Jewish identity is multifaceted. In the story of the prophet Jonah, for example, he was asked by the frightened crew of the ship bound for Tarshish (possibly Spain) who he was. He responded that he was a Hebrew as well as a God-fearing man. For Jonah, there was both an ethnic component and a religious or theological component to his identity. The focus of this post will be on the question of ethnicity. Ethnicity is not the same as race. This is a common misconception that many people make.

Ethnic groups share a sense of common origins and history, common cultural traditions, a common language, and other shared characteristics. Perhaps the best example of the diversity that can exist within a single ethnic group is that of Hispanics.

The word Hispanic, derived from Hispania (or Spania), the name for Spain used by the Romans and later the Byzantine Empire, in reality encompasses many different racial groups and national backgrounds. It........

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