Whoopi Goldberg is actually quite knowledgeable about Jewish issues, which is something that really surprised me about all this. About the reaction, I mean to say. I wish she had been a little bit more clear in her apology.

My late husband was a Jewish man in New York City, and most of our friends were Jewish people. We lived behind the housing project where Whoopi Goldberg grew up. My husband and I went to synagogue together with a Reform congregation.

We spent many an the evening drinking wine and having long conversations late into the night with Jewish friends solving all the problems of the universe. If only somebody had been wise enough to put us in charge of the universe.

One thing I learned very quickly is that none of the Jews I knew considered themselves to be members of the Jewish "race."

They were always quick to point out that their identity was based on an ethno-religious heritage they doesn't work quite the way same way as race.

I think you'll find many Jews today talk like that. What I just said is fairly commonly expressed among Jews as a belief about identity.

Based on having heard that so many times, I could easily see myself making the same sort of statement Whoopi made on The View.

I understand why people are upset about it, I understand especially why some Jews are upset about it. But I also understand how Whoopi could have made the statement in good faith based on her friendship with Jewish people and her knowledge of how Jewish people often talk about Jewish identity.

That would have been an interesting national conversation. It's too bad we didn't get to have it.