Jewish Ethnic Diversity

The cluster discusses the ethnic aspects of Jewish identity, including divisions like Ashkenazi, Mizrahi, and Sephardic Jews, their historical diaspora, and demographics in Israel, often countering misconceptions about Jews being solely European.

➡️ Stable 0.8x Politics & Society
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#5457
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Keywords

US IMO HN yadvashem.org wikipedia.org MENA UK reddit.com WWI WWII jews jewish israel israeli arab religion middle east orthodox middle east

Sample Comments

raxxorrax Jan 18, 2022 View on HN

Probably because of all the crypto Jews.

easyThrowaway Jun 28, 2025 View on HN

I don't think there's much overlapping between those who experienced the holocaust and whoever is in charge in Israel right now.Speaking for experience from some relatives, the immigration laws for people of jewish faith and ancestry were nigh insurmountable if you came from african, arab or middle east countries and pretty much just nominal even in recent times for those who had even a remote connection but came from the US and the UK.I have the feeling they are jewish the same

intellectronica Mar 20, 2025 View on HN

How is it "racist"?! It's merely factual. Just before the holocaust, ~85% of Jews in the world were Ashkenazi Jews. The percentage among Jewish immigrants to America is even higher. That doesn't make the culture of Jews from other communities less valuable or worthy of appreciation, but it makes it less relevant for this particular sub-discussion.

hackuser Oct 15, 2015 View on HN

People of many different ethnicities are Jewish.

piva00 Mar 29, 2025 View on HN

Not only Jews are native to the land.

I think it's because Jews are also an ethnic group

myegorov Sep 15, 2018 View on HN

This is a common misconception. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_ethnic_divisions

emosenkis Jul 7, 2020 View on HN

I'm still not sure what distinction you think I made... what I intended was: 1. All Jews are people 2. Computers are not people 3. Therefore computers are not JewsAs a Jewish citizen of both Israel and the US, I understand that it can be hard to exist as a minority in your own country, and I'm sure it's harder in Israel, which doesn't have separation of religion & state.

tptacek Dec 26, 2024 View on HN

The same thing happened to Jewish people in those "pissed off" surrounding countries, to the extent that a plurality of the Jewish population of Israel is of MENA origin (the "Mizrahim"). There is no simple history of the area, and nothing that will fit into an HN comment.

rayiner Dec 14, 2023 View on HN

First, half the Jewish people in Israel are from the Middle East and Central Asia. Second, Europeans Jews aren’t converts, like European Christians. They’re the descendants of people displaced from Israel by, among others, Arab invaders. They’re returning to their own land.