Damn Computer, I wrote a whole essay, and I lost it.<P>Well, as the Religious Studies Major in-residence, and a Jew, I'll see if I can help explain a little, and I'll try not to ramble on.<P>First, are the Falashas the Ethiopian Jews? I really should recognize that name, but I don't. As for the Ethiopian Jews, they are accepted as Jewish(at least by myself), and they have now even been proven genetically to be descended from the Cohenim(high priests). The Jews of Venta Prieta have faced a similar challenge. They were Mexicans who claimed(falsely) that they had descended from conversos, and who for a long time had to fight to gain acceptance. They slowly moved away from a mistaken claim into ritual and following the precepts of the religion, eventually converting and being recognized as Jewish. <P>About Judaism, the hardest question is whether it is a race, a culture, an ethnicity, or a religion. It started out basically as all of these together...although during the diaspora it was the religion that pulled all together. Since the Holocaust, this has undergone a drastic change, and a secular Judaism has largely emerged. Many Jews, myself included, found it impossible to believe in a supreme being that would allow something so atrocious to happen. For some, Zionism became the "Religion" of Judaism. For me, the same reason which drives me away from religion is the reason why I still consider myself a jew. My purpose is to preserve the memory of how my grandparents suffered during World War II, and ensure that it never happens again. Of course technically, a Jew is still someone who either has a Jewish Mother or has undergone a conversion, but I at least favor a more open definition, which acknowledges a common history and most predominantly, IMO, the fight to survive. Honestly, there are 14 million Jews in the world, and 14 million answers to the question "Who is a Jew", but a much wider definition has emerged lately. Finally, I do completely acknowledge that the first Jews were, if not black, certainly dark-skinned(Middle-Eastern), and obviously this would include Jesus. I hope this has made some sense, and not just confused more people.<P>D<P>"Kenny G ain't got no soul, John Coltrane is Rock and Roll" - Mos Def<P>"On the Mic I move the crowd like Big Pun stagediving" - Tash