This Week in “Are They Jewish?”

Last week, I got an e-mail from my mom. It was only one line and it read, “Do you know Phillip Markoff?”

Two things popped into my head. First, I thought, “No. I don’t know Phillip Markoff.” Second, I thought, “Who is Phillip Markoff and why should I know him?”

phillip_markoff.jpg After googling his name, I found out that Markoff is the Boston medical student accused of luring a women he met on Craigslist to a hotel room, tying her up, robbing her and killing her.

After figuring this out, I was a bit troubled. Why would my mom think I knew this guy? After e-mailing her back with that very question, she responded saying, “He sounded Jewish. I’m assuming we know someone who knew him.”

Apparently, my mom and I are not the only people who have wondered this. Over at the Jewish Journal in L.A., not only did they ask the same question, but they did some research too. For some reason, it doesn’t matter if someone is a good or bad. We just want to know if they’re Jewish.

By the way, the Journal’s research was inconclusive. Nothing on Google suggests that Markoff is Jewish. But then again, nothing suggests he isn’t. We can dream, right?

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