton, admits that she doesn't feel comfortable having Mr. Bernstein around, although she won't say why. Mr. Bernstein was played by a Jewish actor, Everett Sloane. |
| 87 | * It's hard not to suspect that Jake Gittes, the AntiHero portrayed by Creator/JackNicholson in ''Film/{{Chinatown}}'' and ''Film/TheTwoJakes'', is a closeted Jew, given hints here and there in both films. Not only is his nose famously targeted by a knife-wielding thug, but his last name sounds like it could be Ashkenazi (and on two occasions the BigBad in ''Chinatown'' mispronounces the surname as "Gitz", making it sound even more Ashkenazi) and his dark hair and eyes distinguish him from most of the Caucasian population of UsefulNotes/LosAngeles in the 1930s and '40s (which was famously of fair-haired Midwestern stock before more "ethnic" whites began arriving after UsefulNotes/WorldWarII). There's more: When Jake investigates the retirement home, he asks the owner if they "accept people of the Jewish persuasion" (they don't); while this question is part of his cover story of possibly sending his father (supposedly an [[RacistGrandma old racist]] who won't abide being put up in a home with non-Aryans) to live in the home, it's still strange that he would bring up the subject when he didn't absolutely have to. In ''The Two Jakes'', Jake (Gittes, that is) complains to Jake Berman (Creator/HarveyKeitel) that Lou Escobar, his old partner on the police force, has been denied a home loan in a neighborhood for which Berman is a realtor due to his Mexican descent. While this could simply be a case of sticking up for an old colleague, it's hard not to shake the suspicion that Gittes is thinking ''he'' wouldn't be welcome in that neighborhood either - which only becomes more likely when Berman, who is explicitly stated to be Jewish, says that [[BoomerangBigot he couldn't sell a home to]] ''[[BoomerangBigot himself]]'', [[BoomerangBigot or to anyone in his family, in that same neighborhood]]. |
| 88 | * Pretty much everyone in ''Film/WetHotAmericanSummer'': it takes place at a Jewish summer camp, but this is mentioned so little that viewers could easily miss it. Listen to the names Creator/JaneaneGarofalo calls out in the cafeteria for the "early bus to Boston", they're all incredibly stereotypical Jewish names, and include "David Ben Gurion". By the end of the list, she's pausing mid-name to think of random parts of Jewish last names to string together. |
| 89 | * Egon Spengler and Janine Melnitz of ''Franchise/{{Ghostbusters}}'' have very Jewish-sounding names, but their ethnicities have never been mentioned. Creator/HaroldRamis, a Jew, jokes about his hair in the film being a "Jewfro". In case you wonder, Oswald Spengler, the philosopher who inspired Egon's surname, was a gentile. Both the first name and the last name are German, the former a form of Eckhard ("sword-strong"), the latter a southern German term for tin-smith or plumber. |
| 90 | * Lots of characters in Creator/MelBrooks' movies (not counting the ones who are ''explicitly'' Jewish), especially ''Film/YoungFrankenstein''. Not a surprise, as Brooks is proudly Jewish himself and loves referencing Jewish/Yiddish culture. |
| 91 | * Eduard Abramowitz, a.k.a. Eisenheim, the titular illusionist of ''Film/TheIllusionist2006''. Not only is Abramowitz a Jewish surname, but, well, he's a stage magician in early twentieth century Vienna. |
| 92 | * Film/TheThreeStooges (Jews in real life) drop a lot of Yiddish phrases in their dialogues, and break out into Klezmer-style dancing when one of them injures his foot. The characters' actual ethnicity, however, is never mentioned. |
| 93 | * PlayedForLaughs in ''Film/SupermanII''. When Superman saves a boy who was about to plummet into the Niagara Falls, a stereotypical [[AlterKocker old Brooklyn lady]] exclaims: "What a nice man! Of course he's Jewish!" |
| 94 | ** Decades later, in the 2020s, Jewish American actor Creator/DavidCorenswet would be cast as Clark Kent. |
| 95 | * The film version of ''Film/TheDevilWearsPrada'' is an interesting case. In the book both protagonist Andrea Sachs and the eponymous devil Miranda Priestly are explicitly Jewish, and this is somewhat significant for both characters. In the movie, however, [[RaceLift this is never mentioned, or even really hinted at much]]. |
| 96 | * Aldo Raine in ''Film/InglouriousBasterds'' is an interesting case. He's placed in charge of a unit of commandos who are all Jewish, but we never learn if he's Jewish himself. Nothing about his name or personality suggests that he's Jewish, and it's highly unlikely that a Jew would have such a thick Appalachian accent, but he does have a personal hatred for Nazis. According to WordOfGod, he spent years fighting TheKlan, who are also anti-Semites. He also claims to be possibly part Apache, which might explain his enmity for the Klan (and the rope scar around his neck). The Nazis do call him "the Apache" for his habit of scalping. |
| 97 | * Dr. King Schultz from ''Film/DjangoUnchained'' is a German immigrant in the mid-19th century, when the first Jews came to America from Germany. He clearly has a strong German identity due to his fascination with German folklore, but Jews were much more assimilated in Germany than any other European country (prior to Hitler, of course) and his concern and sympathy for Django suggests he's familiar with being part of a minority group. It's possible he's a "'48er", one of the former German revolutionaries who emigrated after the 1848 revolution in the German states was crushed. They were known for anti-slavery views. |
| 98 | * Cher from ''Film/{{Clueless}}'' lives in Beverly Hills, has the last name Horowitz, and has a New York-accented litigator for a father, yet no explicit mention is made of her Jewishness. Incidentally, Creator/AliciaSilverstone and Dan Hedaya are both Jewish. |
| 99 | * Played with in ''Film/FriendsWithBenefits'' with Jaime: her mother, not knowing who Jaime's father is, refers to her as looking ambiguously Middle Eastern. Jamie later claims that with Photoshop, her nose gets "way more Christian." Creator/MilaKunis, who plays her, is Jewish. |
| 100 | * Screenwriter Daniel Waters gave Max Shreck, the CorruptCorporateExecutive and tertiary villain of ''Film/BatmanReturns'', some Ambiguously Jewish characteristics (most notably [[YiddishAsASecondLanguage a few Yiddish expressions]] [[AllThereInTheScript slipped into the script]], including ''goniffs'' ("thieves"), although these were dropped in the actual film. Max's portrayer, Creator/ChristopherWalken, based his characterization of Max on Meyer Wolfsheim, the [[KosherNostra Jewish gangster]] in ''Literature/TheGreatGatsby'', even asking director Creator/TimBurton for a pair of cuff links made from human molars, just like Wolfsheim wears. |
| 101 | * Subverted as it’s not very ambiguous and fairly obvious. The two backpackers in ''Film/AnAmericanWerewolfInLondon'' 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. David's nightmare, in which Nazi soldiers with pig's heads slaughter his family, is also suggestive - the three menorahs over the fireplace would appear to be conclusive. WordOfGod from the film's Jewish director in the DVD commentary for this scene suggests this scene was based on his own childhood nightmares, and confirms that David Kessler is indeed intended to be Jewish. |
| 102 | * Kim Dawson (a blue eyed blonde who speaks with a [[SweetHomeAlabama Southern accent]]) plays Lou Birnbaum, Donna Silverstein and Donna Silverman in the Creator/{{Cinemax}} [[PornWithPlot softcore films]] ''Legally Exposed'', ''Hollywood Sins'' and ''Scandal: Sex@students.edu''. |
| 103 | * The main character of ''Film/{{Amen}}'', [[ThoseWackyNazis SS Lieutenant Kurt Gerstein]] suspects that his housekeeper Mrs. Hinze may be Jewish, but keeps quiet about it (as he's not anti-Jewish and is actually a good man working to expose the Holocaust). Also, [[GoodShepherd Father Ricardo Fontana]], who is portrayed by half-Jewish Creator/MathieuKassovitz, is implied to be from a family of converts. |
| 104 | * Silent film comedian Max Davidson's shtick for most of his career, playing characters that were pretty obviously {{Alter Kocker}}s but often weren't explicitly identified as Jewish. Such is the case in ''Film/PassTheGravy'', in which his character looks like a little old Jewish man, he has a son named "Ignatz", and he makes a comment about the dark meat of the chicken being "[[AllJewsAreCheapskates more expensive]]", but he's never explicitly identified as Jewish. |
| 105 | * A couple of the ''Film/CarryOn'' characters could've been Jewish. Some of the jokes in the dialogue are based on Cockney East End London [[note]]The East-End of London at the [[TheFifties time]] [[TheSixties of the]] [[TheSeventies films]] had large Jewish communities[[/note]] and used many Yiddish plays on words. Characters themselves sometimes showed a couple of Jewish stereotypes: in ''Film/CarryOnMatron'', Creator/KennethWilliams played worrying hypochondriac Sir Bernard Cutting who was nicknamed "the old Rabbi" by Dr. Prodd, whereas in ''Film/CarryOnCamping'', Creator/SidJames (Sid Boggle) and Creator/BernardBresslaw (Bernie Lugg) - who were both Jewish in real life - were dating Creator/JoanSims (Joan Fussey) and Creator/DilysLaye (Anthea Meeks) - the former having a [[JewishMother moaning mother]] (portrayed by the Jewish actress Creator/AmeliaBayntun) - and the two women constantly [[JewishComplaining moaned]] about their boyfriends' foolish antics throughout the movie, leading into loads of [[JewsLoveToArgue arguments]]. |
| 106 | * Eugene Felsnic from ''Film/{{Grease}}'', who would double as JewishAndNerdy. |
| 107 | * In UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar film ''Purple Hearts'', [[HospitalHottie Navy nurse]] LTJG Deborah Solomon has a very Jewish name. However, Cheryl Ladd, the actress who plays her, is a devout Christian. |
| 108 | * ''Film/FantasticBeastsAndWhereToFindThem'': |
