At the 2012 London Olympics, Aly Raisman gave the world the pinnacle of Jewish gymnastics moments with her gold medal-winning floor exercise routine to “Hava Nagila.” That, however, was 12 years ago.
In the years since, Raisman competed — and won more hardware — at the 2016 Rio Olympics. But after her retirement in 2020, the USA women’s gymnastics program has not boasted any high profile Jewish athletes. Or have they? After hearing rumblings that 2021 Olympic gold medalist in floor routine Jade Carey is Jewish, and in light of her qualification to Team USA for the 2024 Paris Olympics, I knew I had to investigate.
Let’s dive in.
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 Jade Carey identify as culturally or religiously Jewish? And/or, does Jade Carey have Jewish ancestry? If the answer to either of those questions is a resounding yes, she’s a member of the tribe!
Her ancestry is where things get a bit more complex. During the 2020/2021 Tokyo Olympics, Los Angeles Jewish Health posted a newsletter which identified one of their residents as Jade’s grandfather. The resident, Oscar Szmuch, was born in Siberia in 1943 while his Polish Jewish family was on the run from the Nazis. His family soon left Russia for Argentina, where Oscar lived until his immigration to Israel in 1963. Later, he would move one final time to California. Oscar has three daughters, one of whom, Orley, the article identifies as Jade’s mother. The pair are both athletic and have represented the U.S. in the Maccabiah Games — Oscar as a marathon runner in 1989 and Orley as a gymnast in 2005. So that settles is! Jade must be Jewish, right?
Well, not quite.
Unfortunately, the newsletter is slightly misleading. While this doesn’t diminish the relationship that Jade has with the Szmuch family, Oscar and Orley are her step-grandfather and step-mother, respectively. If this Facebook photo is correct, Jade’s father and coach Brian Carey has been married to Orley since 2023. If Jade has any Jewish heritage, it’s not through them.
OK, so let’s take a look at her parents, Brian Carey and Danielle Mitchell-Greenberg. Unfortunately, this seems like a dead end. There does not seem to be a source online which indicates that either Brian Carey or Danielle Mitchell-Greenberg are Jewish or have Jewish ancestry. Yes, Greenberg is a typically Ashkenazi Jewish last name. However, it seems that Mitchell is Jade mom’s maiden name and Greenberg comes from a previous marriage.
To really cast away any doubts, Jade’s representation responded to an inquiry into her background from Jewish Telegraphic Agency reporter Jacob Gurvis. “Jade is not Jewish,” they responded via email earlier this month.
Verdict: No, Jade Carey is not Jewish.
