Cynthia Ozick Quotes

There's no such thing as being a cultural Jew. You're religious or you're not.

I'm rather secular. I'm basically Jewish. But I think I'm Jewish not because of the Jewish religion at all.

As a matter of fact, part of being Jewish is the whole question of what it is to be a Jew.

I've begun to think like a Jew, to feel like a Jew.

I mean, I talk about being Jewish a lot. It's funny because I do think of myself as Jewish ethnically, but I'm not religious at all. I have no religion.

While I am very much Jewish 'identified,' I'm not a very religious person.

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

I'm not super, super religious. If this is okay to say, I'm more culturally Jewish.

I'm a Jew. I think of myself as a Jew first and Englishman second.

Spiritually, I'm Jewish.

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

I think I may well be a Jew.

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

If you are trying to raise a child to be a Jew, then you have to create a sense of Jewish identity. You really weaken that sense of identity if you celebrate two religions.

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

Most of the Jewish writer friends I have are American, and I feel closer to them because they're always obsessed with one issue - identity: what does it mean to be an American Jew?

Most American Jews came from the lower middle classes, and therefore they brought with them not a lot of Jewish culture. The American Jewish story starts with Ellis Island, and the candy store in the Bronx.

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

I'm Jewish, but I'm totally not.

I'm a fifth generation Jew from the South, and I would say that I felt this connection to my religion, but it wasn't a spiritual connection.

I'm a Persian Jew, and we don't speak Hebrew.

I've had a bris, was Bar Mitzvahed and, on occasion, have referred to a temple as a shul. I've never denied it, nor have I disguised it. I am, indeed, a Jew.

I consider myself more of a cultural Jew; I'm not religious in any way.

I had always known that I was Jewish - we celebrated the holidays, we went to a synagogue - but I had never known that I was supposed to feel ashamed about it.

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