| 109 | ** The Goldstein sisters, whose last name is common among Ashkenazim. Tina has the middle name 'Esther', which is markedly Jewish, 'Queenie' has been known to be used as an English version of the Yiddish name Malke (/Hebrew, Malka), and, more obviously still, the two of them live in Manhattan in the 20s. J. K. Rowling revealed in a tweet [[https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/544946669448867841]] that (no surprise) Anthony Goldstein was Jewish, and, in another [[https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/632611629843263488]], that Tina and Queenie are distantly related to him. |
| 110 | ** Jacob Kowalski is also coded as Jewish, although his surname is less markedly so, as a common Polish name. He is a Polish immigrant to New York in the early 20th century with the name Jacob, played by Brooklyn-born Jewish-American actor Dan Fogler, who, again, lives in New York in the 20s. |
| 111 | * ''Film/MyCousinVinny'': Stan Rothenstein has a Jewish-sounding last name, is from New York, and calls Vinny a putz. |
| 112 | * Max Goldman in ''Film/GrumpyOldMen''. He has a Jewish surname and peppers his speech with Yiddish words. He does celebrate Christmas, though that isn't unheard of among highly assimilated American Jews. |
| 113 | * ''Film/DeadtimeStories'': In "Goldi Lox and Three Baers", [[PunnyName Goldi Lox]] says that her actual first name is 'Golda', as she was born during the [[UsefulNotes/ArabIsraeliConflict Six-Day War]] and named after Golda Meir. |
| 114 | * ''Film/ToBeOrNotToBe'': Much of the acting troupe, including Tura himself, who says, when told the play might offend Hitler, “Have you heard what he says about ''us''?” Though it’s unlikely the Nazis would pursue Maria so ardently if she were Jewish even by marriage, so he may have just meant Poles. With the character of Greenberg, whose dearest ambition is to play Shylock, it’s barely even subtext. He even says to another actor “What you are, I wouldn’t eat,” as a way of calling him a [[LargeHam ham]]. Curiously, when he recites the “[[Theatre/TheMerchantOfVenice Hath not a Jew eyes]]” speech, it’s edited to remove the word “Jew”. |
| 115 | * ''Film/DoRevenge'': |
| 116 | ** Max, played by the Jewish Austin Abrams, is seen wearing a Star of David necklace and uses the Yiddish phrase "kvelling", though it is possible he is wearing it as a fashion statement. By extension, Gabbi can be inferred to be Jewish due to them being siblings. |
| 117 | ** Eleanor's former moniker of "[[spoiler: Nosy Nora]]" also references an antisemitic stereotype. Her last name, Levetan, may also be derived from Levy a common Jewish name. [[spoiler:However, this turns out to not be her original name.]] |
| 118 | * ''Film/DeathShip'': The ship's entertainer Jackie, played by Creator/SaulRubinek, is implied to be Jewish. Which, given the titular GhostShip's Nazi affiliation, may explain why he is the first survivor to die. |
| 119 | * ''[[Film/WheresPoppa Where's Poppa?]]'': Both of the Hocheiser brothers as well as Sidney's wife and son are played by very Jewish-looking Jewish actors, and they reside in New York City, but the family's faith is never brought up. |
| 120 | [[/folder]] |
| 121 | |
| 122 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 123 | * ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'': Emmanuel Goldstein, supposedly the leader of [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters the Brotherhood]], is often theorized to be Jewish. This is partly because Goldstein is a surname commonly found among Jews, and partly because he was inspired by Leon Trotsky and Emma Goldman, both of whom were Jewish. |
| 124 | * Some characters from ''Literature/{{Baccano}}'' likely qualify as well, especially some of the Immortals, most notably [[CreepyChild Czeslaw]] [[OlderThanTheyLook Meyer]] (who happens to share his name with a real life Jewish-Polish author). |
| 125 | * It's never outright stated in ''Literature/ACanticleForLeibowitz'' that Isaac Leibowitz was Jewish, though it's heavily implied by his name and his similarity to Jewish physicists like Albert Einstein and Robert Oppenheimer. |
| 126 | * In ''Literature/CaptainFreedom'', the titular superhero was born Tzadik Friedman, and grew up on a kibbutz, but did not realize that he was Jewish until he was an adult. Considering that his mother is very much a JewishMother, it's not clear what he thought he was prior to that. |
| 127 | * ''Literature/LosingJoesPlace'': Unappeasable landlord Plotnick's surname, speech patterns and mannerisms fit certain Jewish stereotypes, but his ethnic and religious background are never discussed. |
| 128 | * It was noted in a Guardian review of the original novel ''Literature/MissPettigrewLivesForADay'' that ironically, given the title character's racism and anti-Semitism ([[ValuesDissonance emblematic of the time period and which the author seems to endorse]]), her eventual romance is with a character named Joseph Blomfield. |
| 129 | * Q from ''Literature/PaperTowns'' calls his car the Dreidel, mentions that he wants to say Kaddish for a dead raccoon, his parents discuss politics in Israel and Palestine at one point, and his Dad mentions knowing Hebrew. |
| 130 | * Creator/IsaacAsimov's ''Literature/PebbleInTheSky'': Joseph Schwartz is often assumed, not just just by readers but also by reviewers and members of the publishing industry, to be Jewish. This assumption is based on his Hebrew first name and German last name, and Dr Asimov's own Jewish ancestry, pegging him as something of an AuthorAvatar. However, when he was asked about Schwartz's faith, he explained that he had given absolutely no thought to it while writing the novel. There are two Old Testament references; Earthers are a "stubborn and stiff-necked people", and "making the desert bloom" ([[EarthThatUsedToBeBetter most of the Earth had become a radioactive wasteland in earlier centuries]]). Dr Asimov admitted to basing the conditions of Earth on the conditions in ancient Judea (now Israel) under the Romans. Procurator Ennius even gets to use Pontius Pilate's line: "I find no fault in this man..." These factors add up to reinforce the notion of Schwartz as a Jewish man. |
| 131 | * Some have interpreted Black Michael of ''Literature/ThePrisonerOfZenda'' as being Jewish/having a Jewish mother. In the novel, Black Michael cannot legitimately take the throne because he's the product of a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morganatic_marriage Morganatic marriage]], but adaptations have presented him as a BastardBastard and placed more emphasis on a lack of royal ancestry on his mother's side, leading to the assumption that she must have been of a different religion than that of Ruritania's Catholic monarchy, and the further assumption that this meant she was Jewish. Besides all of the assumptions this requires, it seems unlikely, since if he was intended as Jewish, the book would have called attention to it, and Black Michael is supposed to be [[VillainWithGoodPublicity beloved]] by the religious, Slavic peasants of Ruritania, a somewhat difficult feat if he was Jewish. |
| 132 | * The Baudelaire orphans of ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'' are Jewish, according to [[http://www.momentmag.com/Exclusive/2007/2007-02/200702-Handler.html this interview by Daniel Handler]]. In the final book they mention a family tradition of naming children after deceased relatives, which is a Jewish custom. Count Olaf uses expressions like "Truth, Schmuth", and has on at least one occasion disguised himself as a rabbi. There are also occasional references to the Torah, such as the Incredibly Deadly Viper offering an apple in a twist on Genesis. |
| 133 | * ''Literature/SherlockHolmes'': |
| 134 | ** Irene Adler, from the 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 the Jewish Sarah Bernhardt. |
| 135 | ** Sherlock Holmes himself sometimes gets hit with this, as his physical appearance contains two stereotypically "Jewish" features--black hair and a large hawk-like nose. There is actually an [[http://www.hansomwheels.com/holmesethni_1.htm essay]] that theorizes the possibility of Holmes having Jewish ancestry, and author Shane Peacock's Young Adult series, ''The Boy Sherlock Holmes'', portrays the young Sherlock as a boy of Anglo-Jewish descent (the product of an English woman and Jewish man). |
| 136 | * In Lore Segal's 1970 picture book ''Tell Me a Mitzi'', the title character and her family are never said to be Jewish, but they live in New York City and are drawn by illustrator Harriet Pincus with typically Ashkenazi Jewish facial features. In a 2015 interview, Segal said "The book ''feels'' Jewish without having any Jewish content... you can tell this book is Jewish by its thumbprint." When Creator/JudyBlume [[SharedUniverse included Mitzi and her grandparents]] as characters in ''[[Literature/{{Fudge}} Fudge-a-Mania]]'' in 1990, she reinforced the vibe by giving them the German-Jewish surname "Apfel." |
| 137 | * The CorruptCorporateExecutive 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. Creator/DavidSuchet 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 Creator/AnthonyTrollope was thinking about at any given point while writing. |
| 138 | [[/folder]] |
| 139 | |
| 140 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 141 | * ''Series/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch'' |
| 142 | ** Miles Goodman, Sabrina's college housemate in Seasons 5-6. Aside from the surname "Goodman" (which is commonly though not exclusively a Jewish name), he comes from a family of accountants, mentioned an [[JewishMother overprotective mother]] who threatens him if he doesn't call, and once brings back matzo balls after visiting home. |
| 143 | ** Salem Saberhagen mentions his niece having had a Bat Mitzvah, indicating the Saberhagens are a Jewish (witch) family, or leastways that Salem has some Jewish relatives. |
| 144 | ** To a lesser extent, Aaron Jacobs, Sabrina's DisposableFiance in the last season. The name sounds Jewish, and his mother is a psychiatrist, a stereotypically Jewish profession, who wrote a book called [[JewishMother "Not With My Son You Don't"]]. His father is a nuclear physicist. Then again, his parents had no issue with Sabrina and Aaron's marriage in a church, with his mother even providing the singing, suggesting they were regular churchgoers. |
