What assumptions do you make when you meet a Jewish person?
Are they based more on media, your parents, or just unreliable sources?
This is how I win.
As you play along this episode of Odd Man Out, think of how you pick the mole.
We brought together seven Jewish people.
I'm Jewish.
I am Jewish.
One of them is a liar.
If the group discovers who the liar is, they'll split a cash prize.
If the liar survives, they win the entire prize.
Who is the Odd Man Out?
Alright so who's the mole? I'm just going to ask right away, well who is it? Come on, come on.
Okay, where have all your families been expelled from? Can we just, like get into that like real quick?
Every Jew has a story about being forcibly taken from their home.
My family got expelled from Russia early 1900s moved to New York.
Are you Ashkenazi?
- Yeah. - Okay
Versus?
God I can never remember the other one-
- Sephardic.
Oh, really? Interesting.
I actually converted.
My mom is from the Philippines. My dad is from Mississippi.
Why did you convert?
My mom put me into it when I was really young, when I was like six or seven so
I just always grew up with it. So, I didn't really feel like I converted.
My family is Polish. I am half Jewish.
So my mom through birth, I am Jewish. My dad is Christian.
My safta (grandmother in Hebrew) was expelled from Turkey and my saba (grandfather) was from Bulgaria.
Good words.
Yeah.
I don't think everyone here knows Hebrew.
Does anyone else know Hebrew?
Yeah.
That means grandma and grandpa.
Do you know fluently?
Yeah.
My mom is Israeli so- Okay, yeah same.
Do you guys, um, like know all the holidays?
Everyone was drawing out questions and answers and it was just tough to get your- your piece in.
But I was definitely worried that I'll just be voted off just because I may not look Jewish.
What's like the highest holiday?
Oh, that's a good word.
Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah.
If someone said Hanukkah, I was like "done!" "Out"
Anyone go to Jewish school?
I went to Jewish preschool, elementary school and high school and learnt Hebrew in all of them.
So, I'm very Jewish.
Can you start reciting like the first prayer of Hanukkah? Like the first word?
I mean, I know it's not the first word. It just flows better this way.
Yeah, that wasn't really the first word, but...
He said his prayer really fast and it didn't sound like a hundred percent to me.
What's the prayer just, like the two words for, like washing your hands before you eat?
No!
No, I don't know.
Netilat Yadayim.
No, I got you. I tru-
Quick question cuz this will eliminate real Jews real quick.
Does anyone know what Jewish penicillin is?
Matzo ball soup.
There it is. She didn't know what it is. Right there.
It was a little unclear where he was from, and
why he was telling us like certain things.
Anyone keep kosher?
I don't, but I don't eat pork.
I mean, kind of? I'm vegan, so like-
My mom is so proud. She's like "My girl is kosher, and I'm like..."
I am still stuck on the point that you drove here for this. I am sorry...
He what?!
He said he drove here for this.
I wanted an excuse to come to L.A.
I like took a plane from Seattle.
You flew here? Yeah. Really? Oh wow.
I also just like wanted to eat at like, a bunch of vegan places.
Right, we just wanted an excuse to come to L.A.
I was very comfortable with the girls.
For some reason, the guys gave me a bit of pause.
People always kind of had weird looks cuz I am only half Jewish so growing up, you know
I was in a very, like a Christian environment.
I mean that was the main thing is when we were, you know getting pulled out for the High Holidays.
Everybody just kind of was just like, 'Why do you get to leave?'
Like stuff like that.
That's the only time it really came up for me.
Alright!
Bye!
I have a very Jewish name. I have a very Jewish face.
Not something that I expected, to be voted out the first time.
I definitely was expecting to be able to keep playing the rest of the game.
Adam was my first pick but I wanted to go here just to- just be sure. Okay!
So tell me why you are Jewish?
It's harder because you know, I am just Jewish through my mom and there wasn't a big Jewish community where I grew up-
Actually, like Jewish through your mom rabinically is like full Jewish.
No, no that's what I mean.
