Jews

=== Ethnic divisions ===
{{main|Jewish ethnic divisions}}
[[File:Maurycy Gottlieb - Jews Praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Ashkenazi Jews]] of late-19th-century [[Eastern Europe]] portrayed in ''[[Jews Praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur]]'' (1878), by [[Maurycy Gottlieb]]]]
[[File:1900 photo of a Sephardi couple from Sarajevo.png|thumb|upright|[[Sephardi]] Jewish couple from [[Sarajevo]] in traditional clothing. Photo taken in 1900.]]
[[File:Yemenite Elder Blowing Shofat, February 1, 1949.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Yemenite Jews|Yemenite]] Jew blows [[shofar]], 1947]]

Within the world's [[Jewish population]] there are distinct ethnic divisions, most of which are primarily the result of geographic branching from an originating [[Israelite]] population, and subsequent independent evolutions. An array of Jewish communities was established by Jewish settlers in various places around the [[Old World]], often at great distances from one another, resulting in effective and often long-term isolation. During the [[millennia]] of the [[Jewish diaspora]] the communities would develop under the influence of their local environments: [[politics|political]], [[culture|cultural]], [[nature|natural]], and populational. Today, manifestations of these differences among the Jews can be observed in [[Jewish culture|Jewish cultural expressions]] of each community, including [[Jewish languages|Jewish linguistic diversity]], culinary preferences, liturgical practices, religious interpretations, as well as degrees and sources of [[genetic admixture]].<ref>Dosick (2007), p. 60.</ref>

Jews are often identified as belonging to one of two major groups: the ''[[Ashkenazi Jews|Ashkenazim]]'' and the ''[[Sephardi Jews|Sephardim]]''. Ashkenazim are so named in reference to their geographical origins (their ancestors’ culture coalesced in the [[Ashkenazi Jews#etymology|Rhineland]], an area historically referred to by Jews as [[Ashkenaz]]). Similarly, Sephardim ([[Sefarad]] meaning "[[Spain]]" in Hebrew) are named in reference their origins in [[Iberian peninsula|Iberia]]. The diverse groups of Jews of the Middle East and North Africa are often collectively referred to as ''Sephardim'' together with Sephardim proper for liturgical reasons having to do with their [[Nusach (Jewish custom)|prayer rites]]. A common term for many of these non-Spanish Jews who are sometimes still broadly grouped as Sephardim is ''[[Mizrahi Jews|Mizrahim]]'' (lit. “easterners" in Hebrew). Nevertheless, Mizrahis and Sepharadim are usually ethnically distinct.<ref>Dosick (2007), p. 59.</ref>

Smaller groups include, but are not restricted to, [[Jews in India|Indian Jews]] such as the [[Bene Israel]], [[Bnei Menashe]], [[Cochin Jews]], and [[Bene Ephraim]]; the [[Romaniote Jews|Romaniotes]] of Greece; the [[Italian rite Jews|Italian Jews]] ("Italkim" or "Bené Roma"); the [[Teimanim]] from [[Yemen]]; various [[Jews and Judaism in Africa|African Jews]], including most numerously the [[Beta Israel]] of [[Ethiopia]]; and [[History of the Jews in China|Chinese Jews]], most notably the [[Kaifeng Jews]], as well as various other distinct but now almost extinct communities.<ref name=EJ571>{{cite EJ|last=Schmelz|first=Usiel Oscar |first2=Sergio|last2=Della Pergola|title=Demography|volume=5|page=571–572}}</ref>

The divisions between all these groups are approximate and their boundaries are not always clear. The Mizrahim for example, are a heterogeneous collection of [[North Africa]]n, [[Central Asia]]n, [[Caucasus (geographic region)|Caucasian]], and Middle Eastern Jewish communities that are no closer related to each other than they are to any of the earlier mentioned Jewish groups. In modern usage, however, the Mizrahim are sometimes termed ''Sephardi'' due to similar styles of liturgy, despite independent development from Sephardim proper. Thus, among Mizrahim there are [[Egyptian Jews]], [[Iraqi Jews]], [[Lebanese Jews]], [[Kurdish Jews]], [[Moroccan Jews]], [[Libyan Jews]], [[Syrian Jews]], [[Bukharian Jews]], [[Mountain Jews]], [[Georgian Jews]], [[Iranian Jews]], [[Afghan Jews]], and various others. The [[Teimanim]] from [[Yemen]] are sometimes included, although their style of liturgy is unique and they differ in respect to the admixture found among them to that found in Mizrahim. In addition, there is a differentiation made between Sephardi migrants who established themselves in the [[Middle East]] and [[North Africa]] after the expulsion of the Jews from Spain and Portugal in the 1490s and the pre-existing Jewish communities in those regions.<ref name=EJ571 />

Ashkenazi Jews represent the bulk of modern Jewry, with at least 70&nbsp;percent of Jews worldwide (and up to 90&nbsp;percent prior to [[World War II]] and [[the Holocaust]]). As a result of their [[emigration]] from [[Europe]], Ashkenazim also represent the overwhelming majority of Jews in the [[New World]] continents, in countries such as the [[United States]], [[Canada]], [[Argentina]], [[Australia]], and [[Brazil]]. In [[France]], the immigration of Jews from [[Algeria]] (Sephardim) has led them to outnumber the Ashkenazim.{{r|EJ571}} Only in [[Israel]] is the Jewish population representative of all groups, a [[melting pot]] independent of each group's proportion within the overall world Jewish population.<ref>Dosick (2007), p. 61.</ref>