| 145 | * On ''Series/AgentCarter'', Howard Stark exhibits some typically Jewish characteristics. He grew up on the Lower East Side of New York, the son of poor immigrants, and grew up to use his brains to become a success, a typical Jewish immigrant success story. He was childhood friends with an Italian gangster. He is unwelcome in most high society circles and is disliked by the entrenched power structure (though he is often tolerated for his money). He helped Anna Jarvis escape from Europe. He isn't racist, which [[DeliberateValuesDissonance in the 1940s]] may be an indication that he's not a [[WhiteAngloSaxonProtestant WASP]]. And he calls a sauna a "shvitz". |
| 146 | * ''Series/TheGoldbergs'' is wall-to-wall ambiguous Jewishness. Beverley Goldberg is the classic JewishMother. Adam is the poilt and pampered son. Erica can be a brattish daughter and a stereotypical JewishAmericanPrincess. Grandfather Pop-Pop is a kindly old mensch full of good advice and wisdom to all. But while the show describes the Goldberg family as observing major rituals such as Chanukah, and having its marriages "under the canopy", they most certainly do not keep kosher [[note]]a point that consternates fans outside the USA who may only see and interact with completely observant Jews - Judaism in the USA tends to be a lot more secular and consequently more relaxed about kashrut.[[/note]] Beverley, for instance, boasts of her shrimp in cheese sauce [[note]]Both traife (prawns, seafood) and not par'ev (mixing meat and dairy on the same plate)[[/note]]. As if that wasn't enough, their local Chinese eateries honours regular customers by naming a ''pork'' dish after Murray Goldberg. |
| 147 | * George and the rest of the Costanza family on ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}''. On the one hand, they have an Italian last name (though it could be [[AllJewsAreAshkenazi Sephardic]]), Frank is allegedly a member of the Knights of Columbus [[note]]a fraternal order whose membership is limited to practicing Catholics[[/note]], 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 [[AuthorAvatar avatar]] of co-creator Creator/LarryDavid, 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 [[JewishMother "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. And Creator/JerryStiller, who portrayed Frank, once remarked: "I think we're a Jewish family living under the Witness Protection Program as Italians." George himself expresses a respect for the faith of Elaine's born-again Christian boyfriend Puddy ("You don't hear much about God anymore"), but doesn't believe in God himself... except "[[CosmicPlaything for the bad things]]." |
| 148 | * Paul Buchman and his relatives on ''Series/MadAboutYou''. Casting Creator/MelBrooks 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." Creator/HelenHunt is actually one-quarter Jewish. |
| 149 | * Buddy Sorrell on ''Series/TheDickVanDykeShow'' was originally one of these... until they eliminated all doubt by having an episode about his Bar Mitzvah. Also a very early example of VerySpecialEpisode. |
| 150 | * At least some people think that ''Series/JerryAndMillie'' (especially Millie) were supposed to be Jewish. |
| 151 | * When ''Series/ThirtyRock's'' Jack Donaghy finally meets his real father (played by Irish-Italian Creator/AlanAlda), he is alarmed to hear him casually use a few Yiddish words. Jack (who is very proudly Irish) subtly tries to find out whether that means he's half-Jewish, but his father never gives him an answer. Possibly a subversion, since many Irish, Italian, etc... New Yorkers use occasional Yiddish phrases. Especially insults. |
| 152 | * Invoked by Saul in ''Series/BreakingBad'' and ''Series/BetterCallSaul''. He's actually Irish-American and his real name is James [=McGill=], but he uses the vaguely Jewish-sounding name Saul Goodman ([[PunnyName s'all good man]]) because it attracts business. |
| 153 | * Brodie on ''Series/HomicideLifeOnTheStreet'' was never confirmed Jewish, but in the episode "Kaddish", which focuses heavily on the religion of Jewish cop John Munch, he knows a great deal about Jewish burial rites. Ironically, a peeved Munch had once said of Brodie that he knew what the "JH" stood for, with the implied answer being "Jew hater." |
| 154 | * Kipp Steadman on ''Series/LessThanPerfect''. 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". |
| 155 | * Fox Mulder of ''Series/TheXFiles''. 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: |
| 156 | ** In the episode "Kaddish", Mulder can understand a few words of spoken Hebrew, but can't read any. He doesn't otherwise show much familiarity with the traditions of the very orthodox Jewish community they're investigating. ("Kaddish" was written by Howard Gordon, who is Jewish himself but had long insisted that Mulder wasn't.) |
| 157 | ** In both "Kaddish" and "Drive," antisemites accuse Mulder of looking Jewish. He refuses to answer both times. |
| 158 | ** In "Conduit," also by Howard Gordon, Mulder is seen sitting alone in a Christian church, apparently having gone there for comfort when he was upset, although he's agnostic and usually vaguely cynical about organized religion. |
| 159 | ** In "The Blessing Way," Mulder's father has a Christian funeral. There's also an episode where we can see a box of Christmas decorations in the garage of Mulder's mom's house, although some Jews do celebrate Christmas as a secular holiday. When Mulder was a child they lived in Martha's Vineyard, an extremely [=WASPy=] part of New England. |
| 160 | ** Both Mulder and Kuipers (his mom's maiden name) are usually Dutch/Afrikaner surnames ("Miller" is the rough English equivalent of Mulder). His mother's first name is Teena, which is usually short for Christina and would be a fairly weird name for a Jewish woman of her generation. |
| 161 | * ''Series/ReadyOrNot1993'': Amanda finds out as she gets older that she's Jewish[[note]]which she never knew about since her parents were Agnostic[[/note]] but is unsure about following the religion due to anti-Semitism displayed throughout her community. |
| 162 | * Most of the characters of ''Series/SaluteYourShorts'' had "Jewish" last names (Stein, Ziff, Gelfen, Pinsky, etc.). None of them were directly stated to be Jews, but it was mentioned in one episode that if Budnick and Dina had a child, it would have a Bar Mitzvah. Dina also fits the stereotype of a Jewish-American Princess. There used to be an actual Camp Anawana on the site of (and operated by) BorschtBelt resort Kutsher's, which would cater mostly to Jewish clients. |
| 163 | * If his wedding is any indication, ''Lord Zedd'', one of the {{Big Bad}}s of ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers''. Of course, that could just be the Jewish writer Haim Saban [[WriteWhatYouKnow writing the ceremony he knows]]. Also, see "[[ChristmasEpisode I'm Dreaming of a White Ranger]]", when he tries to usurp Christmas with [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything spinning tops]]. |
| 164 | * ''Series/{{NUMB3RS}}'': The Eppes family were ambiguously Jewish for the first two seasons. They clearly weren't observant at all, but the actors who play Don, Charlie, and Alan (Creator/RobMorrow, Creator/DavidKrumholtz, and Creator/JuddHirsch) are ''all'' Jewish. In season 3, it was established that they are in fact nonobservant Jews. However, in the Season 5 episode "Scan Man", Don starts going to a synagogue and becomes more involved in Judaism. |
| 165 | * Matt Parkman on ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' is Jewish according to actor Greg Grunberg (who is also Jewish). The only "hints" of his religion on the show was when he said "Mazel tov" to HRG. There was once TemporaryOnlineContent in the form of a HackingMinigame which let users access some "top-secret" character profiles, and the profile of Matt's father mentions his parents were Holocaust refugees. |
| 166 | * ''Series/InPlainSight'' on USA has a character, Robert "Bobby D" Dershowitz. The name would give it away, except that he's black. The ambiguity is gone now (for those of us who realized Dershowitz was a Jewish last name) as he has now moved to Chicago where he's settling in well because there are so many more synagogues than in Albuquerque, where the show is set. |
| 167 | * Hank and Evan Lawson from ''Series/RoyalPains''. Harry Winkler shows up as their father Eddie. When Hank's patient mentions needing a "new Faith" (he's referring to his sister/manager, who will no longer be working for him), Evan suggests Judaism as, "we could use a big guy on our side". |
| 168 | * Kenny in ''Series/TheWarAtHome'' seems to be Ambiguously Jewish, since his mother has a Hebrew name ("Shirra") and the music that plays during his fantasy of marrying Larry sounds Jewish-theme. Then again, he could also qualify as an "Ambiguously Muslim" since his father's name "Achmed" is a common Muslim name. If so, Kenny was kicked out of the house because homosexuality isn't allowed in the Muslim world and Shirra also had to follow her husband because of the rules (which was rather exaggerated). |
| 169 | * Isaac Jaffe on ''Series/SportsNight'' has a ''very'' Jewish name (Isaac is from the Biblical patriarch, and the last name Jaffe comes from the Hebrew word for beautiful), and frequently uses Yiddish expressions. On the other hand, everyone who knows him insists that his use of Yiddish expressions doesn't work for him, which is probably connected to the fact that he is black, suggesting that if he is Jewish, [[AllJewsAreAshkenazi his background is not Ashkenazic]]. His wife also has a Jewish name, Esther. On the other hand, in the episode "April is the Cruelest Month," Will tells Jeremy that the two of them, plus Elliot and Will "pretty much represent the Jewish population around here," which implies, but does not state outright that Isaac is not Jewish. |
| 170 | * Pavel Chekov on ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'', portrayed by Jewish actors Creator/WalterKoenig in the original series and Creator/AntonYelchin in the reboot, has some fandom support for this. Creator/LeonardNimoy, also Jewish, adapted the famous Vulcan hand salute and its greetings, "Live long and prosper" and "Peace and long life", from Jewish religious tradition, making the Vulcans [[FantasyCounterpartCulture a positive example of]] SpaceJews. Creator/WilliamShatner is also Jewish, but Kirk doesn't seem to get this quite as often from the fandom, as he is an Iowa farmboy with a Scottish last naming meaning "church" and the middle name Tiberius, a Roman emperor who famously exiled Rome's Jewish population. |
