Bagels, schnitzel and McDonald's—‘fuzzy frontiers’ of Jewish identity in an English Jewish secondary school

Abstract

Using data gathered during a case study of the ‘culture’ of a Jewish secondary school, this article explores the indeterminate boundaries of Jewish identity. By examining the mechanisms that control what and who comes into the school, and what is approved and disapproved of in the school, a picture emerges of what and who is counted as ‘Jewish’. There is detailed consideration of the admissions policy, the rules about kosher food, the explicitly religious symbols in use, the importance of Israel and the contested issue of McDonald's. Sometimes the boundaries are very clear‐cut, but in some cases there is ambiguity and disagreement that make the frontiers of English Jewish student identity decidedly fuzzy.

Notes

* St Mary's College, Waldegrave Road, Strawberry Hill, Twickenham TW1 4SX, UK. Email: [email protected]

A number of writers have used spatial terms to discuss questions of identity. See, for example, Brah (1996), Clifford (1997) and Gilliat‐Ray (2000).

There is also a vast range of literature dealing with culture and identity. For a particularly helpful discussion in the context of an ethnographic study of Southall, see Baumann (1996).

Personal communication from Marlena Schmool, Director of the Community Research Unit, Board of Deputies of British Jews, 23 August 2000. This figure is slightly higher than the 266,740 reported in the 2001 census results, which have provided data on religious identity in Britain for the first time. The analysis of the census data is only just beginning.

The first two are Yiddish, meaning ‘synagogue’ and ‘to drag’. Yom Tov is Hebrew for ‘a good day’ and is the word for a festival.

There is a great deal of literature about Jewish education which stresses the importance of learning Hebrew and the major Jewish texts in order to provide a ‘language’ with which students can ‘write’ their Jewish life. See, for example, Chazan (1983), Kelman (1992) and especially Rosenak (1995). For a recent discussion of the contested nature of Jewish symbols of identity see Cooper (2000).

The relationships between gender, education and Jewish identity have been explored recently. See Hartman and Hartman (2003). I remain surprised at how little interest this issue raised at Mount Sinai.

This is something of a contrast to recent published research about Asian identity, where religion is emerging as a key factor for second‐ and third‐generation young people. See, for example, Gilliat‐Ray (2000), and Jacobson (1998).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lynne Scholefield *

* St Mary's College, Waldegrave Road, Strawberry Hill, Twickenham TW1 4SX, UK. Email: [email protected]