>>>> IT'S SETTLED!!!! GEORGE IS ITALIAN!!!!!! <<<<<

As if the episode where his father went to Italy wasn't enough, the 4/25/96 episode of Seinfeld resolved all doubt.

George told the Calzone guy that his last name was Costanza, in order to show the guy he was Italian.

	I think George is half Italian and half jewish.
		steff

I think George is just jewish. Is there a way to write the show?

Good luck. The writers are deliberately cagey on this issue and more than ever I think the whole issue of George's ethnicity is just a complete put-on. I mean, Alexander and Estelle Harris and Jerry Stiller are all Jewish, and they couldn't be more stereotypically Jewish in character. George is the quintessential New York middle-aged Jewish man. I think the writers dropping all these clues that the Costanzas are Italian is just a put-on. When the show was created, the network felt the show was "too Jewish" to succeed in middle America. I think that making George Italian is just an in-joke with the writers-- obviously George is a New York Jewish man and no Italian relatives or paella will ever change that.

Jennifer S. Dawson New York, NY 10011

[email] (Jen Dawson) wrote:

I couldn't agree more about the way the writers confuse George's background. I can just hear them laughing amonst themselves when one of them suggests, " I know! Let's have George deliver Christmas presents to his parents". But I'd be careful about calling George the quintessential 'Ney York middle-aged Jewish man' lest some think you are refering to his period of unemployment and living back at home, and his tendency to lie his way through situations.

[email] (Monty D. Martin) wrote:

So what exactly are you referring to?

In article , [email] says...

I couldn't agree with you more. [funny thing that, agreeing] It's a set-up by the writers to get under the skin of those who nitpick at sitcoms. But...

I just about peed in my pants when I saw "the network felt the show was 'too Jewish' to succeed in middle America". Such a quintessential statement, bound to get nods from stereotype lauders. Heh.

Perhaps one of the most difficult jobs we have doing as human beings is appropriately categorizing things. There's always that "exception to the rule", so to speak. Take "Jewish" for example. The word refers to a person of the Hebrew faith. Note the word "faith", not race. It just so happens that most people who are Jewish are or descended from the Israelis, a national identity. So, in the present day, to say someone is Jewish *infers* that they are of Israeli descent. The reverse is true when referencing an Israeli, where there's a high chance the person is Jewish too. But this doesn't work for most other faiths. Take the national identity of "Italian". Well, most Italians are Catholic. One would tend to assume that this faith is implied when referring to this national identity. But the OPPOSITE is not true, seeing as Catholics are all over the world. See why the Jewish identity can be confusing?

What's my point? Good question. I've forgotten. So there...

Oh yeah. Well, I don't think there's any problem with the acceptance of Jewish references on TV. There are plenty. So, the writers chose to have George be Italian. They took writer's license to throw in things that were funny, even if it implied he was Jewish, rather than Italian Catholic. I'd say, let's overlook the contradiction (like we've done with Kramer's conflicts of character), and move on...

George is Italian. We're not sure he's Jewish. It doesn't matter. Case closed. Eat your chicken matzah ball soup.

Darn... and I wanted this post to be amusing. :P

-Gary K.

In article , Gary Kline writes:

<snip>

*infers*

Huh? Most Jews are descended from Israelis?? Surely you cannot mean to *imply* (not "infer," a word frequently used incorrectly) that most Jews today descend from ancestors in the 48-year-old country of Israel. What about those older than 48?

<snip>

As opposed to Jews?

license

*nitpick alert*: poetic license

    I agree, that the writers must find it hysterical that people still
refuse to accept the fact that George is Italian...They send his father
to Italy, and people still cling to the belief that George is
Jewish...They must have said"that wasn't enough," so they have George
come right out and tell the calzone guy that he's Italian, but some
people just can't admit that they were wrong, so they're now coming up
with convoluted theories to allow them to avoid the obvious...
    I stated several months ago, and I'll re-state once more, everyone
in New York is Jewish...and Italian...and Polish...and Irish...and
every other etnic group that makes up the "melting pot" that is New
York City...
                        HF

"I don't have a photograph, but you can have my footprints. They're upstairs in my socks."

