QUOTE: "Who is a Jew?" is a basic question about Jewish identity and considerations of Jewish self-identification. The question pertains to ideas about Jewish personhood, which have cultural, ethnic, religious, political, genealogical, and personal dimensions. Orthodox Judaism and Conservative Judaism follow Jewish law (Halakha), deeming people to be Jewish if their mothers are Jewish or if they underwent a halakhic conversion. Reform Judaism and Reconstructionist Judaism accept both matrilineal and patrilineal descent as well as conversion. Karaite Judaism predominantly follows patrilineal descent as well as conversion.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_is_a_Jew%3F#:
QUOTE; According to traditional Jewish law (halacha), Jewishness is passed down through the mother. So, if your mother was Jewish, you are too. This position is held by most members of the Conservative and Orthodox communities. The Reform movement recognizes the children of one Jewish parent — mother or father — as a Member of the Tribe if the child is raised Jewish.
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/ask-the-expert-matrilineal-descent/
QUOTE; According to traditional Jewish law, a person’s Jewish status is passed down through the mother. It is perhaps worth noting that in the biblical period, evidence points toward the custom of patrilineal descent, where children received their Israelite and tribal affiliation through their fathers. Patrilineal descent continues to be the practice of the community of Karaite Jews, whose Jewish legal framework differs significantly from rabbinic law and practice.
One can certainly convert to become a Jew. I had to because my mother isn't Jewish. So, blood isn't everything.
Right now, according to 23&Me, American Jews only have 1% or 2% Ashkenazi DNA. That is because of the high rate of intermarriage. So it's filtered out. So, it has nothing to do with blood.
It has to do with whether your mother is Jewish or whether you converted.
One isn't tested for DNA in the Jewish religion. It is actually forbidden in Israel. Again, if you convert, that's fine. My point about DNA is that these are a people with an ethnic and national identity that can be proven by DNA that goes back thousands of years.
One does not have to be religious to be Jewish, no more than one has to be American to be Jewish.
