And Its Many Paths. Judaism is a religion. Jews are people. While the two are closely associated, they are, nevertheless, distinct entities. The Old Testament identifies a Jew as an individual who is a direct lineal descendant of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and, if male, they must be circumcised. The Jew acquires Jewish genetic identity at the moment of conception. That identity is not lost by conversion to another faith or adoption of atheism. A converted Jew who returns to Judaism is not obliged to convert back since that person never stopped being a Jew. Jewish genetic identity cannot be created or altered by conversion which