How did Ashkenazi Jews become such a large group? (war, Egypt, Europeans)
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Wikipedia says at one time Ashkenazi Jews made up like 85-90% of the world's Jewish population. How did that happen when Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews had been around for so much longer?
Most Sephardics are now Spanish.
They were forced to convert, but most stayed.
There are cities in Spain where most original inhabitants are Sephardic in origin, Palma de Mallorca, for instance.
The largest colony of Sephardic jews were at Salonica, they were slaughtered by the Germans.
Well becuase in Europe was ahead in medical and health compared to where the sephardic jews such as the middle east and Africa and that rose the amount of Ashkenazi jews dramically. However before advances in medial and health in Europe there were larger amount of Sephardic jews.
Many of the Sephardic Jews and their decendents are now crypto-Jews. I was not even aware of how large this group is until I moved west. They are rediscovering their identity, some joining Reform, Conservative and Orthodox congregations, others now going back to their Sephardic roots. One estimate I read is that 10% of Brazil's poplulation has crypto-Jewish ancestory.
In Spain there are maybe 10 million people with Sephardic lineage, but none has reverted to Judaism except a small group of "juetes" from Palma de Mallorca. A group returned to their faith and went to Israel.
"Juetes" have been Catholics during the last 600 years, but until two generations ago they were tagged as Jews by non-Jews. Italian Fascist, that planned to occupy Mallorca during the war, had them tagged for extermination, quite ridiculous considering that Franco himself comes from a Sephardic lineage.
I assume Ashkenazi jews don't look Middle Eastern because they intermarried to such a great extent with Northern and Eastern Europeans. Is part of the friction in the Middle East due to the fact that Israel is largely made up of Ashkenazis who look very foreign to the indigenous Arab populace versus the Sephardics who look more Middle Eastern? If Israel were populated instead mainly by Sephardic jews would her Arab neighbors still feel the same way about her?
I assume Ashkenazi jews don't look Middle Eastern because they intermarried to such a great extent with Northern and Eastern Europeans. Is part of the friction in the Middle East due to the fact that Israel is largely made up of Ashkenazis who look very foreign to the indigenous Arab populace versus the Sephardics who look more Middle Eastern? If Israel were populated instead mainly by Sephardic jews would her Arab neighbors still feel the same way about her?
There were tens (perhaps hundreds) of thousands of Jews who lived in the Middle East and North Africa. In their look they were indistinguishable from the local population. They were still second class citizens in their local communities and had to leave their homeland after 1948. So I'm guessing Ashkenazi Jews looking too white is not a huge factor.
There were tens (perhaps hundreds) of thousands of Jews who lived in the Middle East and North Africa. In their look they were indistinguishable from the local population. They were still second class citizens in their local communities and had to leave their homeland after 1948. So I'm guessing Ashkenazi Jews looking too white is not a huge factor.
What and where was their homeland? Who made them leave and where did they go?
What and where was their homeland? Who made them leave and where did they go?
Jewish communities existed all over the Middle East - in Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Egypt etc.
Most of them fled to Israel after outbreak of Israeli War of Independence.
Jewish communities existed all over the Middle East - in Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Egypt etc.
Most of them fled to Israel after outbreak of Israeli War of Independence.
Almost seems like creating Israel did more harm than good as it greatly disrupted the Middle East. We've paid a high price for it ever since.
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