The Kennedy family is famously not Jewish. The American political dynasty which gave us President John F. Kennedy, former Attorney General and Senator from New York Robert F. Kennedy, Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, presidential candidate RFK Jr., the latter’s brainworm and more, has deep Irish Catholic roots.
But what about JFK’s only grandson, John (Jack) Bouvier Kennedy Schlossberg? Schlossberg has long been a public figure because of his famous family. But recently he’s garnered more attention for his self-identified “silly goose” behavior on social media. For example, please enjoy this reel of Jack rip-sticking while reciting “She Walks in Beauty” by Lord Byron or this video of Jack singing “Ticket to Ride” by The Beatles. He’s also become a political pundit this election cycle, joining Vogue as their political correspondent ahead of the 2024 election.
Now, with a brighter spotlight on him and an Ashkenazi last name, Jack could very well be the next big Jewish American political figure. If he is Jewish, that is. So let’s investigate and find out.
If you’ve been following along with our previous investigations of this nature, you know that we’re looking to check at least one of two boxes. Does Jack Schlossberg identify as culturally or religiously Jewish? And/or, does Jack Schlossberg have Jewish ancestry? If the answer to either of those questions is a resounding yes, he’s a member of the tribe!
Let’s shake it up and start with the second question. Does Jack Schlossberg have Jewish ancestry? We already know that Jack’s mother Caroline Kennedy is Irish Catholic through her father and Irish, French, Scottish and English through her mother, Jackie Kennedy Onassis. So the chances of Jewish heritage there are pretty slim. However, Jack’s father’s side is an entirely different story. Edwin Schlossberg was born in New York City in 1945 to Orthodox Jewish parents Alfred Schlossberg and Mae Schlossberg (née Hirsch). Both Alfred and Mae were the children of immigrants from around Poltava, Ukraine (formerly the Russian Empire) who entered the U.S. through Ellis Island. The family attended Park East Synagogue on the Upper East Side where Alfred was President of the synagogue for a time. It was there that Edwin attended Hebrew school and had his bar mitzvah.
So without a doubt Jack has Jewish ancestry. Which leads us back to our first question: How does he identify?
It seems that Jack was primarily raised in Catholicism, and per Haaretz, he received a Catholic education. He’s also posted online about his Catholic practice, like his opinion on Pope Francis (he’s in favor) and what he gave up for Lent this year (sugar, anger and he read a novel).
Unfortunately, there’s not a ton of information out there about whether the Kennedy-Schlossbergs maintain an interfaith household. Sure, Jack’s Wikipedia says he “also observes Jewish traditions, holidays, and holy days.” But it’s citing an article that’s no longer available online. So this investigator did the only thing she could think of. I went to the source.
It turns out Jack Schlossberg is “a huge fan” of Hey Alma so I reached out via Instagram DM to ask if he identifies as culturally Jewish. “Yes!” he responded, before clarifying that he always has to explain that he’s not “technically” Jewish because his mother isn’t. (Jack is referencing halacha, or Jewish law, which states that a child’s Jewish status is determined by the mother’s religion.) However, as I’ve said before: not all Jews use halacha as the metric to determine who is Jewish or not. Many, many patrilineal Jews identify as Jewish without undergoing a conversion process. And we here at Hey Alma go by the rule that a Jew is a Jew is a Jew is a Jew.
As for Jack, he concluded our correspondence with, “I feel I’m at least 100% half Jewish ;)”
Verdict: Yes, Jack Schlossberg is both Catholic and Jewish.
