A major new demographic study of Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews in the United States challenges one of the most common assumptions in recent Jewish identity discourse: that Jews from Middle Eastern, North African, and Iberian backgrounds identify as “Jews of color” or fit comfortably within diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) frameworks.
The study, published in August 2025 by JIMENA: Jews Indigenous to the Middle East and North Africa and authored by Dr. Mijal Bitton of NYU, is the most comprehensive examination to date of how Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews understand themselves, their communities, and their place in American Jewish life. It finds that while these Jews represent an estimated 10 percent of American Jewry, most reject being characterized as a racial minority group or as the beneficiaries of DEI initiatives designed for people of color.
Rejecting U.S. Racial Categories
The report’s authors interviewed and surveyed Jews with roots in the Middle East, North Africa, Iberia, Central Asia, and Latin America — including Persian, Syrian, Bukharian, and Latin Sephardic communities. Across these diverse groups, the overwhelming finding was that Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews do not see themselves through the racial lens commonly used in American discourse.
“The overwhelming majority of our interviewees told us they do not identify with the category of Jews of color.”
Participants emphasized family, tradition, and shared history over racial identity. Many found the “Jews of color” label confusing, reductionist, or even alien to their experience. The study notes that conflating Sephardic and Mizrahi identity with U.S. racial categories “risks oversimplifying and mis-capturing lived experience.”
Resistance to DEI Framing
The study goes further, documenting broad resistance to being framed as a minority population in need of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
“Most community members … exhibit a notable resistance to language that frames race as their primary identifier, categorizes them as Jews of color, or positions them as a minority group in need of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.”
Instead, participants emphasized belonging to a continuous Jewish civilization with deep roots in the Middle East and North Africa — an identity that predates both European modernity and American racial categories.
This finding has profound implications for Jewish organizations, universities, and philanthropic foundations that have tried to fold Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews into “Jews of color” programming. According to the report, such efforts often miss the mark because they treat these Jews as marginalized minorities rather than integral participants in the Jewish story.
Strong Communal Identity and Deep Jewish Ties
Demographically, the study found that Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews report higher rates of synagogue attendance, religious observance, and communal involvement than the national Jewish average. They also report stronger emotional connections to Israel and higher levels of Jewish pride.
The study focused on four major communities — Syrian Jews in Brooklyn, Persian Jews in Los Angeles, Bukharian Jews in Queens, and Latin Sephardic Jews in South Florida — each with robust institutions, schools, and philanthropic networks.
This communal vitality, the authors note, often contrasts with narratives that portray these Jews primarily as underrepresented minorities. The findings suggest that, while Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews may experience underrepresentation in some mainstream Jewish institutions, they are far from “disempowered.”
Implications for Jewish Institutions and DEI Practitioners
For Jewish organizations and universities seeking to promote inclusion, the study’s message is clear: listen to how communities define themselves.
Treating Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews as a “diversity category” rather than as self-governing communities with their own traditions, leaders, and institutions risks alienating the very people such programs aim to engage.
Instead, inclusion efforts should:
Prioritize self-definition over imposed labels.
Recognize cultural and historical distinctiveness rather than assuming racial minority status.
Engage Sephardic and Mizrahi institutions as equal partners — not simply beneficiaries of DEI.
Avoid one-size-fits-all frameworks that flatten centuries of Middle Eastern and North African Jewish experience into modern U.S. racial terminology.
Rethinking “Diversity” in Jewish Life
The JIMENA study ultimately challenges a trend in Jewish communal life that has equated “diversity” with race. For Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews, diversity is about cultural heritage, religious practice, and global continuity — not about fitting into America’s racial typologies.
As the authors conclude, meaningful inclusion begins not with labeling but with listening. For institutions that genuinely wish to represent the full breadth of Jewish identity, this study offers both a corrective and a roadmap.