Ayad Akhtar Quotes

I had a Hebraic wedding in New York, so I'm definitely Jewish.

I grew up happily immersed in Jewish culture and community.

Judaism is not just a religion but a people, and the food and customs of one part of the people is connected to the other part of the people. They are part of a larger story.

Jewishness cropped up and has never successfully been put down since.

Lesson Number One: The Importance of Being Jewish

I am very proud of being Jewish. I went to a Jewish school all my life.

I believe in Judaism, I was raised a Jew, I'm happy to be one - or proud to be one.

When my children were born, I made the choice I wanted them to be raised as Jews and to have a Jewish education.

Though I am not religious in the least, I am very proud to be Jewish.

You can take a Jew out of a shtetl, but you cannot take a shtetl out of a Jew.

Being among my people is a delight. We Jews live among ourselves. I love it.

I grew up in a reform Jewish family in St. Louis. Our idea of Judaism was no bar mitzvahs and a Christmas tree that had a skirt at the bottom embroidered with the names of my grandparents.

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

I have a very strong sense of who I am as a Jew and a strong sense of belonging.

Most people don't seem to know that I am Jewish.

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

Judaism is a big part of my background, obviously, and my reality.

When it comes to being Jewish, I can't help myself.

I just went to Hebrew school, had a bar mitzvah. No crazy weird Jewish cult.

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

I'm basically an Upper West Side Jewish writer.

I'm just a simple Jewish boy from the Bronx.

I consider myself a Jewish writer - even if my characters frequently are not Jewish - in the same way, I guess, that I consider myself a Jewish man, even though I don't often attend shul.

I grew up in a secular suburban Jewish household where we only observed the religion on very specific times like a funeral or a Bar Mitzvah.

We have our own values; we build our own special, our JEWISH life - and we are proud, so very proud.