Eli Yishai Quotes

My wife is Jewish, and therefore, it's my children's birthright to be Jewish.

My mom was Jewish, so some would call me Jewish.

Jewish status is defined by the divine election of Israel and his descendants. One does not become a Jew by one's own volition.

I will decide who is a Jew!

My parents were practicing Jews. My mother grew up in an orthodox synagogue, and after my grandfather died, she went to a conservative synagogue and a little later ended up in a reform synagogue. My father was in reform synagogues from the beginning.

My family was totally non-religious. There was no question we were Jewish, but we were not observant.

I'm rather secular. I'm basically Jewish. But I think I'm Jewish not because of the Jewish religion at all.

Historically, Jews only accept converts rather than actively seeking them.

I'm a fifth generation Jew from the South, and I would say that I felt this connection to my religion, but it wasn't a spiritual connection.

If you research history, I think we are all Jewish. It's the original culture.

I never felt like a good Jew. My mother was not Jewish, and that makes me a non-Jew according to Jewish religious law.

I mean, I talk about being Jewish a lot. It's funny because I do think of myself as Jewish ethnically, but I'm not religious at all. I have no religion.

If you want to be Jewish, welcome, but convert via the Halacha.

Now, you may not have known this from my name, Lopez-Cantera, but I'm Jewish.

Judaism is not, per se, a religion in the sense most Americans think of. Even if you don't adhere to the various precepts, you're still a Jew.

The secular Jew is a figment; when a Jew becomes a secular person he is no longer a Jew.

I am a Jew. Those are four words of pride. My Jewishness is as deep as my genes.

It matters a great deal that I come from a Jewish background.

I'm not a practicing Jew but my great-grandparents were. It's part of our family history.

I've inherited a Jewish sensibility and sense of humor from my parents and all those who came before me. All the Jewish comedians, character actors and writers I was exposed to also reminded me of my family in their sense of humor.

I was born in Israel. My parents came in 1925.

A lot of Jewish kids do identify with us.

I'm not completely Jewish, if you know what I mean. I know people want me to be. My father is Jewish. My mother isn't.

If anything betrays my Ashkenazi Jewish heritage - besides the Casper-the-friendly-ghost-like skin tone - it's my love of fishy fish.

Jewishness is a very big part of my identity. I am a proud Jew, I would say, who doesn't practice very actively.