So, I was born in Israel and moved to America at a young age. I have always been confused when standardized tests or forms asked for an ethnicity with a drop down list of "white, asian, native american, hispanic, other". Israel is in Asia but it's considered the Middle East. My parents have always said I'm white, but isn't white ethnically speaking of European descent? Like Germans and Swedes. I always put other. Is this accurate? Am I considered white? I feel like it must be wrong to call a native born in Israel Caucasian. Help!
2013-02-05T20:49:48Z
My family has always lived in Israel and that area. I was just wondering because I am applying for college next year and want to know if I would be considered for minority scholarships.
Quagmire2013-02-06T21:54:34Z
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The U.S. Census categorizes you as White ("White" meaning Europeans, North Africans, and Middle Easterners). Biologically, you are Caucasian, but as an Israeli you are likely genetically and physically somewhat distinct from most Europeans, who are often the only people seen as truly Caucasian by most Americans, however such beliefs are largely incorrect.
Regardless of whether you're Jewish or Arab, you're Caucasian. Levantine Arabs also tend to be lighter-skinned than other Arabs and can often blend in with some Southern Europeans, such as Greeks, Sicilians, or Andalusian Spaniards.
I felt the same way as you did once. Here in NY were I live most Israeli people or Jews all look completely different then each other. I swear there are some who look Middle Eastern some look Completely White and some look almost look Greek. Id say your Middle Eastern since you said that is where Israel is located. I put other too only because I am Biracial.
Where you were born doesn't determine your ethnicity- your heritage does. It doesnt matter if you were born in Israel or America, it matters where your parents and grandparents and great-grandparents (and back and back and back lol) originated from. I was born in America, but don't consider myself ethnically American- just white. On a side note- God bless freaking America.
Out of the given choices, white is the most applicable to your situation :).
White is a nonsense descriptive word that would be better termed as 'raw hot dog'.
People of the Middle East generally fall into the Caucasoid category, for those who use outdated terms. Social race is NOT based on skin colour, but on loose skeletal measurements and size of features. My skin is lighter than a helluva lot of "white" people.....but that won't ever make me white.
My understanding is that you are, in fact, Caucasian. However, you belong to a semitic subrace, which differs from the Aryan subrace usually attributed to Europeans. They are both types of Caucasian.
Overall, it's a tricky issue since many of these classifications have been dismissed as racist nonsense. Just go with whatever your skin colour is.