| 171 | * ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'': Worf's foster parents Sergey and Helena Rozhenko in "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS4E2Family Family]]" seem to be this, given that they are both played by Jewish actors, Creator/TheodoreBikel and Georgia Brown, and how they worry and care so much about Worf similar to how Jewish parents would. Makes you wonder if Worf went to Synagogue with his parents and foster brother Nikolai and had a Bar Mitzvah while growing up on Earth. WordOfGod according to ''Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion'' states that production staff were worried that Worf's parents might come across as comically "Jewish", but Michael Pillar stated that the finished episode seemed to have the right balance in place for those characters. Also noteworthy is that Bikel didn't even bother hiding his Yiddish accent as Sergey. |
| 172 | * A more remote possibility: Julian Bashir of ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''. A British man of deliberately nonspecific Middle Eastern descent, ''he'' never exhibited any stereotypically Jewish traits, but his father was very Cockney-Yiddish (played by Creator/BrianGeorge, who's playing it up a bit, but genuinely is from a family of Baghdadi Jews). On the other hand, the name Bashir is Arabic, which would tend to weaken the Jewish connection. |
| 173 | * Miranda Feigelstein in ''Series/MysteriousWays'' is an in-universe example: early in the first season, Declan says that he assumed she was Jewish because of her last name. She replies that she's not Jewish and [[PretentiousPronunciation her name is pronounced FeigelSTEEN]], and gets upset at how little he seems to know about her. |
| 174 | * In "Dead Luck," an episode of ''Series/LostGirl'', Mayer and his family come across as stereotypical Jewish gangsters, although, being that they are fae, this is presumably just an affectation for them. |
| 175 | * Roseanne from ''Series/{{Roseanne}}'', despite mostly being depicted as a typical mid-western WASP, dropped clues that she had some Jewish heritage through the series. This was eventually confirmed in an episode where D.J. asked about the religious practices of the family. Rosanne Barr, of course, is Jewish. |
| 176 | * In an episode of ''Series/{{Fringe}}'', Walter mentions that William Bell's father taught him Yiddish [[YiddishAsASecondLanguage (and proceeds to speak it later in the episode)]]. Bell is played by Creator/LeonardNimoy, who is Jewish, and profession-wise Bell is a scientist, academic, ''and'' business magnate who lived in New York City, which pretty much hits the nail right on the head. |
| 177 | * In ''Series/{{Friends}}'' Rachel Green is implied, but never stated, to be Jewish; in one episode, she refers to her grandmother with the Yiddish term "bubbe." In another episode, when Phoebe is writing a holiday song, she tries the line "spin the dreidel, Rachel"; Rachel's only objection is that this doesn't rhyme. |
| 178 | * Artie Nielsen, born Arthur Weisfelt, of ''Series/Warehouse13'' has numerous hints dropped through the first two seasons, but is placed firmly in this category by the [[ChristmasSpecial Christmas episode]] (where the credits paired his name with a dreidel) of Season 2 which reunites him with his father, played by Judd Hirsch. As a sort of retro lampshade to this sudden Judaism, his [[TeamDad 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. |
| 179 | * Though it's never mentioned, both Niles and Daphne's failed spouses on ''Series/{{Frasier}}'', Mel and Donnie, who play a large role in season 7, appear to be Jewish. Both are played by Jewish actors who have a stereotypically Jewish "look" (the actor who played Donnie, Saul Rubinek, has played UsefulNotes/HenryKissinger in the past) Mel's last name is "Karnofsky," and both have high-paying, elite jobs often stereotyped with Jews (surgeon and lawyer). Since the Cranes are portrayed as quite irreligious, and since the show has come under fire for its lack of cast diversity, it's possible the ambiguity was an intentional effort to add some non-consequential multiculturalism. |
| 180 | * Blair Sandburg in ''Series/TheSentinel''. He says his Swiss Army knife was a Bar Mitzvah present, but he is seen wearing a cross around his neck and he goes on retreat in a community of Christian monks. |
| 181 | * Elsbeth Tascioni, a recurring character in ''Series/TheGoodWife'', does not seem Jewish at all, but is the victim of an antisemitic slur in one episode, "A Few Words." Also, ADA Matan Brody has a very Jewish name, but we otherwise know little about the character. |
| 182 | * Inverted in ''Series/{{Glee}}'', with the character of Rachel Berry, who identifies as Jewish, even though her mother's identity is at first unknown, and, when revealed, turns out to have the very non-Jewish name of Shelby Corcoran, suggesting that, by Jewish law, Rachel is not Jewish. It is worth noting, however, that the actress who plays Shelby, Idina Menzel, is Jewish, although the actress who plays Rachel, Lea Michele, is ''not'' Jewish, despite having Jewish ancestry. |
| 183 | * In the American version of ''Series/{{House of Cards|US}}'', produced by Netflix, the prostitute Rachel Posner has a very Jewish sounding name. She states that she's "not religious" and gets wrapped up in a Christian church while on the lam. It's worth noting that this was the breakout performance of Rachel Brosnahan, who is not Jewish but went on to play a Jewish woman in her star-making role of [[Series/TheMarvelousMrsMaisel Midge Maisel]]. |
| 184 | * Pretty much the entire cast of ''Series/{{Kings}}'', since it is a retelling of the story of King Saul and King David. At one point, Samuel quotes directly from the Talmud, [[http://www.yutorah.org/daf.cfm/6004/Berachot/57/b Berakhot 57B]], when he says "Dreams are one-sixtieth of prophecy." The only reason there's any ambiguity at all is that the specific religious beliefs or practices of the characters are never explored in detail, and because Samuel has the title of "Reverend." |
| 185 | * ''Series/{{iCarly}}'': |
| 186 | ** Some fans believe Sam to be a self-hating, secular, or non-Kosher Jew, as evidenced by her entry on its [[WMG/{{iCarly}} WMG subpage]]. Although Puckett isn't a Jewish surname (it's French), one can't ignore her near fetishistic obsession with ham and bacon, her usage of Jewish phrases such as "Oy!", has what appears to be a cutout of the Star of David in her locker, frequently mentions Judaism and implied that she had a Bat Mitzvah in one episode. Probably because show creator Creator/DanSchneider is Jewish and his shows do mention it often. The episode "[=iSam=]'s Mother" eventually jossed it by having Sam outright say that she isn't Jewish (which is repeated again in "[=iBust=] A Thief"). |
| 187 | ** Spencer mentions Yom Kippur in one episode, though in a later episode, he mentioned owning a bible. |
| 188 | ** Freddie displays the stereotypes of a NiceJewishBoy and his mother acts like a JewishMother. In "[=iCan=]'t Take It" his mother tears her blouse in mourning, which refers the Jewish mourning act of keriah. Despite this, Freddie does mention having "church pants". ''Series/ICarly2021'' debunks this by having Freddie mention his mother's Christian book club. |
| 189 | * Alf Garnett, the bigoted, homophobic conservative on the classic BBC show ''Series/TillDeathUsDoPart'' is often implied to be Jewish, though he desperately denies it. [[note]]The actor who portrays Garnett, Warren Mitchell, actually ''is'' an East End London Jew. Mitchell confessed a little Jewishness inevitably made its way into the character, partly to lampshade the ambiguity surrounding a narrow-minded bigot with an anti-Semitic streak having a deep, dark, shameful secret about his own origins.[[/note]] |
| 190 | * ''Series/UnbreakableKimmySchmidt'': Lillian Kaushtupper, played by the Jewish actress Carol Kane. In one episode, when called upon to stall for time, she launches into the history of Israel. In other episode, she's able to instantly translate the name of a synagogue into English. In another episode, she references her ancestors being driven out of various countries before coming to America, which sounds like they were Jewish, but then she reveals that it was because [[BestialityIsDepraved they had sex with cows]]. Her name is mangled Yiddish for "cow-fucker." |
| 191 | * ''Series/{{SCTV}}'' has a few in the form of stand-up comedians Bobby and Skip Bittman and talk show host Sammy Maudlin. Sammy wears his curly black hair in an afro and wore a Star of David necklace in his first couple appearance. Bobby and Skip are all but stated to be Jewish; their parents still call them by their birth names (Bobby's is Herschel), their actual surname is Slansky, and they both speak fluent enough Yiddish to [[JewsLoveToArgue argue with each other]] using it instead of English. Skip speaks it again in ''Maudlin's Eleven'', a parody of ''Film/OceansEleven''. The Bittman brothers are played by Jewish actors: Creator/EugeneLevy and Creator/RickMoranis. Sammy Maudlin is played by the decidedly non-Jewish Joe Flaherty. |
| 192 | * Invoked on ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' in a sketch called "Jew or not a Jew" in which the host would name a celebrity and the contestants would have to guess if that celebrity was Jewish. |
| 193 | * In ''Series/{{Fargo}}'': In season 2, the Kansas City mob is ambiguously a KosherNostra organization. Various members occasionally drop Yiddish words, have a very dim view of Germans, and are played by very Jewish actors. The only member who never gives an impression of being Jewish, the black Mike Milligan, gets [[KickedUpstairs kicked upstairs]] to a toothless desk job rather than a position of power, suggesting racial/religious discrimination. |
