The categorization of Jewish ethnicity in Israel

Abstract

Constructing an operational definition of ethnicity for the purpose of research into the social consequences of membership in a particular ethnic group becomes increasingly difficult as the number grows of persons who can, in principle, be assigned to the category of “multiple ethnicity,” whether this assignment is done by the researcher or by the respondent. Racial, national and religious characterizations intersect to create a myriad of combinations. Decisions must be made about how to define an ethnic group's boundaries, and how to assign an individual to one group rather than another. Some of the difficulties involved in treating multiple ethnicities for analytic purposes are exemplified in data from the 1995 Israel Census of Population and Housing on country of birth and country of origin. These difficulties may vitiate the possibility of arriving at a meaningful ethnic categorization in a setting where multiple ethnicity is widespread. The difficulties in characterizing ethnicity in Israel do not arise because the ethnic situation in that country is unique. Rather, they result from and exemplify the process by which ethnic categorizations are created for statistical purposes. In order to understand this process it is necessary to examine its operation in context, and the context is always that of a particular society confronting a particular set of ethnic issues.