An orthodox Jew
The Jewish people were an ethno-religious group on Earth and Omega IV, with a religion that worshiped God. (TOS: "The Omega Glory"; VOY: "The Killing Game") Many members of the faith could read or speak Hebrew.
In 2365, a hologram representing a comic mentioned a Jewish person (Jerry Lewis) in one of his jokes. (TNG: "The Outrageous Okona")
The joke was told at a moment when Data had ordered the computer to speed up the comic's routine, and can only be heard by slowing the playback of the DVD. The joke was not in the original script, which simply states that the comic is to speak at a ridiculously fast pace.
Two Orthodox Jews passed a newspaper stand on the streets of New York where Benny Russell had talked to a newspaper salesman earlier. (DS9: "Far Beyond the Stars")
In 2374 a holographic Nazi SS officer in a World War II holoprogram run by the Hirogen on the USS Voyager remarked that Jews would fall defeated before peoples of German ancestry, and could not be saved by "the Christian Savior," nor "the God of the Jews". (VOY: "The Killing Game")
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Background information[]
The Vulcan salute, first featured in the TOS Season 2 episode "Amok Time", is modeled on a benediction hand sign done with both hands by Jewish Kohanim (descendants of the ancient priestly class) when blessing the congregation of a Jewish synagogue. Leonard Nimoy, who improvised the salute, remembered it from his childhood and suggested it to the show's director. [1]
Numerous mytho-religious Jewish people have been mentioned in Star Trek, including Moses, David, and Solomon. Several prominent 20th century Jews have also been referenced including Albert Einstein, Isaac Asimov, and the Marx Brothers.
Theodore Bikel and Georgia Brown, who played Sergey and Helena Rozhenko respectively, are noted in the Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion, 2nd ed., p. 143 as being well-known in the Yiddish theater. Paramount directed the producers to remove any reference in "Family" to the characters being Jewish out of concerns that they might appear to be comical stereotypes. Michael Piller explained, "The orders were handed down not to make Worf's adopted parents Jewish. I don't want to sound anti-Semitic; that's not what it meant. I am a Jew and so is Rick [Berman]. We were simply afraid of making the Worf character laughable." ([2]; Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion, 2nd ed., p. 143)
In "New Eden", a stained glass window depicts Jesus Christ with the acronym INRI, which stands for "Iēsus Nazarēnus, Rēx Iūdaeōrum", Latin for "Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews".
Apocrypha[]
Jewish characters have appeared in numerous Star Trek novels. These include:
- Darya Bat-Levi, in Well of Souls by Ilsa J. Bick, identifies as Jewish and discusses the religion at length.
- David Rabin, in Vulcan's Forge by Susan Shwartz (who is also Jewish) identifies as of "Earth Israeli descent". Though some Israelis are not Jewish, "David Rabin" is a Hebrew name, suggesting he is.
- Aaron Stemple, in Ishmael by Barbara Hambly, has a Hebrew name, and does not eat pork (which is forbidden in Judaism).
- Harb Tanzer, in Diane Duane's The Wounded Sky and Spock's World speaks fluent Yiddish (an East-European Jewish language, lit. Jewish).
- Myron Shulman, in Recovery by J.M. Dillard, has funeral conducted in accordance with Jewish tradition, including a minyan (ten men) reciting Kaddish (an Aramaic prayer used in Judaism).
- Jael Rabinowich, in The Final Reflection by John M. Ford, has a Yiddish name and uses the Hebrew phrase "Shalom aleichem" (lit. "Peace be upon you", colloquially, "Hi, how are you")
- David Steinberg, in Yesterday's Son by A.C. Crispin
- Lena Goldblum, in Star Trek Log 5 by Alan Dean Foster, the Jewish roommate of M'Ress who plays with a dreidel (a spinning top associated with the festival of Chanukah).
- Saul Weinstein, in Brad Ferguson's Crisis on Centaurus, uses Yiddish expressions.
- Dora Grayson in Strangers from the Sky by Margaret Wander Bonnano. A Professor Grayson (Amanda Grayson's great-great grandfather) states that his wife, Dora, was Jewish.
- David Gold, captain of the USS da Vinci and his wife, Rabbi Rachel Filman, in the Star Trek: Starfleet Corps of Engineers series identify as Jewish, as do their descendants.
- Several SCE stories have been devoted to Gold's Judaism, including "An Easy Fast" in Tales from the Captain's Table (which takes place on the fast of Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement) and Creative Couplings, Book 1 and Book 2 which discuss the marriage of Gold's granddaughter to the son of a Klingon ambassador.