Is Alexander Rybak Jewish

Answer 1

I think not, because his mother doesn`t seem to be Jewish. However, his father seems to be Jewish (my grandmother said so and she knows), and so does his father`s mother, which makes Rybak's father Jewish.

Addition:

My mom thinks he looks Jewish too, he also performed with Israeli Violinist Pinchas Zukerman for quite some time. He was playing the main role as a Jew in Anatevka (Fiddler on the Roof) musical about Jewish stadl and he will also play the role of a Jew Levi in the upcoming movie Yohan.

Lots of musicians in Belarus were Jewish before iron curtain fell and most of those who were allowed to leave Soviet Union back when his family did (in year 1990) were Jews because they could claim to have been prosecuted or were politcally opressed, so its quite likely that at least one of his parents is indeed Jewish.

Addition:

I think Alexander Rybak's father is Jewish. I saw an interview with his grandmother, but not his grandfather, who is probably deceased. It is common among Ashkenazi Jews to name children after the closest deceased relatives. Given that Alexander's father has a patronymic name "Alexandrovich" (the son of Alexander) it is only logical to assume that Alexander was named after his grandfather (incidentally, I was also named after my grandfather who perished in World War II). Alexander's mother looks Slavic to me. So, from an ethnic standpoint, Alexander Rybak is half-Jewish. As for the religion he practices, it could be anything or none at all. Ultimately, it doesn't make a difference - at least not to me.