Where did the comments go?

We were wondering ourselves, where did the blog comments go... Turns out our notification profile somehow turned them off. Rest assured, they are back!

Website record smashed

It's not midnight yet, but we are having the best-viewed day in JONJ history. Something to do with a certain player in the Super Bowl... Thanks, Julian Edelman! (Nope, still can't really call you a Jew.)

"Well, 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. I’ve been asked this before. I guess you could say I’m kind of Jewish but not really." -- Julian Edelman

Scaling back a bit

We've been on a profile-per-day rate for the past... five and a half years, is it? In any case, we need to scale down just a bit. We're going to reduce our postings to three profiles per week, Monday/Wednesday/Friday.

JONJ at Grantland

Grantland has an article about the 25th year anniversary of "When Harry Met Sally...", talks about the potential Jewishness of various characters, and throws the following wonderful part:

Even the excellent website Jew or Not Jew is stumped about Rachel, although it expresses a firm conviction that Seinfeld’s Elaine is not Jewish, which would make her the only frizzy-haired brunette Upper West Sider named Elaine in the history of Manhattan Island not to be.

Nope... Elaine is CLEARLY not Jewish. Sorry, Grantland!

Jerry (reading): Jewish singles night?

Kramer: I expect you both to be there.

Elaine: I'm not Jewish.

Kramer: Well neither am I.^[1]

JONJ on Shalom Life!

Hey there supporters and possible would be supporters, This is just a quick note to let you know about what's going with the Kickstarter and 50 States—50 Jews. We're a little over two weeks into our campaign, and while we've had a promising start, we still have a good ways to go. Still, we're optimistic about our chances and, in the meantime, have begun the process of putting together and publishing the book. Excitingly, we've also gotten some news coverage over at ShalomLife.com. It's a fun little article where we talk about JewOrNotJew.com, our plans for the book, why we chose the Kickstarter, etc. Stop on by and check it out!

New Project: 50 States—50 Jews!

If you're looking at our little website, then chances are you've noticed something new in the top left.

Yes, we're doing a Kickstarter for our new book, 50 States—50 Jews.

For a long time now we've wanted to change things up, do a little more than the site, and this is what has come of it. The book is in progress as we speak (type) and you can see some samples of our work on the page right now!

When finished, the book will have a NEW profile for every state (including some re-do's on already profiled peeps like Bob Dylan and Jean Lafitte), plus Jewish historical facts, funny stories, and...well, the same kind of stuff you expect from us here. Except in book form.

What does this mean for you? Well, more of that JONJ.com content we all know and love. And, because it's a Kickstarter, there are lots of cool opportunities awaiting you, including the chance to have us instantly write the suggestion of your choice (Josh Satin fans rejoice!), get your very own Jew Score, or even write a profile yourself for the site! Subject to editorial approval, of course. But still! You can write for JewOrNotJew.com! And if that isn't the fulfillment of a lifelong dream, we don't know what is.

In any case, we'll provide updates in this space as they happen. Most of all, we just want you to know that we wouldn't, couldn't, be doing this without you—our faithful readers. Your support over the years inspired us that something like 50 States—50 Jews could be done.

We're so excited for this project. We just can't wait to share it with you!

JONJ em Português

There's quite a nice write-up on our website in the Rua Judaica, the Brazilian Jewish newsletter. Here is the translation, scroll down to get to us (under Rio-Miami Connection).

An actual conversation we had yesterday

Yes, this really is what we talk about...

JONJ in Esquire

In an interview with Susie Essman:

ESQ: There's a Web site called Jew or Not Jew, which ranks your Jewishness. Your Jewish score is 13, which is tied with Lenny Bruce but still one less than Larry David. Are you as Jewish as Lenny Bruce?

SE: Yes, because Lenny Bruce and I both were very anti-religion. I always thought that that was what Lenny Bruce got in trouble for — not his language, but his discussing religion. That was the thing that really drove him crazy when they started censoring him. It wasn't the words.

1500 Profiles...

When we started this six and a half years ago, not in our wildest dreams did we think we would get to 1500 profiles. Heck, we didn't think we'd get to 100.

