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Jewish ethnic divisions

Jewish ethnic divisions:

The most commonly used terms to describe ethnic divisions among Jews presently are: Ashkenazi (meaning "German" in Hebrew, denoting the Central European base of Jewry); and Sephardi (meaning "Spanish" in Hebrew, denoting their Spanish and North African location). They refer to both religious and ethnic divisions. (Some scholars hold that Ashkenazi Jews are descendants of those who originally followed the Palestinian Jewish religious tradition, and Sephardic Jews are descendants of those who originally followed the Babylonian religious tradition.)

Jews have historically been divided into four major ethnic groups:

  • Ashkenazim are Jews from Germany or Eastern Europe who later migrated elsewhere.
  • Sephardim are Jews from Spain or Portugal. They were expelled in 1492 by Ferdinand and Isabella and migrated to North Africa, the Mediterranean, Latin America, Holland, and other parts of Europe.
  • Oriental or "Mizrahi" Jews (edut hamizrach in Hebrew are Jews from the Middle East with some spreading to Central Asia and South Asia). (Note: In modern common usage, most Oriental Jews are now referred to as Sephardic, as the religious rites of Oriental and Sephardic Jews are similar.)
  • Yemenite Jews are Oriental Jews whose geographical and social isolation from the rest of the Jewish community allowed them to develop a liturgy and set of practices sufficiently distinct from other Oriental Jewish groups so as to be recognized as a different group.

Of these communities, the largest by far are the Ashkenazim, comprising approximately 70 percent of the Jewish total, with Oriental Jews comprising most of the remainder. Many Sephardim live in France (the majority of French Jews are Sephardic), Eastern Europe and Central Asia (small numbers), and the United States (a very small number), but most are in Israel (about 50 percent of Israelis), where they have created their own large ethnic political party called Shas guided by rabbis such as Ovadia Yosef. (Note that not all Sephardim belong to or support Shas.)

Note: In Israel, Jews with origins in Western (Christian) countries are called Ashkenazi though many are not. The Jews of Italy are Bené Roma; the Georgian are Gruzim; the Greek are Romaniotes; and many of the Dutch, Bulgarian, and Latin American are Sephardic. These groups claim distinct cultures and histories.

Those with origins in Muslim and Arab lands are commonly called Sephardi though many are not. The Jews of Iran and Iraq are Mizrahi and the Yemenite and Omani are Temani. None of these groups include the Beta Israel of Ethiopia who were brought to Israel during Operation Solomon and Operation Moses, as well as other groups.


Smaller groups

These groups are described in terms of their historic geography; significant numbers of these Jews live today in Israel.

These smaller groups number in the thousands or tens of thousands, with the Gruzim being most numerous at about 100,000. Many members of these groups have now emigrated from their traditional homelands, largely to Israel. For example, only about 10 percent of the Gruzim remain in Georgia.

Last updated: 08-11-2005 07:18:36
Last updated: 08-17-2005 21:22:44