| 194 | * ''Series/FTroop'' dropped several subtle hints that the local Indian tribe, the Hekawi, may have been descended from the lost thirteenth tribe of Israel. The joke was helped along since many of the Hekawi also happened to be played by Borscht Belt comedians. |
| 195 | * Fuji the Japanese POW from ''Film/McHalesNavy'' was constantly using Yiddish phrases such as "Oy Vey" and once sarcastically responded that a wedding cake he was making was for a wedding, not a Bar Mitzvah. |
| 196 | * Illya Kuryakin from ''Series/TheManFromUNCLE'' is a [[JewsLoveToArgue snarky]] Ukrainian [[JewishAndNerdy intellectual]] who, when pressed to go undercover as a busker, sings "Hava Nagila". On the other hand, he's blonde, blue-eyed, and has a Gentile name--but on the first hand, there were [[TheGulag several]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalin_and_antisemitism pressing]] reasons for a Jewish family to change their name in the USSR under Stalin. |
| 197 | * ''Series/OrangeIsTheNewBlack'', has Galina "Red" Reznikov, who has a [[http://genealogy.familyeducation.com/surname-origin/reznikov Jewish last name]], but otherwise, nothing has been revealed about her religious background. Notably, when [[spoiler:Cindy/Tova]] needs to find Jewish inmates to help with her conversion, she does not go to Red, nor does it seem to occur to her or anyone else. |
| 198 | * ''Series/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents2017'': It's a RunningGag that virtually everyone in the show is ambiguously Jewish. The author is Jewish and has described the series as "a very Jewish story." Various characters frequently reference somewhat obscure Jewish holidays and use various Yiddish and Hebrew expressions without ever acknowledging their actual religion. For example: |
| 199 | ** During "The Marvelous Marriage," the band plays "Havah Nagila," a Jewish folk song. |
| 200 | ** The Hook-Handed Man says "Mazel tov!" at one point. In another episode, when pressed to name a religion, he shouts "Reconstructionist Judaism!" |
| 201 | ** Arthur Poe mentions the fashion faux pas of wearing white after Yom Kippur (instead of Labor Day) and says he regrets being the only kid in his class not to have a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. In the Village of Fowl Devotees, he cheers Count Olaf with "Mazel tov!" to which Olaf responds, "L'Heimlich," a riff on the Hebrew cheers "L'chaim," ("To life"). |
| 202 | ** Klaus and Violet reference Tu Bishvat and explain that it's "the Jewish equivalent of Arbor Day." |
| 203 | ** Olivia gives an extended explanation of the meaning of the Yiddish word "tzuris." |
| 204 | ** There are menorahs and kiddush cups in the Last Chance General Store. |
| 205 | ** Lemony Snicket places a stone at the edge of the pit where [[spoiler:Madame Lulu/Olivia]] was killed. It is a Jewish custom to place stones on grave sites. |
| 206 | ** When pressed to make a dish with salmon, Sunny makes smoked salmon and refers to it by its Yiddish name: lox. |
| 207 | ** Justice Straus says, "This night really ''is'' different from all other nights." This is a reference to the preamble of each of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma_Nishtana four questions]] traditionally asked during a Passover seder. |
| 208 | * The Bluths on ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment''; series creator Mitchell Hurwitz (Jewish, natch) has admitted that "we can’t quite decide if the Bluths are Jewish or not." George Sr. undergoes a conversion to religious Judaism while he's in jail (though he later converts to Christianity). On the other hand, we see Lucille having a Christmas party in season 1, and in Season 4 she refers to her daughter Lindsay as "a blonde, WASP-y Orange County princess," [[spoiler:though it's worth noting that Lindsay is adopted]]. |
| 209 | * ''Series/StrangerThings'': Murray Bauman is an abrasive, sarcastic know-it-all with a Jewish-sounding name, a big beard, and a Chicago accent, who has an old anti-Nazi poster on his wall. He's also played by a Jewish actor. |
| 210 | * ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'': Siblings Jean-Ralphio and Mona Lisa Saperstein have a Jewish-sounding last name but overtly non-Jewish sounding given names. Their father is a doctor. They're both spoiled rich kids falling into the JewishAmericanPrincess stereotype. Everyone in the family is played by very Jewish actors. |
| 211 | * ''Series/SchittsCreek'': Although present in the first season, which does not specify the Roses Jewishness, the trope is subverted in later seasons. Johnny Rose played by Creator/EugeneLevy is named as Jewish, and his children David and Alexis are said to have been bar mitvahed and bat mitzvahed and David mentions been on a birthright trip. However, Johnny's wife Moira was not born Jewish, and David tells Stevie he's a "half and half situation" so [[EveryoneIsChristianAtChristmas he still celebrates Christmas]]. |
| 212 | * ''Series/You2018'': Joe's last name, Goldberg, is common among Ashkenazim, and Peach mentions going to "Jew camp" as a child. There's no other indication of them being Jewish though. |
| 213 | * ''Series/{{Leverage}}'': [[BlackAndNerdy Alec Hardison]] once claimed to be Jewish to invoke EverythingIsRacist (he's black, so it was an inverted DiscriminateAndSwitch), but he mentions Jewish concepts of repentance in "[[Recap/LeverageRedemptionS1E1TheTooManyRembrandtsJob The Too Many Rembrandts Job]]" and says that Nana runs a multi-denominational household, which some fans have taken to mean that he really is Jewish. |
| 214 | * ''Series/NeverHaveIEver'': Lyle Shapiro. He has a Jewish surname and stereotypical looks, but hasn't been explicitly identified as Jewish. |
| 215 | * ''Series/{{Alphas}}'': Lee Rosen. He has a common Ashkenazi last name and has fairly Jewish looks. This would presumably qualify his daughter Danielle for this trope as well, although, since we know almost nothing about her mother, she is more ambiguous. |
| 216 | * ''Series/TheBigComfyCouch'': Granny Garbanzo comes from "the old country," with an Eastern European accent, exclaims "Oy!" when she's stressed or surprised, and has a lit menorah in her wagon during [[YouMeanXMas the Longest Night of the Year]]. |
| 217 | * InUniverse example: Reed's character from the ShowWithinAShow sitcom in ''Series/{{Reboot}}'' sometimes uses yiddish expressions, despite being played by the [[ClassicallyTrainedExtra Yale-educated]] African-American actor. That's because he was written by the very Jewish Gordon, who based the character on himself. |
| 218 | [[/folder]] |
| 219 | |
| 220 | [[folder:Manhwa]] |
| 221 | * Martial artist and fanservice provider Jin-le Kwon from ''Manhwa/TheBreaker'' is always seen wearing a Star of David necklace, and is thus considered by some to be Jewish. |
| 222 | [[/folder]] |
| 223 | |
| 224 | [[folder:Music]] |
| 225 | * The narrator of the Music/WeirdAlYankovic AntiChristmasSong "The Night Santa Went Crazy" mentions "good gentile girls and good gentile boys". |
| 226 | [[/folder]] |
| 227 | |
| 228 | [[folder:Podcasts]] |
| 229 | * ''Podcast/TheAdventureZoneBalance'' has Angus; when he appears during [[spoiler: ''Candlenights in Tacoma!'']], his first line is [[spoiler: "Happy Hannukah, sirs!"]] Complicating the idea is the fact that the line was given by Clint (a player character) rather than [[DungeonMaster Griffin]], and the fact that this is a [[SpaceJews fantasy world where Judaism wouldn't exist as such.]] |
| 230 | [[/folder]] |
| 231 | |
| 232 | [[folder:Puppet Shows]] |
| 233 | * ''Series/TheMuppetShow'': |
| 234 | ** Fozzie Bear. Creator/FrankOz, who is himself of Jewish ancestry, performed him as a callback to the BorschtBelt vaudevillians of old; as a result Fozzie has done gags like [[PullARabbitOutOfMyHat pulling a ]]''[[PullARabbitOutOfMyHat rabbi ]]''[[PullARabbitOutOfMyHat out of a hat]]. |
| 235 | ** Another ''Muppet Show'' character, Wanda, has the high, shrieky, lower-class New Yorker accent that is often associated with Jewish women. |
| 236 | * ''Series/SesameStreet'': |
| 237 | ** Oscar the Grouch, since he's a cousin to Moisha the Oofnik, an Israeli-Jewish Grouch. |
| 238 | ** Also Count Von Count... no one really knows why someone would make a ''vampire'' seem Jewish, but they did. When the Count performs the song "Hands" on a ''Sesame Street'' children's record, the music in the background sounds like something right out of ''Theatre/FiddlerOnTheRoof''. "The Song of the Count" also has a distinct klezmer style to it. It's because most Count's songs are based on csárdás, a traditional Hungarian dance that is usually associated with the Balkans, in the way of Transylvania, in the way of vampires. Count himself also has a rather thick {{Uberwald}}ian accent and a bit of comedic aristocratic manners. Still, another song he once sang was a parody of "The Monster Mash" called "The Cookie Monster [[YiddishAsASecondLanguage Nosh]]." |
| 239 | * Marjorie the Trash Heap on ''Series/FraggleRock'' has an Eastern European accent and was once described by a critic as sounding like "somebody's idea of revenge on a Jewish mother-in-law." |
| 240 | [[/folder]] |
| 241 | |
| 242 | [[folder:Theater]] |
| 243 | * Theatre/{{Wicked}}: Many Jewish fans of the show have [[https://www.tumblr.com/pkatesss/655441338053083136/elphaba-from-wicked-is-coded-as-jewish-thats?source=share related]] to Elphaba's struggles of being unfairly scapegoated and ostracized. Not only that but Elphaba has been played by many Jewish actresses over the years: Idina Menzel, Lindsay Mendez, and Mandy Gonzalez, to name a few. So were musical composer Creator/StephenSchwartz and playbook writer Creator/WinnieHolzman. |
| 244 | * ''Theatre/{{Beetlejuice}}'': While Beetlejuice is still a demon from the Netherworld, this version of him is implied (though never stated) to be Jewish. He gives a "L'Chaim" toast in "Creepy Old Guy" and wears a yarmulke to his wedding with Lydia in some productions. |
| 245 | ** Lydia Deetz could also be this as well, due to originally being played by actress Winona Ryder in the film. |
| 246 | * ''Theatre/DeathOfASalesman'' 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. Creator/ArthurMiller 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 TheEveryman 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 UsefulNotes/TheAmericanDream. |