Just checking.
No, yes, yeah, of course, so I didn't grow up with a lot of Jewish community around me.
So I didn't do a lot of like the stuff if people grew up in LA or New York or something like that.
They might have had access to. - Where are you from again?
Massachusetts, western massachusetts.
Massachusetts, yes. I didn't really have a religious upbringing at all. And then I did go to college
at Wesleyan and that is in Connecticut, and it does have a larger Jewish population
so that's really where I did get to meet a lot of
Jewish people and really start to experience Jewish culture.
Who said they didn't do birthright? Did everybody here do birthright?
I didn't, I didn't- I'm planning to go this winter though.
I did it in college that was like my- once I went to college it was a much bigger Jewish community.
So like I got to do stuff like that and I go to birthright, it was awesome.
I was most suspicious of Garrett because just some of his answers...
they seemed like very quick and not very detailed.
Have we all been to Israel?
Yeah. I was just about to ask that..
So, what's our favorite part of Israel?
I really loved. Um, I think the Dead Sea was awesome.
I think Israel is just gorgeous and I was really afraid to go in the Mediterranean Sea because I did not want to get stung
by jellyfish, so I was like, okay sand.
I am a beach guy. So, I love the Tel Aviv and Disc Golf Beach.
What was your favourite part?
Um, Masada. Going up and like looking down over the Dead Sea and everything.
What's everyone's favorite dish that their mom makes?
My grandma's latkes, honestly are like the best thing ever.
Your favourite food is latkes?
Have you never had latkes?
Of course, I had latkes, but it's no one favourite food.
That's a problem. I don't know, now I'm suspicious.
You tell me some more about your conversion.
I was just about to ask that too.
I grew up like as a kid like going to Hebrew school, having Jewish friends, do a Shabbat every week doing the holidays.
So it wasn't like, oh my gosh, I'm Jewish now.
It was just like, okay.
It's totally fine to convert but just in the name of the game, I was like,
okay if you converted maybe you're not actually Jewish.
Maybe someone you know converted.
Do you feel really in touch with Jewish culture?
So, I have a lot of Ashkenazi friends who don't buy German cars
for that very reason like-
My grandparents won't let me buy or ever get a German car.
Yeah, the Holocaust is probably one of the worst events in history.
So I don't take for- for anyone to not connect with that. That would be a problem,
but for me, I would say a lot of Jewish history
I don't connect with just because it's not part of my history. It doesn't mean that I don't connect to it. Does that make sense?
Yeah, did you face any discrimination being Filipino and Jewish?
All the time. Absolutely.
What about people, like finding us like kind of discriminating in like, a semi-positive way, but not really at all when like when they say-
Can you smell how much money I'm holding?
That's terrible. Like I was in an Uber the other day
and the guy was like, oh you're Jewish. You're powerful. You've got power. You've got connections and I was like, "Alright..."
You're just you.
Bye guys. Bye!
He said his mom was Jewish and if you're born from your mother
and she's Jewish that makes you a full Jew. So, he just kind of seemed like the one to me from the get-go.
I kind of saw it was coming.
I knew it was gonna be a little bit harder. People who are Jewish are very
you know, practicing in their culture and to you know,
have all the little details down and things like that is definitely hard for somebody who didn't you know, grow up practicing Judaism.
After Garrett got voted out. I was kind of actually weary about Arielle.
I want to hear more about your because I mean, there are Israelis that- that aren't Jewish and like that. Yes, that's cool, too
I was just gonna ask that about you.
I know. I am definitely like-
I was thinking about this whole time I was like, oh my god, but like are you practicing or...
No, So I- I do I went to Hebrew school. I went to the JCC at first grade.
I- I switched to a private school, IV Academia.
Can we speak right now?
I was getting scared people were gonna start voting for me because I was
definitely putting out more Israeli than Jewish and that is kind of my identity.
Like, I definitely fall into that more because I am a secular Jew.
I'm black, Chinese and Filipino, and for most places I go. Well, some people just don't even know what I am in general.
