Why I Am Not a Jew of Color

Key Findings:

Mijal Bitton—a Sephardic, Syrian, Latina Jew—rejects the label "Jew of Color" (JOC) for herself, despite technically fitting some of its criteria. She explains that while she is often perceived as racially ambiguous or “brown” and has experienced racialized interactions, she finds the JOC label reductive, politicized, and disconnected from the authentic complexity of her Jewish identity.

The term "Jew of Color" imposes a binary American racial framework (Black/white) on Jewish identity, which is historically, ethnically, and geographically diverse. This binary is inappropriate and sometimes damaging when applied to Jews who descend from Middle Eastern, North African, or Latin American communities. For example, Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews like herself may not see themselves within the “people of color” narrative, nor wish to be categorized according to American race politics.

The 2019 report “Counting Inconsistencies” (often cited to claim that 12–15% of American Jews are Jews of color) is criticized for inflating numbers and defining JOCs in overly broad and politicized ways. The goal of this reclassification may be to influence Jewish communal power dynamics, including funding and leadership representation, rather than to reflect lived realities.

Frameworks such as the belief in the existence of “Jews of Color” flatten and politicize Jewish identity, especially when they are driven more by white guilt or progressive activism than by the voices and experiences of non-Ashkenazi Jews themselves.

A more authentic, culturally grounded approach to Jewish diversity is needed—one that reflects the true history and multiplicity of the Jewish people rather than mirroring American racial categories.