| 247 | * The Hollanders from ''Theatre/DontDrinkTheWater''. Woody Allen wrote this one and actually played Walter Hollander in the second movie version. |
| 248 | * Dolly Levi of Thorton Wilder's ''Theatre/TheMatchmaker'' and ''Theatre/HelloDolly'' is an interesting case, as she is played by Music/BarbraStreisand in the film, and the character in the play is presumably Irish-American (her maiden name is Gallagher) and intermarried, but in both cases speaks with a [[YiddishAsASecondLanguage "Yiddish" rhythm]] and is a good fit for the stereotypical matchmaker of Jewish humor (compare her with Yente of ''Theatre/FiddlerOnTheRoof''). |
| 249 | ** "Dolly" is usually "Dolores" (cf. ''Lolita''s Dolores "Dolly"/"Lolita" Haze). "Dolores" is an indirect way of naming a girl after the Virgin Mary -- "Dolors" are "Sorrows," and Mary is "Our Lady of Sorrows," or the Mater Dolorosa. |
| 250 | ** "Levi"/"Levy" and "Cohan"/"Cohane"/"Caan" are also Irish (cf. George M. Cohan, whose second wife was, by the by, named "Ethel Levey"). A lot of [[IrishmanAndAJew crackpots on both sides of the Celto-Semitic ethnicity line]] desperately want this to be proof that the Irish, especially the Black Irish, are one or more of the Lost Tribes of Israel. Further "proof" is that until the latest extended trend of exogamy, Celts (including the non-Irish ones) and Jews were one of the few ethnic groups to have, in their gene pools, the genetic trait that causes redheadedness. |
| 251 | * Nathan Detroit of ''Theatre/GuysAndDolls'' is often thought of as Jewish, mostly because of his use of the Yiddish word "nu," but no one ever spells this out. ("Sue me!" and "What can he do me?" are both mentioned in a list of Yiddish-derived expressions by Lilian Mermin Feinsilver; with the exception of one pronoun, both are used by Nathan in the same song. Also in "Sue Me," he refers to himself by the Yinglish term "Nogoodnik".) When the show was written, Nathan Detroit was probably intended as an FictionalCounterpart of Arnold Rothstein, a well-known Jewish gambler. |
| 252 | * In Music/RichardWagner's ''Theatre/{{Parsifal}}'', Kundry's backstory is that of the Wandering Jew. unfortunate implications regarding her character abound in this religious-themed work. |
| 253 | * Ali Hakim in ''Theatre/{{Oklahoma}}'', who is supposed to be Persian. The part was originally played by Yiddish actor Joseph Buloff, and in the original play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs'', the character was explicitly Jewish. In RealLife, the character was based on a Syrian Christian, whose family later went on to found a dry goods store in Tulsa, which later became a high-end department store. Since [[RealityIsUnrealistic it's hard to imagine an ethnic Arab in frontier-era America]], it's understandable why his background was fudged. |
| 254 | * Jared Kleinman from ''Theatre/DearEvanHansen'' is considered by many fans to be Jewish due to his Jewish first and last names, and also because he at one point quotes ''Theatre/FiddlerOnTheRoof''. |
| 255 | -->'''Jared''': "You're almost...''popular''. Which is just...wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles." |
| 256 | * Moritz Spiegelberg from Friedrich Schiller's classic German drama ''Theatre/TheRobbers'' is clearly coded as Jewish, although his religion is never quite confirmed, and some scholars nowadays doubt that the character really is a Jew. Others say that him being circumcised, a Zionist, not very fond of the New Testament, seen reading Jewish historians and named, well Moritz Spiegelberg, are dead giveaways. |
| 257 | [[/folder]] |
| 258 | |
| 259 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 260 | * ''VideoGame/BioShock1'': WordOfGod states that there are lots of Jewish characters in the series, though little confirmation on who. |
| 261 | ** Bridgette Tenenbaum has a Jewish-sounding name and was a prisoner at a Nazi prison camp. |
| 262 | ** Sander Cohen's name is specifically Jewish, and was also a prisoner at a Nazi prison camp. |
| 263 | ** Andrew Ryan is [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed clearly based on]] author and philosopher Creator/AynRand, who was Jewish (but atheist) in real life and also, like Ryan, a refugee who fled the Soviet Union. |
| 264 | ** The minor character Mariska Lutz refers to Big Daddies as "golems." |
| 265 | * Elsa Lichtmann and Detective Herschel Biggs in ''VideoGame/LANoire'' are implied to have Jewish heritage. Elsa was a German refugee in the United States during World War II after her parents were murdered by Nazis, while Biggs' given name Herschel is of Yiddish origin. |
| 266 | * Hal "Otacon" Emmerich from ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' is from a family [[AllThereInTheManual the Official Mission Handbook]] refers to as Jewish, has a German grandfather who had to flee the Nazis, and displays some knowledge of Yiddish in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots''. However, Otacon himself is certainly not practicing. |
| 267 | * Tora from ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork3WhiteAndBlue'' might be Jewish. His name sounds like "Torah", he's obsessed with chess (another Jewish stereotype), has a Jew-fro, and he uses the word "kosher" once or twice in its slangy sense. |
| 268 | * Not because of stereotypes, but the [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Hoenn]] region of the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' games has a number of legendary Pokémon (which are, for the most part, an indication of the regions's mythology) which are based around Jewish mythology. Kyogre and Groudon, which are based on the Leviathan and Behemoth, respectively, as well as the Regi trio, based on {{golem}}s, lead one to believe that the denizens of the region practice a rough equivalent of Judaism. This might make Rayquaza the Ziz. |
| 269 | * Telltale's ''VideoGame/{{Sam And Max|Freelance Police}}'' games have mentioned Jewish things like "Matzah" and "Seder" before, and they live in New York. |
| 270 | * ''VideoGame/ProfessorLayton'': |
| 271 | ** Professor Layton has the first name Hershel, an extremely uncommon name among goyim, let alone British people. It would also explain his insistence on NeverBareheaded (though, this does eventually get properly explained in-game in a different way.). |
| 272 | ** The sequel series, ''Lady Layton'', introduces Katrielle Layton, the professor's daughter. Katrielle is a Hebrew name. |
| 273 | * ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'': The Medic is [[JewishAndNerdy intellectual]], has vaguely Semitic features, and was alive in Germany at the time of WWII but isn't a Nazi. The theme song of his bird Archimedes is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPHbP-kpxxY klezmer music]]. He also pronounces "danke schon" the Yiddish way, and he dressed as the famously Jewish UsefulNotes/AlbertEinstein for Halloween. |
| 274 | * ''VideoGame/VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines'' |
| 275 | ** The Baron of Hollywood is named Isaac Abrams, and he both owns a jewelry store and is a major (albeit secret) player in the film industry. |
| 276 | ** The Tremere primogen, Maximillian Strauss, also has a fairly Jewish-sounding name. Incidentally, he's Abrams's bitter rival. |
| 277 | ** Also, the rather minor character of Hannah Glazer. She's one of the other residents of your apartment building downtown (assuming you are neither Tremere or Nosferatu), whom you encounter during the plaguebearer quest. There is no particular information on her ethnic or religious background, but she has a very Jewish-sounding name. |
| 278 | * Lisa Silverman from ''VideoGame/Persona2'' has a definitely Jewish sounding last name. Her parents are both American ex-pats who have pretty well assimilated into Japanese culture, to the point her dad is a clearly a NoCelebritiesWereHarmed version of Creator/StevenSeagal (who is ethnically Jewish) who wears a yukata around the house and practices aikido while her mother renamed herself Akiko and behaves like a YamatoNadeshiko, much to Lisa's embarrassment. It's more likely that American players would pick up on her implied Jewishness than players from the original Japanese market. |
| 279 | * [[AbsentMindedProfessor Isaac Kleiner]] from ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' has a Hebrew first name, a German last name, and named his [[FluffyTamer debeaked]] [[DemonicSpiders headcrab]] after a Jewish actress. |
| 280 | * The GenkiGirl WrenchWench, Gaige the Mechromancer, from ''VideoGame/Borderlands2''. One of her lines when opening a chest is "It's like Hanukkah!" |
| 281 | * In ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', at the memorial service for [[spoiler:Thane Krios]], Commander Shepard may, depending on what dialogue option the player chooses, [[https://youtu.be/on3J3HjjbK4?t=30s quote]] [[https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Talmud the Talmud]], but attributes the line as simply "an old human saying". |
| 282 | [[/folder]] |
| 283 | |
| 284 | [[folder:Visual Novels]] |
| 285 | * Saul from ''VisualNovel/DaughterForDessert'' has a Hebrew-derived name common among Jewish men, and his profession (law) is thought of as stereotypically Jewish, yet his own beliefs and heritage are never mentioned. |
| 286 | [[/folder]] |
| 287 | |
| 288 | [[folder:Web Animation]] |
| 289 | * ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'': Moxxie uses some Yiddish words and phrases (most notably saying "Oy gevalt" during his musical hallucination in "Truth Seekers") and is shown to be less physically capable than many other imp characters, which may be derived from the stereotype of Jews not being athletic. While his father Crimson does force him into [[AmbiguouslyChristian a very Catholic-looking wedding]] in "Exes and Oohs" (complete with a [[SharkMan shark demon]] in a mitre presiding), this doesn't necessarily rule it out, especially considering his parents come from very different backgrounds. What makes this a rather weird example is that Moxxie is a variety of demon that was never human. |
