Different groups around the world have an affinity with the Jewish People. Researching these affiliated groups is a complicated task, but an important one nonetheless.
Dr Daniel Staetsky
Researching Jewish identity worldwide usually means concentrating on the major Jewish centres of the world, mainly those in Israel, the United States and Europe. Earlier this year, JPR published a major report on the different Jewish identities of European Jews, exploring the responses of over 16,000 Jews in twelve European countries, all of whom participated in the 2018 European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights survey (undertaken by JPR), the largest survey of its kind to date. Although focusing on the major Jewish communities provides the best overview of the Jewish People as a whole, it also carries the risk of missing out on some of the most interesting developments in Jewish identity that sometimes occur on the edges of Jewishness.
One such recent development is the existence of the different groups around the world who have an affinity with the Jewish People. Groups such as the Igbo Jews in Nigeria, the Kaifeng Jews in China, and the communities of Bnei Anusim in South America: new groups of people returning to Judaism after learning that their grandparents hid their Jewish identity, fearing discrimination or even worse; and religious groups in India and developing countries who have adopted the Bible and seek to get closer to Judaism. One might treat these emerging groups as a side note, something to read about but not to account for, but the truth is that these groups may consist of millions of people worldwide, and it seems as if they are growing.
However, accounting for these groups is not an easy task when it comes to research. The accepted definitions of ‘who is a Jew?’ in Jewish demography today consist of the ‘core’ Jewish population – people who self-identify as Jews; people with at least one Jewish parent; the ‘enlarged’ Jewish population – anyone who either self-identifies as Jewish or has a Jewish parent, along with their household members; and the ‘Law of Return’ Jewish population – consisting usually of anyone with a Jewish grandparent, who is therefore eligible for Israeli citizenship. So how does one account for the Igbo Jews, consisting of members of the Igbo people of Nigeria, who, over the past fifty years – and more vigorously since the 1990s – have adopted the Bible and its teachings? How does one account for the Kaifeng Jews, whose members claim to be descendants of the Jewish community that existed in the Henan province in China between the tenth and nineteenth centuries? How does one account for the different groups in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Peru and other Latin American countries, claiming to be descendants of Bnei Anusim – Jews who were forced to convert to Christianity? Some of these groups do not fit neatly into any of the existing definitions.
How does one account for the Igbo Jews, consisting of members of the Igbo people of Nigeria, who, over the past fifty years – and more vigorously since the 1990s – have adopted the Bible and its teachings?
Last month, Professor Sergio DellaPergola (Chairman of JPR’s European Demography Unit) and Dr Daniel Staetsky (JPR’s European Demography Unit Director) were invited to participate in ‘Distant Relatives’ - an innovative conference looking at existing groups with an affinity to the Jewish People, that took place in Israel. Together they contributed from their extensive experience researching Jewish populations around the world, as well as learned and discussed new methods with other researchers in the field. Researching these affiliated groups is a complicated task, both theoretically (can we define these groups as ‘Jewish’?) and methodologically (how can we accurately estimate the population in countries where there is no detailed national census survey asking the ‘right’ questions, and with little to no organised institutions such as schools and registered synagogues?).
However complicated a task this might be, it is an important one. Alongside the professional challenges, it was heart-warming to learn about these groups who decide to adopt Jewish principles – for whatever reasons that might be; who feel authentically connected to the Jewish People around the world; and who share many values with other Jewish communities, including a connection to Israel and a belief in the importance of fighting antisemitism and discrimination.
Distant relatives indeed.
Dr Daniel Staetsky
Senior Research Fellow and Director of JPR's European Demography Unit
Dr Daniel Staetsky
Senior Research Fellow and Director of JPR's European Demography Unit
Daniel holds a PhD in Social Statistics and Demography from the University of Southampton and a Master’s degree in Population Studies from the Hebrew University...
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