June 2009 (UTC)

"Race, and this is clear also from the definitions above, is irrelevant as a Jew may have no Jewish parents, and be equally Jewish as all other Jews. Very much like being American or Dutch."

In case ethnicity is not a result of race, it mostly is a result of nationality. So apart from "Dutch" in racial sence (the autochtone, blond, blue-eyed, Northern-Europide sub-sub race), there is "Dutch" in the sence of having the Dutch nationality, in other words a Dutch passport.
Maybe there's not a thing like the Jewish nationality (any more), as the autochtone inhabitants of Judea fled their country, when it came to defending it, and since then spread all over the world. Attempts, to get their natural place back have succeeded  to a certain extent, but as that country now is called "Israel", the corresponding nationality is called "Israelian" and not "Jewish" any more.

"For many years I had an East-African-born girlfriend - whose race is considered different from mine - but we both considered ourselves and were considered in our community Jews and as Jews felt particularly comfortable with each other and each other's customs."
 
There are also East-African-born persons, who are to a certain extent Jewish in racial sence.  But if that was'nt the case with this person, than a question is, in how far she's still ethnically Jewish, since Gdorb obviously doesn't "have that girlfriend" any more. One doesn't get some ethnicity, just by being somebody elses friend for some weeks, months or years. 

"Ethnicity is an old instrument for disregarding race."

Why should one (use instruments to) disregard one's own or somebody else's race?
Race is a biological reality and in principle there's nothing in it, that gives reason to disregard it. On the contrary, one might say. Many, if not most, people are proud of their race. If some prefer to disregard it, than a question is, for what reason they do.

" There are even older ones (affection, attraction, humanity, respect, exchange, etc.) and many newer ones and they must all scare the hell out of you."

This leaves the questions, what the newer ones are supposed to be, and how they are supposed to "scare the hell out of" somebody. Maybe this sentence even is a very bad sin against the Wp rules, and should at least be followed by a warning to the user, who committed it; it all depends from a nearer explanation, which is demanded hereby.   15:05, 26