ABSTRACT
The identity of John's 'Jews' has occasioned much expenditure of academic ink, especially in view of today's post-holocaust sensitivities, a preoccupation well attested in recent times by the publication of the 612-page Leuven volume on Anti-Judaism and the Fourth Gospel. Of the many fascinating aspects of the fourth evangelist's work, one of the most intriguing is surely the large number of parentheses, or asides to the reader, that together form a key characteristic of John's writing style. In addition, as Maurice Casey and others point out, there is evidence to show that Jewish writers can use both 'Jew' and 'Israelite' with equal ease both in self-reference and in communication with one another. Indeed, as is often remarked, those in the gospel who are regarded as authentic witnesses to Jesus, such as John, the disciples, and even Moses, Abraham and Isaiah, are not categorized as 'Jews'.
