Bernie Farber: “Maybe we’re all Jewish”
Bernie Farber: “Maybe we’re all Jewish”
—Bernie Farber, a former Canadian Jewish Congress CEO, talking to the Star about Doug Ford’s dubious claim that his wife Karla is Jewish (and that he therefore can’t possibly be ignorant of Jewish stereotypes, despite appearances). Farber’s point is that technically, using the loosest possible criteria, practically anyone could argue that they have Jewish heritage.
“Maybe even Adam and Eve — maybe we’re all Jewish,” he said. “The more he speaks about this, the more ridiculous it seems.” -Bernie Farber
Nowhere in the Torah are Adam and Eve were called Jewish. Judaism began with Moses at Mt. Sinai. Shows Farber’s own lackadaisically ignorant notions of his own faith.
Being born of a Jewish mother or converting is the only way to be Jewish, a rule known to be in place from well before the time of Ezra (4th Century BCE), in addition to being recorded in the ancient Mishna and Talmud. There are also scriptures in the Torah implying matrilineality.
Anyways, someone coming forward and saying they have Jewish roots, means they have no problems identifying with jews, and just as Ari Goldkind- who explicitly states he is not religious- use his jewish roots, the Fords have the same right.
As a Jew from that part of the world herself who is familiar with jewish eastern european names, I can tell you that Arenowicz and Renwick are known Jewish lastnames and Eleanor or Eleanora is a common name given to females in jewish culture. It is true that there were many Jews who were scarred seeing their families slaughtered in Ukrainian pogroms, and abandoned their faith throwing their Tefilin en masse into the sea on the boats into Canada and the U.S.