Whoopi's Holocaust Slip-Up

Or How A Misrepresentation Lead To A Discussion On Jews And Race

Whoopi Goldberg dismissed the reality of the Holocaust, when she claimed, on The View that the period of time when six million Jews were slaughtered at the hands of the Nazi regime was “not about race. It’s about man’s inhumanity to man.”

Well, technically, she’s half right. The Holocaust was a reflection of how horrible humans can be toward one another. By her lens, most horrific acts in human history could be viewed this way. In fact, all attempts to eliminate or subjugate a group of people, whether past or present, depend on “othering and demeaning” them to the point where they are viewed as less than human.

In the United States, we saw this with efforts to decimate the indigenous population, and with the rise of American slavery.

U.S. colonial expansion and economic development depended on the White settlers ability to believe they were superior to those whose skin was a different shade. Every European colonialist had to buy into the idea that a person who hailed from Africa was not quite as human as they were and therefor an acceptable target for inhumane treatment. Even after slavery was abolished, our country continued to mandate the mistreatment of Black Americans

Similarly, the Nuremberg Laws, were enacted by the Nazi regime for the specific purpose of othering the Jewish people into their own distinct racial category. They did this by deciding that anyone with three or four Jewish grandparents was themselves Jewish. It didn’t matter if later generations were devout Christians, or had no ties to any Jewish practices or beliefs.

So, yes, even if the Nazi determination of race was different, and maybe not as socially acceptable as our modern construct of race, the Holocaust was still about race.

The public seems to understand that and agree that what Whoopi said was ill-informed.

More interesting to me, however, was how Whoopi’s remarks brought the debate over whether light-skinned, and particularly Jews whose families passed through Europe, should be considered White.

I spent the past few days listening in on Clubhouse conversations, reading opinion pieces and watching Instagram videos, in which Jews of all backgrounds offered their insight onto why they believed the “White” classification of Jews is problematic. The main point being that Jews have historically been, and in many cases, still are considered something “different.” No matter how blonde, pale and blue-eyed a Jewish person might be, they will never be welcomed into the fold of White Supremacist ideology.

However, as we know, that same blonde, blue-eyed Jew, would be considered White in most settings, and would certainly benefit from the privileges afforded to those perceived as such.

But, can that same Jew, whose lineage goes back to the ancient lands of the Hebrew people, remove themselves from Whiteness?

And if so, what does that even mean?

I myself, am not blonde, or blue-eyed, but my skin is light, and, I am viewed as White. I also have no issue with identifying as White, as I don’t look at it as good or bad. It is what is. In my society I function as a White person, and benefit as such.

However, I do wish people would stop equating Jews who look like me, with White Christians. Furthermore, I often wonder why others, with similar features, who may not be Jewish, but aren’t Christian and/or seen as “European,” are excluded from Whiteness.

For example, here is a picture of actress Carolina Miranda.

As you can see, she has beautiful blue eyes and fair skin. So, is she White? Many would argue, no, because she is Mexican.

Now here we have the talented Rami Malek.

Rami is an American actor who is the son of Egyptian immigrants. During his recent appearance on SNL, he was in a skit about playing the late Prince. In the sketch, he was called out as White, though many viewers disagreed.

This is Ms. Wonder Woman, Gal Gadot.

Gal Gadot is a Jewish actress, whose father’s family has lived in Israel for several generations. On her mother’s side, she is the descendant of Holocaust survivors. She has come under scrutiny for being picked to play Cleopatra, as opposed to a non-White actress.

Now, here we have another Israeli, Lior Raz.

Lior Raz’s family comes from Iraq and Algeria.

These are four people of various backgrounds, two of whom are Jewish, two of whom are not.

So, who is White? If you base this question on looks alone, the answer would be all of them.

However, like most areas of life there is always room for nuance.

For instance, if Rami Malek should be considered “brown” for being of Egyptian descent, why then would someone like “Man Repeller” creator Leandra Medine Cohen, whose family is also Middle Eastern, be called out repeatedly for being a privileged White woman?

