The 'Jewface' debate about casting non-Jews as Jews betrays an Ashkenazi bias

(JTA) — Actress and comedian Sarah Silverman, in comments on her Sept. 30 podcast, railed against the practice of casting non-Jews as Jewish characters in TV and films. She referred to the castings as “Jewface,” a play on the historically racist practice of donning “blackface.”

Silverman pointed to a series of Jewish women portrayed by non-Jewish actresses, including Rachel Brosnahan in “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” Felicity Jones as the late Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in “On the Basis of Sex” and Kathryn Hahn’s upcoming turn as Joan Rivers in “The Comeback Girl.”

“There’s this l...