| 290 | * In the ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'' sub-series ''WebAnimation/CheatCommandos'', there is a character named Dryghost who says he got the Cheat Commandos headquarters playset for his Bar Mitzvah. |
| 291 | * Two characters from ''WebAnimation/InanimateInsanity'' have thrown around a couple of Yiddish phrases, being Test Tube declaring "mazel tov" whilst sprinkling rice, and Tea Kettle saying three of them in one episode, being "meshugas", "chutzpah", and "bupkis". It's also worth noting that series creator Adam Katz is Jewish-American, with him voicing Test Tube, and his mother, Jill Katz, voicing Tea Kettle. |
| 292 | * In ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'', either Church or Tex is probably Jewish considering their funeral. [[spoiler: Of course, since they're both AI, it probably isn't all that important to them]]. |
| 293 | [[/folder]] |
| 294 | |
| 295 | [[folder:Web Comics]] |
| 296 | * In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', Matt Cohen's last name and "jewfro" hairstyle suggest that he might be Jewish, but there's no confirmation either way. |
| 297 | [[/folder]] |
| 298 | |
| 299 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 300 | * ''VideoGame/Halo2'' ARG ''ARG/ILoveBees'' has a whole planet of ambiguous Jews. There are religious dietary restrictions and JewishMother stereotypes, but the characters have names like Zaman and could conceivably be Muslim. |
| 301 | * As seen [[TwoferTokenMinority here]] on Website/ThisVeryWiki. |
| 302 | --> * Stephen Fry is openly gay and Jewish. |
| 303 | --> * Dude, so is half of Hollywood. Well, maybe they're not openly Jewish. |
| 304 | --> * Jewish? He's an atheist. |
| 305 | ---> o To many, "Jewish" can be a culture as much as or more than a religion. |
| 306 | * Rick Finklestein of ''WebAnimation/BowsersKingdom''. He has the German last name, the accent and got in an argument with Paul Hammerbro in episode 10 over how to eat bagels: |
| 307 | --> '''Paul:''' Hey look, all I'm saying is, a brought bagels for everyone to enjoy, and you're not sharing. |
| 308 | --> '''Rick:''' Sharing, Sharing?! Please, you know how'd to share if there was something to share, what is this stuff?! You call this a bagel?! This is no bagel, a bagel is toasted and loaded with smeer. How can you say this is a bagel, you have no looks! |
| 309 | --> '''Paul:''' Uh, damn Lakitus! |
| 310 | --> '''Rick:''' Ya know, I don't even understand somebody's sterotypes against us. I mean, come on, Lakitus control all the media, this kind of things are unjust to just plain ignore if you ask me. |
| 311 | --> '''Paul:''' Look, I know what I said what wrong, and I'm sorry if I offended anyone out there who's Lakituish. Just know that, it was a simple mistake and nothing to throw hammers about. |
| 312 | --> '''Rick:''' He was lucky that I didn't have any hammers at the moment. |
| 313 | * 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. |
| 314 | * From Website/{{Killerbunnies}}, we have this with Cerise Blumenthal who is more or less implied to be. This is mostly by her last name and where she might come from (some state Bexley, others state Livingston, and some believe to be between Roslyn and Jericho). |
| 315 | * Dr. Rosenberg in the Website/{{Cracked}} article/short story "[[http://www.cracked.com/blog/dumb-things-white-people-secretly-suspect-about-other-races/ Dumb Things White People Secretly Suspect About Other Races]]." If so, [[spoiler:he is literally a [[Film/InglouriousBasterds Bear Jew]]]]. |
| 316 | [[/folder]] |
| 317 | |
| 318 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 319 | * Velma Dinkley from ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'': |
| 320 | ** Especially her version from ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooMysteryIncorporated'', who likes Klezmer music and [[VerbalTic frequently says "Oy" and "Oy gevalt"]]. |
| 321 | ** However, the original Velma also manifests some traits frequently associated with Jews. BrainyBrunette? Check. Love for books? Check. [[DeadpanSnarker Sarcastic wit]]? Check. |
| 322 | ** In addition, ''[[WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooFrankencreepy Frankencreepy]]'' reveals her great-grandparents were German immigrants who lived in the 19th-early 20th century, and exactly during this period Germany had a large Ashkenazi Jewish diaspora, many of whom immigrated to US over the decades. Velma's ancestor Baron von Dinkenstein was a MadScientist, and her family seems to have a strong scientific background in general - and the Ashkenazi diaspora is renowned for its large number of scientists, including Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, Max Born, J. Robert Oppenheimer, etc. |
| 323 | ** This was also hinted at in some of the comics. There was one instance where she said she didn't celebrate Christmas and it was hinted she celebrated Hanukkah instead. |
| 324 | ** One of her voice actresses, Creator/MindyCohn, is reportedly Ashkenazi Jewish. |
| 325 | ** In the live stage production "Scooby-Doo in Stagefright", [[https://lasvegassun.com/news/2003/mar/05/the-velma-chronicles-character-adds-smarts-sensibi/ she was also played by a Jewish actress, Randi Rosenholtz]]. |
| 326 | * ''WesternAnimation/SabrinaTheAnimatedSeries'': In the episode "What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?", Sabrina visits a [[BarefootSage Wise Warlock]] to ask him for advice. The Warlock's appearance and mannerisms are reminiscent of [[MagicalJew a Jewish rabbi]] or an [[JewsLoveToArgue argumentative]] AlterKocker, and a Klezmer melody plays in the background while he talks to Sabrina. |
| 327 | * In ''WesternAnimation/{{Castlevania|2017}}'', the Speakers are a persecuted and highly educated nomadic religious minority who harbour several powerful mages, as part of their general interest in science and learning (the most prominent Speaker characters are The Elder, who more or less sets Trevor Belmont on the way to fighting Dracula, and Sypha, a BlackMagicianGirl with an extensive knowledge of magic). The show never says outright that they're Jewish, but they do drop the odd bit of Hebrew, and Sypha refers to Jesus as Yeshua; their other main feature is keeping enormous amounts of lore via oral histories. However, despite a superficial resemblance, the Speakers are culturally and theologically much more similar to the Cathars (a Christian Gnostic sect) than the Jews. Sypha's condemnation of God and praise of Jesus is a hallmark of Gnosticism and is considered heretical within Judaism. |
| 328 | * Almost every character in ''WesternAnimation/DrawnTogether'' 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 [[BlackComedy the nature of the show]]. It's SelfDeprecation, 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. |
| 329 | * Dr. Zoidberg from ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}''. He's got YiddishAsASecondLanguage, his mother pushed him to be a doctor while he wanted to be a comedian, he's got the '-berg' in his name...though on the other hand, [[SpaceJews he's an alien lobster-man]]. All of his fellow Decapodians are the same way; WordOfGod said at one point that they all converted to a form of Reform Judaism after making first contact with Earth. |
| 330 | * Jay Sherman from ''WesternAnimation/TheCritic'' is played by a Jewish actor, and the character has any number of Jewish-seeming mannerisms. 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 possibility 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, [[DeadpanSnarker "Oh, what do YOU think?"]] In another episode, Jay goes to inform Duke that he's about to leave for a sabbatical, to which Duke, who apparently, doesn't know what a sabbatical is, replies, "You people sure have a lot of holidays." Of course, Duke also thinks Jay is gay and/or a "human oddity", and settles on referring to people from Guam as "Guammi Bears", so God only knows who he thinks Jay's people are. |
| 331 | * ''WesternAnimation/RegularShow'': |
| 332 | ** Muscle Man's actual last name ("Sorenstein") and his dreidel-emblazoned sweater in the Christmas special are enough to make one wonder. |
| 333 | ** Mordecai celebrates Christmas, but he's named after one of the heroes from [[Literature/BookOfEsther the story of Esther]]. |
| 334 | * ''WesternAnimation/FishHooks'': Oscar is incredibly neurotic, and sports a "Jewfro." |
| 335 | * '' WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'': |
| 336 | ** Walter Wolf talks with an AlterKocker accent and has thrown a few "meshuggenehs" around. |
| 337 | ** 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 BigApplesauce again. |
| 338 | ** Having been partly inspired by Creator/GrouchoMarx, Yakko gives off some Jewish vibes too, especially considering his name sounds like it was derived from "Yakov", a common Hebrew variant of Jacob. His siblings, however, don't really seem Jewish, and all three of them celebrate Christmas. Of course the real Warner brothers - the studio founders – were Jewish. |
| 339 | * Filbert in ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife'' is Creator/WoodyAllen as a turtle. |
| 340 | * Wendell T Wolf on ''WesternAnimation/TazMania'' is Woody Allen as a Tasmanian wolf (also known as a thylacine). |
| 341 | * The Wheezers in ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'' both look and behave like stereotypical Jews and Carl's mom has a Jewish accent. |
| 342 | * The main family on '' WesternAnimation/{{Birdz}}'' has the last name Storkowitz. They also have [[MouthyBird huge noses/beaks]], which are even referenced as such more than once. The show's creator (Larry Jacobs) is also Jewish, and he confirmed [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4c2FRvWINQ that the Storkowitz family is Jewish]]. |
| 343 | * On ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'', [[DumbMuscle Harold]] came off this way before it was confirmed by a Bar Mitzvah episode. Also, [[BornUnlucky Eugene]] has the last name "Horowitz" and [[{{Geek}} Sheena]] can at least recognize Hebrew at a glance. |
| 344 | * ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'': |