Similarly, how do we categorize Lior Raz, who has no European ancestry?

Carolina Miranda looks more “White” to me than Gal Gadot, but is her being a Latinx person put her in the category of non-White?

I am aware this is a horrible “game” of trying to fit people into boxes, and I could argue the “Whiteness” or “Brownness” of each individual.

And, while, throughout history, those of us with lighter skin may have sought the benefits of being as close to Whiteness as possible, there seems to be a shift in wanting to be as far a way from Whiteness as possible. After all, Whiteness is associated with colonialism, the slaughtering of indigenous people, and the subjugation of others.

But, are Jews White?

As with most things, if you ask 12 Jews the same question, you will get 13 different answers.

My short answer is, Jewish or not, if someone sees a picture of someone, without anyway of identifying their country of origin, ethnicity, name or religious belief, and that person has skin that looks like any of the people mentioned above, that person will be instinctively considered White.

Of course, if you dig deeper, you may find that person is Latinx or Middle Eastern, or of mixed heritage. Do those qualifiers lessen their Whiteness?

What about being ethnically Jewish?

Does that change things?

My long answer is Jews come in many shades. Many of us have very dark skin and rightfully are considered Black, some of us are lighter than that and could fall into the Brown category, and still more are even lighter and could be considered “White.”

And, that latter group could apply to Jews regardless of their family history.

But, if those same categorizations can be leveled upon the Jews, we should apply them to everyone else.

Because, when we don’t, we are saying that being Jewish, in and of itself affords someone a ticket into Whiteness, and we need to ask ourselves why that is.

Why would being light-skinned and Jewish make someone more “White” than someone equally as light-skinned who isn’t Jewish?

Is it because of Jews being “European?” Well, many other groups have large amounts of European DNA, and are not considered White. And, as noted above, many Jews with Southwest Asian or North African DNA are also considered White, while others from the same region are not.

As a Jew, I find this frustrating, especially considering the years of abuse my people have suffered, and the fact that we are the constant target of hate crimes and dangerous conspiracy theories.

It is frustrating to hear how “white” and “privileged” we are when we are constantly under attack.

Yet, I have noticed when we speak up and claim we aren’t white, we come across as petty, whiny, and unaware of the benefits we receive from being perceived as white. We appear tone deaf, and in denial of the real issues of racism in this country.

We fall into arguments over “who has it worse” and lose, because, regardless of how many antisemitic hate crimes are reported, or how many Neo Nazis rally across America, Jews who aren’t visibly of color, will be seen as being better off.

I am wondering if there is even a point to trying to defend Jewish “non-Whiteness.”

Instead, I think, perhaps, our energy would be better spent helping the world see we are just as diverse as any other people. Our energy would be better spent uplifting Jews who would in no Universe be considered White, and grappling with racism inside our own house.

I think the world needs to know that we continue to face dangerous levels of antisemitism, and that the color of our skin is irrelevant to that discrimination.

We need to show the world, whatever privilege or status we have maintained in any given society, was, and is, always subject to be taken away at any moment.

I often remind people, that being successful, productive and fully embracing their German identity made no difference for the Jews of Germany once Hitler came to power.

Similarly, any status or “graduation” to Whiteness Jews have achieved in America doesn’t mean we are “safe.”

Are Jews White? I guess, maybe, the answer, for some, could be yes, but with an asterisk.

Signed,

This White* Woman

*Ethnically Jewish person, whose family suffered through pogroms in Europe only to come to America and face more antisemitism, and who constantly fears for her Jewish children’s safety.

Sources:

https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/whoopi-goldberg-holocaust-the-view-1235168113/
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-nuremberg-race-laws
https://egyptmigrations.com/2021/11/19/even-as-prince-rami-malek-isnt-white/
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-55409187
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-9774307/Man-Repeller-blogger-Leandra-Medine-SLAMMED-saying-thought-poor-growing-up.html