Jewish or Italian mobsters?

[Cartoons90]

Well, I was thinking back to some of the classic Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoons with that two man mob that tried to capture Bugs Bunny, but Bugs always outsmarted them at the end. The mob included the short leader (I think his name was Bugsy) and the big dumb sidekick. I remember the line "Shut up shuddin' up" being one of the episodes.

Recently I've begun to wonder though, do you think this two man gang was supposed to be Italian or Jewish? I myself am half-Jewish and have done research before on famous Jewish people in history and know that in decades past there were several Jewish gangs and such, and since one of the guys' names was Bugsy, it makes me wonder if he was supposed to be based of Bugsy Siegel.

So does anyone know if this two man gang was supposed to be Jewish or Italian, or maybe something else?

[tb4000]

Most of the characters had a New Yawk/Joisey accent as it was, so it could've been anything. They basically kept it ambiguous like that.

[Kaoru]

I thought it was Mugzy. They also appeared in the videogame Lost in Time. I really like Looney Tunes because they could make even the shadiest characters colorful (if colorful = funny).

New Yawk/Joisey

That really IS how they spell there, seriously!

BTW, this is unrelated and maybe outlawed, but why do so many people say they are half-Jewish? What is that? I'm just curious.

[Cartoons90]

I thought it was Mugzy. They also appeared in the videogame Lost in Time. I really like Looney Tunes because they could make even the shadiest characters colorful (if colorful = funny).

That really IS how they spell there, seriously!

BTW, this is unrelated and maybe outlawed, but why do so many people say they are half-Jewish? What is that? I'm just curious.

Yeah, classic Loony Tunes was awesome.

I just say I'm half-Jewish because my mom is not Jewish and my dad is Jewish.

[Sharklady]

Assuming you mean these guys...

http://www.vegalleries.com/wbltd/35hideaway.jpg

... their names were Rocky (little boss guy) and Mugsy (big dumb guy.) And I don't think they had any identifiable ethnic identity; they were just generic gangsters for Bugs to foil.

[Kaoru]

LOL ^ Caption that pic!

"This is sanitation police and you boys need a bath to work in that hotel!"
-"(in unisin) But I donwanna bath!"

or "You can't live there, whattiya wainin faw? Let's go pick out some decor to brighten this place up!"
- No we like it that way!
- (Bugz) "I'm on it chief!"

[Peter Paltridge]

Yeah, classic Loony Tunes was awesome.

I just say I'm half-Jewish because my mom is not Jewish and my dad is Jewish.

He means, are Jews a religion or a race? This is something I've wondered myself because Sarah Silverman isn't exactly a rabbi.

[BCVM22]

He means, are Jews a religion or a race? This is something I've wondered myself because Sarah Silverman isn't exactly a rabbi.

It all depends on who you ask; different people look at it different ways. If you want to be technical, Jewish religious law states that religion is passed down from the mother, i.e. if your mother is Jewish, then you technically are too. However, throughout the different levels of observance, some families eschew that and take their Judaism from the father's side, some families practice both (double holiday presents!). It depends entirely on who you ask.

[Cortez2301]

I think those mobsters were either Italian or Jewish.Usually at that time you would find both kinds in NewYork and chicago and thats what they were really doing.Usually you can figure that out from their accents.

[Kaoru]

He means, are Jews a religion or a race? This is something I've wondered myself because Sarah Silverman isn't exactly a rabbi.

I didn't exactly think they're a race, they just don't like to cut their hair much so they look different (full versions). I guess people just grow up saying what they are told they are without giving it much taught religion wise.

It all depends on who you ask; different people look at it different ways. If you want to be technical, Jewish religious law states that religion is passed down from the mother, i.e. if your mother is Jewish, then you technically are too. However, throughout the different levels of observance, some families eschew that and take their Judaism from the father's side, some families practice both (double holiday presents!). It depends entirely on who you ask.

Why don't you ask god?

[mammy2shoesfan]

I always thought that Rocky was Italian and Mugsy was Irish.

[BCVM22]

Why don't you ask god?

I'd rather ask you what the hell you're talking about.

[AnkokuDaishogun]

maybe they are Italian Jewish.
you know, being Italian doesn't means you are catholic.
It gives it only a 75+% probability!

though now I have a dubt: Jewish is only a synonimous of Hebrew ot it's used with another meaning?

ah, Hebraism is a RELIGION and as such it's seen, at least here in Italy.

[Sharklady]

The question of what, exactly, defines 'Jewish' could be (and has been) debated at great length. If we want to do that, we really should start a seperate thread.

[Kaoru]

I'd rather ask you what the hell you're talking about.

It's an obvious joke, as it's a question about religion.

The question of what, exactly, defines 'Jewish' could be (and has been) debated at great length. If we want to do that, we really should start a seperate thread.

My question was "what is half-Jewish?", not "what is Jewish", and no one still explained it. Whoever doesn't know what Judaism is then look it up on wikipedia.org , it's a famous religion. People can also say whatever they think they are and it doesn't make them that.

Anyway I agree that this isn't the place to talk about this. About Rocky, I think he might have Jewish background or something because his accent is more Jackie Mason than "godfather".