Israel is not a nation of "European Jews"

Submitted by Raymond from DC (United States), Jul 21, 2006 at 16:00

To say that Israel is a nation of "European Jews" shows a false understanding of its ethnic makeup. Using round numbers, about 20% are Arabs, 70% are Jews, the rest are a "mixed multitude". Of those Jews, a bit over half are Sephardic (descendants of the Spanish exile) or from "edot ha'mizrah', the "eastern lands". These hail from communities across the sweep of Arab and Islamic lands, from Algeria and Morocco in the west to India and Afghanistan in the east.

Should all of *these* have moved to Europe to create their homeland? Or does it make more sense for all of them to return to the only homeland they've known?

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