| 345 | ** ComicBook/HarleyQuinn, the [[ComicBook/TheJoker Joker's]] moll, always seemed vaguely Jewish with her quirky personality, Brooklyn accent and [[CuteButCacophonic "fingernails-on-a-chalkboard" screechy voice]]. She was also voiced by the Jewish Creator/ArleenSorkin. Then the beans were spilled in ''ComicBook/HarleyAndIvy'' when Harley was asked why she liked Christmas trees so much if she was Jewish. Later in that same story, Harley shouted "Happy Hanukkah, chump!" when attacking Batman. It was eventually revealed in the comics that Harley is half-Jewish and half-Catholic, but whether this is the case for the original show is unclear. |
| 346 | ** The Joker himself spouts the odd Yiddish phrase, but this is probably either by association with Harley or due to his background in show business - or maybe, once again, it's just a result of BigApplesauce. In any case, his Mid-Atlantic accent doesn't carry the same connotations as Harley's Brooklyn one... though on the other hand, that doesn't rule him out, either. |
| 347 | * ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': Surprisingly, all of the Goldmans fell into this trope before the series' renewal. They were not seen or mentioned in the synagogue in "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein," and it wasn't until a newspaper headline in "Blind Ambition" that they were actually referred to as Jewish, though their stereotypically Jewish names and mannerisms made it obvious beforehand. It should be noted that Mort's voice actor, John G. Brennan of Comedy/TheJerkyBoys, uses a similar voice for the Jerky Boys character of Sol Rosenberg. |
| 348 | * ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': |
| 349 | ** The Pines family. Mabel uses the phrase "Mazel tov!" in one episode, Grunkle Stan acts like a typical [[AllJewsAreCheapskates cheapskate]], and their surname ([[WriteWhoYouKnow like the creator, Alex Hirsch's]]) is of Ashkenazic Jewish origin. Series creator Creator/AlexHirsch [[https://31.media.tumblr.com/3b25ef523ae8d77f7df25993283b9c9c/tumblr_inline_nh0s0ltaTL1qm9usw.png stated]] that the Pines weren't confirmed to be Jewish or not, nor likely will be. "A Tale of Two Stans" shows Stan's family has a [[http://36.media.tumblr.com/8c2c8d72557a7ee2f313264f7c572c65/tumblr_nrig1fXC6S1qjcd3co3_1280.png mezuzah]] on their door so it might not be ambiguous anymore. Despite Hirsch's statement that the Pines aren't canonically Jewish, Journal 3 mentions [[https://67.media.tumblr.com/16512e3d1ce6bb806df07fbb46b386e8/tumblr_oaxzl5mzIh1tqbpdto1_500.jpg Stan's Bar Mitvah]]. Later on, Hirsch replied that [[https://twitter.com/_AlexHirsch/status/758547032554344448 Pines are ethnically Jewish, not religiously.]] |
| 350 | ** One of the Manotaurs has Orthodox Jew-like side curls, what looks like a skull cap, and his name is "''Chutzpa''r". |
| 351 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheMagicSchoolBus'': Ms. Frizzle is never said to be Jewish, but her frizzy red hair and aquiline nose have led to Jewish fans claiming her as one of their own, especially because the show's canonically Jewish character, Arnold, has the same hair texture and color. In one episode, she also mentions her aunt whom she calls "Tante Gefilte" – "tante" means "aunt" in Yiddish, while gefilte fish is a traditional Jewish food. |
| 352 | * ''WesternAnimation/NexoKnights'': considering the show is based on a [=LEGO=] theme, religion and nationality aren't addressed in it once, but the heroes team's IT wiz [[ChildProdigy Ava Prentis]] exhibits quite a few Jewish stereotypes: a DeadpanSnarker, [[JewishAndNerdy big brain]] [[BrainyBrunette under brown hair]], [[JewsLoveToArgue often argues with Merlok]]. Even her name can be used as a shortened form of "Aviya", which itself is a variation of a unisex Hebrew name "Abijah", and sounds similar to an unrelated, but also Hebrew, "Aviva". |
| 353 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''. |
| 354 | ** Kent Brockman. His real name is Kenny Brockelstein and he's sometimes seen wearing the Hebrew Chai symbol on a necklace. However, Brockman's seen several times attending Reverend Lovejoy's Presbylutheran Church. |
| 355 | ** The minister's wife, Helen Lovejoy. The Parson says in ''[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS20E15WeddingForDisaster Wedding For Disaster]]'' he remembers when her name used to be Harold Schwartzbaum. |
| 356 | ** Artie Ziff. In "Treehouse of Horror XXIII", when Bart accidentally changes history so that Artie is his father, and thereby inherits his curly hair, his reaction is "Oy caramba!" |
| 357 | * WesternAnimation/BugsBunny is almost certainly intended to be Jewish -- although most of the other evidence (the Noo Yawk accent, particularly) is circumstantial, it would be really quite unusual for a rabbit of any other ethnicity to grow up playing [[http://www.pagat.com/patience/pishe_pasha.html pisha-paysha.]] And also his [[Creator/MelBlanc voice actor]] was Jewish. Although one later special showed that he ''really'' likes Christmas. |
| 358 | ** WesternAnimation/DaffyDuck is also intended to be Jewish. In the subtitles of Hitler's rant in "Scrap Happy Daffy", he refers to Daffy as a "Non Aryan Duck". This fits in with filmmaker Greg Ford's account that actor Mel Blanc confided that Daffy is supposed to sound "Jewish" as opposed to Sylvester's "Gentile" voice. |
| 359 | * One episode of ''WesternAnimation/DudeThatsMyGhost'' reveals that 'Billy Joe Cobra' is a stage name for Baruch Cohen, with an accent. |
| 360 | * Aviva Corcovado from ''WesternAnimation/WildKratts''. The name "Aviva," which means "springtime" in Hebrew, is extremely rare except among Jewish women. Given her last name, dark complexion, and periodic implications that she knows some Spanish, she may be a Sephardic Jew or had a Jewish parent. |
| 361 | * In ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'', it's eventually revealed (in the episode "Gem Harvest") that Greg changed his surname from "[=DeMayo=]" to "Universe". "[=DeMayo=]" is a Sephardic Jewish surname. His son Steven also has curly dark hair, though he seems to get his curls from his mother's side (with said mother having been a StarfishAlien in a humanoid form). In the Season 5 finale "Reunited", when they host [[spoiler:Ruby and Sapphire's]] wedding, it takes place under a ''chuppah.'' Show creator Creator/RebeccaSugar is half-Jewish and based the character of Steven on her own brother, also named Steven. |
| 362 | * WesternAnimation/BettyBoop might be Jewish and is hinted as such in "Minnie the Moocher", where her parents have Yiddish-sounding accents and her father wears a yarmulke. Betty's creators, the Fleischers, had Jewish heritage as well, and her primary voice actress, Mae Questel, was Jewish, so that could only support this case. |
| 363 | * ''WesternAnimation/DCSuperheroGirls'': |
| 364 | ** Aqualad has curly black hair and is named "Garth Bernstein". He's also cute and dorky, fitting the JewishAndNerdy trope. |
| 365 | ** The official Twitter posted a "Happy Hannukah" image with Harley Quinn and Barbara Gordon. While Harley is canonically Jewish, Barbara is never described as being so in the comics. This could also be a reference to how their [[Creator/TaraStrong voice actress]] is Jewish. |
| 366 | * ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'': Drakken's real name is "Drew Lipsky". "Lipsky" is a Jewish surname. His mother also acts and sounds like a JewishMother. However, unlike Ron, Drakken is never confirmed to be Jewish. |
| 367 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'': Charles "Chas" Finster. Aside from having [[Creator/MichaelBell a Jewish voice actor]], Chas says "Oy gevalt" in "Home Movies", and he [[JewishAndNerdy fits the nerdy stereotype]]. Even his claim that "we're not really Jewish, actually we're not really anything" in "Passover" does very little to rule out the possibility. |
| 368 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}'': T.J. Dettweiler has a mom who fits the JewishMother stereotype, and he plays "Harvey Hanukkah" in the holiday spectacular. |
| 369 | * ''WesternAnimation/MiraculousLadybug'': Nathaniel Kurtzberg has a Jewish surname and is conspicuously absent when just about every other character shows up in the Christmas special. WordOfGod does pin him as Jewish. |
| 370 | * Both Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale from ''WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle'' have a tendency to use Yiddish words and phrases. Boris in particular has referred to Rocky as a "nebbish" a few times ("Nebbish" being a Yiddish word meaning "simpleton"). |
| 371 | * In ''WesternAnimation/TuffPuppy'', one of Snaptrap's henchmen, Larry, looks like a Jewish stereotype. He has a big nose, male-pattern baldness, [[JewishAndNerdy nerdy personality traits]], [[ShiksaGoddess is married to a Christian]] (Snaptrap's sister), and is always [[JewsLoveToArgue arguing]] or [[JewishComplaining complaining with Snaptrap]]. Though in one episode, Larry mentioned getting a Christmas present out of confusion. |
| 372 | ** Dudley and Kitty's mothers both fit the JewishMother stereotype. |
| 373 | * ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'' has an interesting example. Launchpad is shown wearing a menorah sweater during the Christmas episode, but [[AlternativeJokeInterpretation it's not clear if he's actually Jewish or just bought a sweater for the wrong holiday because he's an idiot]]. |
| 374 | * ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': Twilight Sparkle is a studious, sarcastic, socially awkward bookworm with a dark mane and a six-pointed star for a cutie mark. She's also voiced by Creator/TaraStrong, who is Jewish. |
| 375 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs1981'': Tailor Smurf (voiced by Kip King) has a New York-Jewish accent as a shout-out to the Jewish immigrants who came to America and worked as tailors in the late 19th and early 20th century. In the words of King's son Chris Kattan, "He said 'I'm the only- I'm the Jewish smurf.' I go, 'How do you know?', because all the smurfs look the same. 'I got a tape measure around my neck.'" |
| 376 | [[/folder]] |
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