Population - Ethnic Divisions - Overview
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 Sephardic
(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 groupings:
* Ashkenazim are Jews who migrated north from Italy into Germany and
France, and later into Eastern Europe.
* Sephardim are Jews who migrated through North Africa into Spain or
Portugal, where they lived for centuries before being expelled in 1492;
they subsequently migrated to North Africa, the Mediterranean, Latin
America, Netherlands, 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. Many Sephardim live in
France (the majority of French Jews are Sephardic), Eastern Europe and
Central Asia (small numbers), and the United States, but most are in
Israel (about 50 percent of Israeli Jews), where they have created their
own large political party called Shas guided by rabbis such as Ovadia
Yosef. (Note that not all Sephardim belong to or support Shas.)
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.
Jews 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.
* Persian Jews from Iran (commonly called Parsim in Israel) have a 2,500
year old history
* Gruzim are Georgian-speaking Jews from Georgia in the Caucasus.
* Juhurim are mountain Jews mainly from Daghestan in the eastern
Caucasus.
* Italkim or Bené Roma are the Jews of Italy
* Bene Israel are the Jews of Mumbai, India.
* Cochin Jews are also Indian Jews.
* Romaniotes are Greek-speaking Jews from the Balkans that lived there
from the Hellenistic era until today.
* Ethiopian Jews and various other small African Jewish populations are
also found.
* Bukharan Jews are Jews from Central Asia. They get their name from the
Uzbek city of Bukhara, which once had a large community.
* Baghdadi Jews [1] Those Jews came from Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and
Arab countries and settled in India in 18th Century.
* Bnei Menashe. A group of Jews living in Manipur and Mizoram in
northeastern India, claiming descent from the dispersed Biblical Tribe
of Menasseh.
* Krymchaks and Karaim are Turkic-speaking Jews of the Crimea and
Eastern Europe. The Krymchaks practice rabbinical Judaism, while the
Karaim are Karaites. Whether they are primarily the descendants of
Israelite Jews who adopted Turkic language and culture, or the
descendants of Turkic converts to Judaism, is still debated.
* Chinese Jews: most prominent were the Kaifeng Jews, an ancient Jewish
community in China, descended from merchants living in China from at
least the era of the Tang dynasty. Today functionally extinct, yet
descendants are beginning to explore and reclaim their heritage.
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.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 groupings:
* Ashkenazim are Jews who migrated north from Italy into Germany and
France, and later into Eastern Europe.
* Sephardim are Jews who migrated through North Africa into Spain or
Portugal, where they lived for centuries before being expelled in 1492;
they subsequently migrated to North Africa, the Mediterranean, Latin
America, Netherlands, 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. Many Sephardim live in
France (the majority of French Jews are Sephardic), Eastern Europe and
Central Asia (small numbers), and the United States, but most are in
Israel (about 50 percent of Israeli Jews), where they have created their
own large political party called Shas guided by rabbis such as Ovadia
Yosef. (Note that not all Sephardim belong to or support Shas.)
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.
Jews 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.
* Persian Jews from Iran (commonly called Parsim in Israel) have a 2,500
year old history
* Gruzim are Georgian-speaking Jews from Georgia in the Caucasus.
* Juhurim are mountain Jews mainly from Daghestan in the eastern
Caucasus.
* Italkim or Bené Roma are the Jews of Italy
* Bene Israel are the Jews of Mumbai, India.
* Cochin Jews are also Indian Jews.
* Romaniotes are Greek-speaking Jews from the Balkans that lived there
from the Hellenistic era until today.
* Ethiopian Jews and various other small African Jewish populations are
also found.
* Bukharan Jews are Jews from Central Asia. They get their name from the
Uzbek city of Bukhara, which once had a large community.
* Baghdadi Jews [1] Those Jews came from Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and
Arab countries and settled in India in 18th Century.
* Bnei Menashe. A group of Jews living in Manipur and Mizoram in
northeastern India, claiming descent from the dispersed Biblical Tribe
of Menasseh.
* Krymchaks and Karaim are Turkic-speaking Jews of the Crimea and
Eastern Europe. The Krymchaks practice rabbinical Judaism, while the
Karaim are Karaites. Whether they are primarily the descendants of
Israelite Jews who adopted Turkic language and culture, or the
descendants of Turkic converts to Judaism, is still debated.
* Chinese Jews: most prominent were the Kaifeng Jews, an ancient Jewish
community in China, descended from merchants living in China from at
least the era of the Tang dynasty. Today functionally extinct, yet
descendants are beginning to explore and reclaim their heritage.
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.
From:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_ethnic_divisions
Back to Ethnic Divisions
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