Poll Needed a ‘Sephardic’ Option
Your poll “What kind of Jew do you consider yourself?” (June 12) omits at least one important category, Sephardic, while including Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist, Humanist, Observant, Cultural and Other as choices.
Perhaps it was omitted because those who constructed the poll see “Sephardic” as strictly an ethnic category that would include all non-Ashkenazi Jews.
While it is true that many, but certainly not all, Sephardim today identify or associate with one of the streams of Judaism that developed in the Ashkenazi world — Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist, etc., all of which are included in your survey — many Sephardim, whether or not they associate with any Ashkenazi stream of Judaism, see Sephardic Judaism as unique and as their primary Jewish identity.
This includes Sephardic Jews who are halachically observant and reject terms for Ashkenazi streams of Judaism such as “Orthodox” because these are not organic Sephardic concepts. It also includes Sephardic Jews who are not 100% halachically observant, as well as Sephardic Jews who embrace the religious “Sephardic humanist” tradition embodied by Rambam and Bahya ibn Paquda (that tradition, however, differs starkly from Ashkenazi-origin Humanism, which rejects the God of the Torah).
In summary, many Sephardic Jews see Sephardic Judaism as an all-embracing concept and may find terms such as “observant,” “cultural” and “other” totally inadequate for expressing their primary Jewish identity. Such Sephardic Jews may also find Ashkenazi streams of Judaism such as Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist and Humanist inadequate for expressing their primary Jewish identity. With respect, I suggest that the term “Sephardic’’ be added to your list of options the next time you conduct this poll. ■
Franz Afraim Katzir
Director, Sephardic Heritage International (SHIN) DC
and Sephardic Museum of Multicultural Arts (SMOMA)