ERIC KIM ₿

Famous Jewish people who changed their names.

Why does this matter? Showing how racist America is. Lesson:

As long as you got to change your name, or you’re afraid of being “ousted“ as Jewish, America is still racist.

Google —

  • Woody Allen. Real Name: Allen Konigsberg. … 
  • Larry King. Real Name: Lawrence Harvey Zeigler.
  • Bea Arthur. Real Name: Bernice Frankel. … 
  • Natalie Portman. Real Name: Natalie Herschlag.
  • Harry Houdini. Real Name: Erich Weisz. … 
  • Gene Simmons. Real Name: Chaim Witz.

Two things: first, when you change your name you just wanted to sound better, more memorable.

Also, I didn’t realize there were certain names that sound “Jewish“.

Yeah America is super anti Jewish:

Jewish individuals often changed their names for various reasons, such as to avoid discrimination or to adopt a more memorable stage name. Notable figures who made such changes include:

  • Kirk Douglas, originally Issur Danielovitch
  • Edward G. Robinson, born Emanuel Goldenberg
  • Bob Dylan, whose birth name was Robert Zimmerman
  • Tony Curtis was born Bernie Schwartz
  • Lauren Bacall, born Betty Joan Perske
  • Sumner Redstone, originally Rothstein
  • Samuel Goldwyn, formerly Gelbfish
  • Ralph Lauren, who was once Ralph Lifshitz
  • Gene Simmons of the band KISS was born Chaim Witz

These changes were partly for camouflage against bias and partly for more marketable, memorable personas in their professional fields oai_citation:1,Naming names | The Jewish Standardoai_citation:2,Naming names | The Jewish Standard.

Who else?

Other Jewish personalities who changed their names include:

  • George Soros, originally Gyorgy Schwartz
  • Jon Stewart, born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz
  • Natalie Portman, born Natalie Hershlag
  • Leonard Cohen kept his name, but his father had changed the family name from Rabinowitz
  • Beverly Sills, born Belle Silverman
  • Michael Douglas, born Issur Danielovitch Demsky

These individuals often chose new names to blend in, for ease of remembrance, or to have a name that resonated better with their audience oai_citation:1,Naming names | The Jewish Standardoai_citation:2,Naming names | The Jewish Standard.

More posts