Groucho Marx

Remember that paella has nothing to do with Italy.

but what about George's MOTHER? maybe it was a "Bridgit Loves Bernie" marriage in reverse. George would then be Jewish. but we all know that George is REALLY Latvian Orthodox.

marriage in reverse. George >would then be Jewish.

Yes, I agree with you. I have posted this theory before- namely, that George's mother may be Jewish. (at least I think so).

As for your claim that George is Latvian Orthodox, we are all aware of that episode. Besides the fact that he didn't go through with the conversion, one may be ethnically Jewish and not necessarily practice the Jewish faith. Thus when we refer to George being Jewish, these is also an element of ethnicity and heritage and not a purely religious element to the description.

It was never in any doubt that George's father is of Italian descent. There have been many references to that fact. However, that is completely irrelevant to whether or not George is **Jewish**.

First of all, it's his mother's being Jewish that would determine whether or not George is Jewish. His father's religion is irrelevant. And all indicators point to his Mother's being Jewish, most likely of Eastern European descent. If his father were non-Jewish, and his mother Jewish, George himseflf would be Jewish; that might also explain why the family celebrates Christmas.

Furthermore, George's father, while of Italian ancestry, could also be Jewish himself. There are Jews in Italy.

After following these posts for some time, it amazes me to think that people believe that if George is "Italian," that he can not possibly be Jewish. The two are hardly mutually exclusive.

No actually, THERE WAS DOUBT regarding the ethnicity/ religion of George's father. Both seem to be stereotypical Jewish characters, as has been described in previous postings.

It was only recently- THIS SEASON TO BE EXACT- that it we learned of his father's Italian roots.

Yes, technically from a religious standpoint, a Jewish mother would make a person Jewish. But that does not mean that he is actually a practicing Jew, as I know many people who are half Jewish (on the mother's side) but do not practice.

Moreover, you are forgetting that being Jewish is not just a religious question, but also one of ethnicity. The Jewish people are a distinct group with their own common language, history, culture, etc. Does George take part in these parts of his supposed Jewishness?

Go find a Jew in Italy with the name Costanza. Please. Now, you are engaging in the absurd. Italy is OVERWHELMINGLY Catholic. Could there be Jews there? Sure, but there could be Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Shintos, etc there as well. By your logic, George's father could be Italian and Hindu.

In most cases, they ARE mutually exclusive (barring the possibility of mixed marriage).

When we talk of Italy, we are not talking about a mixed society such as the United States (where you can be American and Jewish, American and Christian, or whatever).

Moreover, Italy is not a country where there were EVER large numbers of Jewish inhabitants; most were in Eastern Europe and Russia during their diaspora.

Before this season, I thought he was 100% Jewish and it made no difference. Now, I happen to think he is only half Jewish (i.e. his mother) and it still makes no difference. I watch it because its a damn funny show. If the writers feel that they have to make the show "less Jewish" (whatever that means) then that's too bad. I don't watch TV and take a racial/religious inventory.

But people here are fans and are curious and it is natural for them to ask. You can't expect them to stop asking these questions.

Thank you! One can be an Italian Jew, and I have posted on this topic, and discussed this with Jews and non-Jews alike who only associate "Jewishness" with the Eastern European, Ashkenazic archetype prevalent in the United States. However, I think it unlikely that Frank Costanza is meant to represent an Italian Jew, the writers are also probably unaware of such a thing, and additionally, very few Italian Jews have migrated to Queens. The Italian Jews were extremely assimilated in Italian culture and prominent in Italian cultural ,intellectual,and political life. The Costanza's are far from behaving like the cultivated Italian Jews I have [address] any case the allegedly "Jewish" characteristics of Frank and George Costanza, such as eating kasha( a Russian buckwheat food)and spouting Yiddish like inflections would tend to suggest that they are Eastern European Ashekenazic Jews! So, while I am happy to finally see someone acknowledge that there are Italian Jews, I am sure Frank Costanza is not meant to be one of them! :)