Add Jewish into mix and that really throws people off.
You said you were born here- born and raised in LA
Yeah, but I went to school in a very
conservative state and now I'm back because it was really hard and part of the reason it was so hard was because I am Jewish
and I did not feel accepted. Yes,
there were a lot of people who did accept me, but you know
sometimes a little bit of hate can overrule a lot of love.
And you said you went from a Jewish high school?
Yeah, Jewish elementary school, Jewish preschool, Jewish high school.
She was just so outgoing and
talking about her experience of going to an out-of-state school
and that wasn't Jewish and since she'd went through a Jewish school her whole life,
I think that was one of the big things that kind of went off in my head that maybe it was her.
You know, how do you go from a Jewish school your whole life and not go to a Jewish college?
I was on a dating app recently. There was a guy who sent me a photo of
himself, bottoms on but he was shirtless because he was like really buff and he like wanted to show it off, I didn't care.
And he had like a lot of tattoos and I was like looking at it and he had a giant swastika right here.
And I messaged him back. I said "Am I being pranked?" Like-
Like and I said, why do you have a swastika on your arm? He said it's a Chinese
peace symbol and I said, oh honey. Oh, honey. No like not anymore
My first day at Calabasas High there were swastikas all over the school. My sophomore year,
this kid came up to me he's like "I hate Jews like, I am a full anti-Semite.
I hate you and your people" and I'm like "Dude, I don't know you like we're just in a class together.
Why are you at this school if you hate Jews? Go move somewhere else." - And also he doesn't even know you.
I've been told you know, you and your family you should have died in the Holocaust.
You and your people are evil.
You don't deserve a place here. Things like that and it hurts, but at the end of the day
I feel also like it made me stronger.
That reminds me. How do you guys feel about tattoos?
Oh, I have a tattoo. I have got a few. Yeah. Yeah. I don't have any. I won't get any.
I think Israelis love tattoos. Tel Aviv is the most tatted up place.
Yeah, Yeah. True.
Jerusalem likes to hate it
Sorry! You just know so much.
I know so much. You know so much.
No, you know so much. Okay!
Oh my god, you guys! I am feeling good.
If those lights turn red.
Yes!
We are the best.
I am so excited.
Oh my god!
Oh, knew it!
Yes!
I just live with somebody who's Jewish and have been in the culture now for like a year and a half
A groupie at college?
Yes, because he was sitting right next to me.
He was really quiet so I can tell when people were asking questions that he wasn't stepping in to answer them
Yeah, so as the mole I came in actually taking stories from people who are Jewish
and kind of co-opting them as my own because I had to have a lot of Jewish friends.
So, I have experienced the culture through them. I'm just happy I made it past the first round.
I was surprised that they voted Adam out real- really quick. It just shows that
you can't tell who somebody is just by looking at them. You really have to get to know them a little- a little better.
Yeah! I don't wanna play into the stereotypes.
I am cool with it.
You know, we are gonna be in like a strip club right now.
Let's go! Let's go!
I'm a Jewish atheist, which if it came up it might have been something that
would have gotten me in trouble more so but it's your culture. It's your everything.
It's a big identity and we need to hold onto it because
If we don't, people will try to make us do it by force.
Within the Jewish community,
There's probably more stereotypes than outside of the Jewish community.
By that I mean,
there's a lot of judgment within some of the communities whether you're more Jewish than someone or less Jewish than someone.
You came from Israel, You came from Russia, You came from Germany, You came to the States.
I don't make it the full thing
but it's very much a part of me and my values and the way I live my life and you know,
there are not that many Jews in the world
and so to be part of such a small but very close group is actually really rewarding in a lot of ways and
I'm very happy with being Jewish and I love it.
When did like everybody become a Democrat?
Honestly, when I was at school, I grew up in a really small town in
Nebraska. It was very white. We had Fox News on TV. All the time.
- You're not helping your case. - I know..am not helping. - I know my vote.
I am a Democrat.
One of them is a liar.