California wants to grant Jews a unique right that no other state has.

A new bill proposes allowing Jews to identify themselves as an ethnic group on government questionnaires, not just as a religious affiliation. Its supporters believe this is a step toward recognizing the complex and multilayered nature of Jewish identity. The publication examined the bill's intricacies. The New York Times.

The state of California already includes nearly 50 racial and ethnic categories in its data collection systems, from Native American to Samoan. Now, officials are considering adding another one: "Jewish."

The bill, which passed a key committee vote on August 13, would require state agencies to include an additional field for "Jewish ethnicity" on all demographic data forms—from college applications to social assistance applications. If passed, California would become the first state to formally codify this approach and consider Jewishness as more than just a religion—a change whose implications may be far broader than initially thought.

On the subject: Terrorist attack in Colorado: participants of pro-Jewish march suffered serious injuries

Scholars of Jewish identity note that it has long been a source of difficulty in American law and public debate, as Jews do not fit into conventional modern categories of nationality. Moreover, these difficulties and associated misconceptions have existed for centuries.

"When Jews gained civil rights in European nation-states, they were effectively forced to perceive themselves as a religious group," said Leora Batnitzky, a professor of religious studies at Princeton University and author of "How Judaism Became a Religion." "But within the Jewish tradition itself, this was always contested."

Many people who openly identify as Jews don't attend synagogue or even believe in God—yet tradition still considers them Jews. Jewish identity, like belonging to any other people, is usually transmitted by descent. But if a person can't "convert" to another race or ethnicity, they can still convert to Judaism. According to Pew Research Center data from 2021, only 11% of American Jews believe that "being Jewish is primarily a religious affiliation," while the majority associates it with a combination of religion, ancestry, and culture.

Supporters of the California bill argue that SB 1387 aims to clear up this confusion and clearly demonstrate that being Jewish is more than just a religion. From a practical standpoint, it should help the state more accurately estimate the size of the Jewish population and improve data collection, including for hate crime and public health purposes. For example, this would help identify areas for promoting genetic testing for diseases more common in Jewish communities or avoid situations where anti-Semitic attacks are misclassified in reporting.

But beyond these specific objectives, the bill's supporters also hope for a broader effect: to take the first step toward recognizing and clarifying the complex, multifaceted nature of Jewish identity. They argue that adding a separate category should, paradoxically, "pull Jews out of the box," rather than force them into it.

The bill, now headed to the state legislature for a vote, is offered as a solution to a real and long-standing problem—albeit one that is controversial. The complexity of the concept of "Jewishness" has baffled the courts, the public, and even the White House. In 2022, television host Whoopi Goldberg was suspended from ABC's The View for two weeks, after which she apologized for saying that the Holocaust "wasn't about race." This statement reflects the widespread misconception that the persecution of Jews was purely religious, while anti-Semites have long portrayed Jews as an "inferior race."

The problem isn't limited to celebrity statements. It wasn't until 1987 that American law came to the conclusion that attacks on Jews can occur for reasons other than religious ones.

In 1982, a synagogue in Maryland was vandalized by white supremacists. In response, the congregation, citing federal civil rights laws, filed a lawsuit against the attackers. Lower courts initially dismissed the lawsuit. However, in 1987, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously overturned these rulings in Shaare Tefila v. Cobb and recognized that Jews have the right to sue for racial discrimination.

Recent US presidential administrations have also attempted to address this issue. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in federally funded programs based on race, color, or national origin—but not religion.

In 2010, the Barack Obama administration clarified that the law also applies to discrimination against Jews, as well as members of other religious groups, such as Muslims and Sikhs, if the bias is based on real or perceived common ancestry or ethnic characteristics, rather than religious practice. In other words, protection is based not only on how a person defines themselves, but also on how they are perceived by those expressing hostility.

"To prove that you've been a victim of racial discrimination, you don't have to show that you look fundamentally different or have any particular physical characteristics," explained Tufts University political science professor Matthew Segal. "It's enough—whether you're Jewish, Arab, or anyone else—to show that you were treated differently because you were perceived that way."

In 2019, Donald Trump's first administration attempted to further this approach with an executive order defining Jews as a nationality solely for the purposes of anti-discrimination laws. This raised concerns among some observers, who feared (even before the full text of the document was published) that an attempt would be made to define Jews as a separate nation. Many Jews, especially in Israel, genuinely consider themselves part of the Jewish people, while others—including staunch anti-Zionists—reject this formulation.

The California bill emerged precisely in this complex and contradictory environment. Its author, Democratic State Senator Henry Stern, also drew on personal experience. He grew up in a Jewish family that actively preserved cultural traditions but was not particularly religious. His father, actor Daniel Stern, improvised the line "Happy Hanukkah, Marv" in the Christmas comedy "Home Alone 2."

Later, Stern Jr. embraced more traditional practices, including wearing a kippah and observing Shabbat. He says he learned from personal experience that Jewish identity is not limited to religious observances.

"At school, I was teased for being Jewish, even though I didn't wear a kippah or have a Star of David. But they realized I was Jewish and drew a swastika on my backpack," he recalled. "To them, I wasn't just white. To them, I was Jewish."

The bill is supported by Jewish California, a coalition of Jewish organizations, and the California Federation of Teachers. However, some progressive Jewish organizations, including Jewish Voice for Peace, have opposed the bill, citing both financial and ideological concerns.

Even those groups that opposed the bill acknowledge the complexity of the problem, but consider the proposed solution to be incorrect.

"Many American Jews, and likely even more in California, are largely secular and non-observant," the Sacramento chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace said in a statement. "If asked off the cuff, many would say they consider themselves culturally and/or ethnically Jewish. But we strongly oppose SB 1387 because it oversimplifies the issue of identity and could exacerbate antisemitism and lead to other undesirable consequences."

According to this organization, the bill narrows rather than expands the understanding of Jewish identity, reducing Jews to a single ethnic category. Supporters, in turn, emphasize that this is a voluntary option that can be checked alongside any other options.

"I consider myself Jewish in the ethnic sense, but there are many different ethnicities," David Mandel of Jewish Voice for Peace said at a meeting of the California Assembly Judiciary Committee on June 9. "This poorly thought-out and very expensive bill will not provide the state with useful information and will ultimately cost millions of dollars."

You may be interested in: top New York news, stories of our immigrants and helpful tips about life in the Big Apple - read it all on ForumDaily New York

Stern himself takes criticism in stride. "In a sense, that's what being Jewish is all about," he concluded. "To be able to live with contradictions, to be comfortable with paradoxes, and to understand that we are a people, a nation, an ethnicity, and a religion all at once. We don't fit into simple boxes. That's why we're always difficult."

He laughed and added, "It will give us even more reasons to argue around the kitchen table, which is what we've been doing for over 3000 years."

Read also on ForumDaily:

Colombian cartels are sending their fighters to Ukraine to learn drone warfare techniques.

12 features of the American school: impressions of a Russian-speaking immigrant

Russia is organizing information operations and provocations in Europe.

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.