Jewish ancestry or Jewish?

Actually, hardly anyone says that merely having a Jewish father makes one Jewish. Traditional Jewish law states that you are Jewish only if your mother is Jewish and if the family has not converted out of Judaism. There isn't an 'ethnic' issue about being Jewish - this applies just as much to the children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren etc of converts as to anyone who can trace a Jewish family back several centuries. The attempt to distinguish an 'ethnic' from a 'religious' Jew is a confusion that arises from the way Christianity is - so utterly different from Judaism that having them both under the banner of 'religion' seems designed for confusion!! The question is whether one is observant and if so, how observant - if you're born Jewish and haven't chosen to follow another religion, you're Jewish, regardless.

I understand that some Reform groups in the USA accept as Jewish those whose fathers are Jewish, but even then I think (please, someone, correct me if I'm wrong) they need to have been brought up with some Jewish education and certainly not within another religion. In all other parts of the world, it doesn't matter how Jewish your father is - you're not Jewish unless you have a Jewish mother.

My father was Jewish and I could trace a Jewish heritage back to the expulsion from Spain in 1492. In order to be Jewish myself, I converted.

You are not considered Jewish.

A person is Jewish if:

1) She/he has a Jewish mother, or:

2) She/he converted to Judaism according to Jewish law, which nowadays means an Orthodox conversion.

Reform Jews will consider you Jewish.

You are considered of Jewish ancestry in that you, as well as your spouse and small children, would be eligible for Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return. This status, however is subject to review depending on whether you officially entered into another religion. Your adult children would not be eligible unless they converted to Judaism.

With that said, even if you did make aliyah and became an Israeli citizen, you would NOT be considered a Jew and you and your entire family would need to convert to be integrated into any significant part of Jewish life.

according to most Jews, you would not be Jewish because

1) your mother is not a Jew (practicing or not)

2) You do not practice Judaism

Is Judaism a religion or an ethnicity? It's not always clear. The two conditions above seem like they could indicate either.

Keep in mind too that it is very hard to convert to Judaism. Rabbis typically turn people away three times before they agree to convert them (learned this from Israel board) and there are a lot of.... regulations to follow to be one because they must be sure you are serious about your decision and are willing to commit to it for life.

...according to that logic I am Catholic (what my mother is and what I was Christened) but I do not identify as Catholic and actually was rebaptized, but still must be Catholic because the church would say so. I was also "confirmed" which is a coming of age rite comparable to a bar/bat mitzvah, so... the Catholic church thinks I am Catholic,but leaders of Judaism would say you are not Jewish, so you are not Jewish according to the governing body/bodies of Judaism (the people who make the rules)

Just to clear up the confusion on the Reform (U.S.) and Reconstructionist criteria for being Jewish (without conversion) via one's father -- that only applies if the person has been raised in a Jewish environment.

In other words, if you need to ask, you're probably not. ;-)

You are considered of Jewish ancestry.

In Nazi Germany, you would be a Mischling of the Second Degree, and subject to discrimination but not sent to a concentration camp.

Of course, you are always free to study Judaism, and convert, if you so desire.

I would say Jewish ancestry but it all depends on how you feel about it. Its like 50:50 I´d say. So if you feel like a Jew, you may call yourself Jewish, if its not important to you, say you have Jewish ancestry :)

If you want to return to the tribe of your ancestors, you can do that through conversion in any branch of Judaism -- Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, or Reconstructionist.

Why not study Judaism and see what it has to offer?

"Judaism for Everyone" by Rabbi Shmuley Boteach

"The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Judaism"

by Rabbi Benjamin Blech

"This is My God" by Herman Wouk

“To Life” by Harold Kushner

“The Book of Jewish Belief” by Louis Jacobs

"To be Jew" by Chaim Donin

3-volume "A Torah Commentary for our Times" by Harvey J. Field

“A Portable God: The Origin of Judaism and Christianity” by Risa Levitt Kohn and Rebecca Moore

“A History of the Jews” by Paul Johnson

I'm not a full blooded jew, i'm jew-ish! haha.

I'm pretty much the same, my maternal grandfather is a jew but my grandma was not.

Most people would not consider us to be jewish because are mothers are not.

No, you are not Jewish by any means. It is the mother that determines Jewishness and since your mother is not Jewish, then you certainly are not.