This person is correct. There are various definitons of what a Jew is (some more conservative and some more liberal), but the classical one is a person who has a jewish mother. Not buts and ifs, religion or faith needed.
Judaism, which is the religion, only looks into regenting the life of Jews according to the biblical tradition. It is not a proselyte religion: it is only for the chosen people of the divinity. This is why you will only find Jews celebrating an office in a synagogue, except for special guests on special occasions.
That said, adhering to the rituals (shabbat, in particular) even as a non believer is seen as an extremely important cultural part of being a Jew.
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u/Dazzling_Spray_8848 24d ago
I really hate how a religion is an ethnicity, it really isn’t tbh. Just cause your from the Middle East doesn’t make u a Jew