And apparently, nobody can figure out if you are Jewish. Since being named Obama’s likely pick for treasury secretary – the wikipedia entry for Timothy F. Geithner has predictably become a riot of editing activity. One major point of contention: some editors want Geithner’s article to list his religion as Judaism, while others do not. Apparently, the only source for the notion that Geithner is Jewish anyone can find online is a column in a Pakistani news website. The column reads as what would be called an opinion piece in the states and puts forth the notion that Obama will not substantially change the US position on the Palestine/Israeli conflict because he has surrounded himself with Jewish advisers. It closes with this little gem: “Given that only about three percent of the American population are Jewish, their heavy concentration in the corridors of power is, of course, purely coincidental!”
The whole thing is a fascinating intersection of class, race, and national bias. The Pakistani piece has strong anti-Semitic overtones, to be sure, but some wikipedia editors (those sympathetic to the article) believe it is being dismissed simply because it is not a “Western” source. One writes, “Since when are Pakistani sources banned? Stop being discriminatory.” Others discuss whether wikipedia should be “assigning” a religion to public figures (“outing” them, one might say) who are notable for a reason not immediately connected to their religious background. Yet others advance a “model minority” thesis as to why Jewish people attract negative attention. While advancing that links to the Pakistani piece should be removed from the article, one offers, “What are they — the anti-Semites — so upset about? Is it the Jews’ fault that they succeed and rise to the top? The anti-Semites have to get over their jealousies. The Jews have always done well, no matter where they live — as long as they’re not being physically attacked.”
I’m not sure what the takeway is yet, but the whole thing puts the contours of Race, Class, and Nationality on wikipedia into stark relief.