Yet somehow, we got to that 100, and then 100 more, and 100 more, and before you know it... here we are. We have our readers to thank; there is absolutely no way we could keep it going without you, dear readers! Your suggestions and feedback are the fuel of our website.

Here's to another 1500,

Yakov and Zev.

Les Juifs qui ne le sont pas

One of our readers, who has helped us out with a couple of tricky problems in the past, has started a French-language blog dedicated to the "Not a Jew" part of the equation. Allez!

And we're back...

Oh Sandy, Sandy, Sandy, you cruel wench... Yes, we both got hit and we're both in process of recovery. Thank you, everyone, for the well-wishing emails and posts, we really appreciate them.

What happened to the Jared Gillman profile?

Yesterday, we published the Jared Gillman profile. The youngster starred in Wes Anderson's "Moonrise Kingdom"; we enjoyed the movie and his performance, and thought he would make a good profile.

Today, we received three emails:

From: XXXXXXXXXXXXX@dmandtalent.com
To: XXXXXXXXXXXXX@jewornotjew.com
Please remove Jared Gilman from your site immediately. He is a minor, and legal action will be taken if you do not comply.

From: XXXXXXXXXXXXX@dmandtalent.com
To: XXXXXXXXXXXXX@jewornotjew.com
Jared Gilman is a minor. Please remove his information from your site. If you do not remove it immediately, there will be legal action taken.

From: XXXXXXXXXXXXX@icmpartners.com
To: XXXXXXXXXXXXX@jewornotjew.com
Is there any way to remove this from your website? Jared's family does not appreciate having their son's religion exploited online. Please let me know if you would consider removing Jared. He is only a child and we are all worried about this type of material. Thank you.

Now, we're not ones to give in to Internet bullies, but since that last email did ask nicely, we removed the profile. It's not like his potential Jewishness is hard to verify...

JONJ on... stage?

If you are in or around New York City in August, make sure to check out SHIKSAPPEAL: Getting the Chosen to Choose Me? starring Katherine Williams. The premiere is already sold out!

And why should you? Well, the creator emailed us, and, supposedly, our little website is mentioned in the play. We're beyond flattered!

JONJ on Cracked.com

Cracked.com, one of the Interweb's premier comedy sites (and a daily read for me) links to JONJ in today's article, The 5 Types of Jewish Characters in Sci-Fi Movies. Among the 5 are Watto and the Ferengi.

Top 10 Profiles: March

1. Ben Affleck (0)
2. Jesus Christ (+1)
3. Adolf Hitler (+3)
4. Mel Gibson (-1)
5. Mikhail Prokhorov (+5)
6. Joseph Stalin (+8)
7. Charlie Chaplin (0)
8. Alanis Morissette (NEW)
9. Scarlett Johansson (-5)
10. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (+6)

JONJ on NEWSru

For those who read Russian, Israeli website NEWSRu.co.il did a lengthy profile and interview with us. For those who don't, here's the English translation.

Creators of the website posses not only a brilliant style, but a real Jewish self-irony. Articles are often turned into small studies that show significant historical and cultural knowledge.

Thank you, Pavel, for the opportunity!

Top 10 Profiles: February

1. Ben Affleck (0)
2. Jesus Christ (+1)
3. Mel Gibson (+1)
4. Scarlett Johansson (+1)
5. Eli Manning (+33)
6. Adolf Hitler (0)
7. Charlie Chaplin (+1)
8. Sandra Bullock (+1)
9. Meryl Streep (+9)
10. Mikhail Prokhorov (+13)

JONJ on the AV Club

The popular website The AV Club mentions JONJ today in calling Zachary Levy "the gentile Larry David". If only, Zachary. If only.

Top 10 Profiles: January

1. Ben Affleck (0)
2. Julian Edelman (+54)
3. Jesus Christ (-1)
4. Mel Gibson (-1)
5. Scarlett Johansson (-1)
6. Adolf Hitler (-1)
7. Sean Penn (+3)
8. Charlie Chaplin (0)
9. Sandra Bullock (-2)
10. Marilyn Monroe (+5)