Who is a jew? A jew is anyone who was born of a jewish mother, or has undergone conversion to judaism according to halachah (jewish law). That’s the way it’s been since biblical … I think a lot of jews are more comfortable with the term jewish, particularly when it comes from someone who is not jewish and whose reason for using the word is in question.
Understanding the Context
Jewish religious practice, by definition, was observed exclusively by the jewish people, and notions of jewish peoplehood, nation, and community were suffused with faith in the jewish god, the practice … Thus, if the child of a jewish father and a christian mother is raised jewish, the child is a jew according to the reform movement, but not according to the orthodox movement.
