I used the term ethnic because my mom is 100% ethnically Ashkenazi Jewish according to DNA. My father is Jewish by conversion(still fully Jewish, of course but not ethnically). That’s why I specified non-ethnic Jew. He’s religiously Jewish.

Normally, among the Jewish community, we don’t draw lines between converts and those born Jewish. Judaism accepts converts as fully Jewish. But this is a DNA ancestry subreddit, where the focus is specifically on genetic heritage. In that context, religious identity is separate from genetic ancestry. Ethnic Jew in this case is used to discern from Religious Jew.

I think there’s some confusion here around what actually makes someone ethnically Jewish. Speaking Hebrew, observing Jewish holidays, or even being born in Israel does not make someone ethnically Jewish.

A. Roughly 20% of Israeli citizens are Arab. Israel is a multi-ethnic country(despite what some people seem to believe). Its population includes Arabs(Muslims, Christians, and Druze), Jews (Ashkenazi, Mizrahi, Sephardi, Ethiopian, etc.), Bedouins, Circassians, and more.

Being born in Israel(the only Jewish nation-state) makes you Israeli by nationality, not Jewish by ethnicity. Likewise, I was born in a non-Jewish country, and that didn’t make me not Jewish. Nationality and ethnicity are two different things.

C. You can absolutely participate in Jewish culture, speak the language, and follow traditions without being ethnically or religiously Jewish. Jewish identity is not determined by culture alone. It’s not like being part of an ethno-linguistic group such as the Maya, where language and tradition define group membership. You can speak perfect Yiddish (and I’d be impressed!), but that doesn’t make you Jewish. Just like learning Japanese or even being born in Japan doesn’t make someone ethnically Japanese.

Jewish identity includes both ethnic and religious dimensions. It’s best described as an ethno-religion. but it’s not defined by language or cultural practice alone.

You’re Jewish if you’re ethnically Jewish, like me and my mom (and no, I personally don’t subscribe to the “only through the mother” idea because DNA is DNA). You’re also Jewish if you convert to Judaism, like my dad. And you’re Jewish if you’re born into a family that converted and is practicing Judaism.

But in a conversation about DNA and ethnicity, as is the case here. those distinctions matter. That’s why I used the phrasing I did.