"Holding on to" a "Jewish background." But as what?
Wikipedia is hardly a reliable source. See its disclaimers.
Also see [
www.culteducation.com]
"Jewsfaq.com"?
Hardly a definitive source.
There is no disagreement about who a Jew is not, as agreed upon by Jewish denominations, which are definitively the historical sources regarding such issues, not assorted Web sites.
All branches of Judaism (e.g. Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist) agree that someone who has converted to an outside relgious belief system is no longer Jewish without qualification.
This has also been upheld by the Israeli courts, which ruled a convert could not immigrate as a "Jew" to Israel under the "right/law of return."
An atheist would also be an "apostate Jew."
There is no problem factually with so-called "Jews for Jesus" saying they are apostate Jews for Jesus. This would not be misleading.
But they don't.
They wish to otherwise mislead the public and attempt to redefine the meaning of Jews, Judaism and its practices per their own distinct theological perspective.
And that perspective is essentially evangelical Baptist theology, which is the background and ordination of the organization's founder.
"Jews for Jesus" is after all a member of the Evangelical Coucil for Financial Accountability, which is hardly a Jewish institution, but places the group within the context of its actual religious identity.