2030 Census: Why Jews Deserve A Slot Under MENA-American

A new MENA category encompassing all citizens with ethnic origins in the Middle East (which includes Israel/Judea) and North Africa has been approved and will appear on the next nationwide census, which is conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau. Since October of 2023, many American Jews have reconsidered their position in America, and have closely connected to their homeland: Israel.

With Israel (and former Judea) as the nucleus of the Middle East, Jewish-American genes mean that checking “MENA” would only be logical.

This article elucidates the historical basis for including Jewish Americans as Middle Eastern Americans in the 2030 census.

A Brief History of Jewish Presence in the United States

The Jewish presence in the United States can be traced as far back as the colonial period, although Jews did not arrive in large numbers until the late 1800s. The majority of these immigrants were refugees fleeing pogroms and persecution in other Diaspora lands, particularly Eastern Europe. A smaller number consisted of Jewish immigrants directly from Israel (or Mandate Palestine, as it was known then) and from Diaspora lands in other parts of the Middle East.

Jews — irrespective of Diaspora history — comprise a single Levantine-Middle Eastern ethnic group and we were collectively targeted (alongside Syrians, Arabs, etc) by American anti-Asian immigration laws in the pre-WWII period. This caused the  risk of denaturalization and deportation that came with being classified as Asian. As a result, MENA-Americans initiated a successful push for all US citizens of MENA origin to be classified as “white.”

Attorney Simon Wolf advocated to have Jews re-classified solely as a religious faith — a move that some argue was profoundly damaging. This inadvertently fed the fire of antisemitism and enabled it to survive the zeitgeist transition of the 1960s. Whiteness was traditionally seen as an “inherent good.” Something to aspire to. But the post-1960s epoch placed  emphasis on human rights, post-colonialism, and racial justice. By framing Jews as “white” or European, we were prevented from using these tools to advocate on our own community’s behalf. By framing us as “white people,” we would be placed in a position of even greater vulnerability.

So? Why Categorize Jews as Middle Eastern?

Jews a A Levantine-Middle Eastern Ethnic Group. Jews are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Israel, which located in the Middle East. Jews are a Levantine-Middle Eastern ethnic group. Our national language to our core culture to our folklore, holidays, alphabet, and spirituality – are specific to the land of Israel.

It should be noted that Ashkenazi Jews (that is, Jews who recently sojourned in Central/Eastern Europe) are more proximate to non-Jewish Levantine populations than to indigenous Europeans. Genetic studies have repeatedly demonstrated this.

Our culture, our immigration history, and our relationship to European colonial power structures all dovetail more strongly with that of other Middle Eastern peoples than with Europeans (even “non-WASP” Europeans e.g. Irish and Italians).

Ultimately, advocating the creation of a Jewish sub-box under MENA-American would be an affirmative statement, on our part, that we refuse to allow our indigeneity to Israel be minimized or erased.

Middle Eastern-American/European-American Refer To Descent, Not Diaspora History

It is important to delineate the differences between descent and Diaspora history. Many people think these concepts refer to the same thing, but they do not.

Descent does not mean “where my family lived before they wound up here.” It refers to ethnic origin. For example, if someone of Nigerian ethnicity immigrates to the US from England or France, would they be categorized as European-American (thus, white-American)? No. That is because, their recent history in Europe notwithstanding, their ethnic origin is West African. Thus, he/she would be considered African/black-American on the US Census.

Diaspora history, as the term suggests, refers to Diaspora migration route and countries of sojourn. The previous example would be an African-American with Diaspora history in Europe, not an American of European descent.

Despite our long exile in Europe, our ethnicity and ethnic origins are Middle Eastern, not European. This is why Jews outside of the Middle East are collectively referred to as ‘Diaspora Jews’. If our origins were European, we would not consider Europe to be Diaspora, nor would we be considered ‘Diaspora Jews’ in virtually all parts of Europe. Conflating Jews with Diaspora history in Poland with Polish-Americans is erasive and, yes, antisemitic.

Jews Are An Ethnic Minority – Categorizing Us As “White” Obfuscates That

In light of the rapid reemergence and normalization of antisemitism in American culture and the new forms it has taken since WWII, categorizing us as “just a religion” or as “white”/”European” Americans does no favors. If anything, it serves to reinforce falsehoods such as ‘modern Jews do not have roots in Palestine’ and ‘are not an ethnic minority group’ and therefore ‘do not experience racism.’  We are not a group of “privileged” “white” people. By failing the categorize us appropriately, the US government has facilitated antisemitism, making it harder for us to advocate on our own behalf as a non-European ethnic minority community.

Israelis Are Already Included As MENA

Seeing as Israeli-Americans (i.e. Jews who immigrated to the US directly from Israel) are already counted as Middle Eastern-American, it can be safely argued that Jews are already part of the MENA-American community. Thus, it wouldn’t be a leap to extend this categorization to other Diaspora Jews.

Addressing Counter-Arguments

1. “Jews are a religion; categorizing us as a race threatens our religious freedom and our safety” If decades of identifying white has not changed white supremacy’s collective mind about us by now, it’s safe to say that nothing ever will.

The post-emancipation dream of ending antisemitism through mass assimilation is just that: a dream. One that has been holding us back for more than a century. One that needs to be abandoned if we are to achieve any progress.

We should demand that we be accepted for who and what we are: that is, an indigenous ethnic group of the Levant.

2. “Most Jews come from Europe, not the Middle East”

This is incorrect. Most American Jews have Diaspora history in Europe and, as noted above, Diaspora history and origins are categorically not the same thing.

3. “What about converts?”

Converts do not have to mark Jewish under the MENA-American box if they do not want to. Presumably, a Jewish box under “religion” will still exist. The aim here is not to have that box removed. Rather, it is to create a second option that will account for ethnic Jews who may or may not necessarily be religious.

To conclude, it is incumbent on the US Census Bureau to include a Jewish box next to the Israeli one under MENA-American. Categorizing us in any other way would be dangerously inaccurate at best, and pointedly malicious at worst.