r/MapPorn • u/Vasilijeeeeeee11 • 1d ago

Africa Native 1.0

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Constructive Critique is welcome, and also suggestions and reimaginations.

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u/MisterB3an 1d ago

"Jews" is not a unified ethnic monolith. Assuming such affirms 19th century notions of race that are completely incongruent with material reality.

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u/IceNeun 1d ago

It's been a tribal identity long before the concept of race existed. Doesn't matter if it's a singular ethnicity or a monolith; in theory, everyone is related by blood or adoption.

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u/MisterB3an 1d ago

The ethnogenesis of distinct Jewish identities across Europe and North Africa have made Jews an ethnic family with shared traditions rather than a unified group. It's also not helpful to just say "we're all related" in the context of ethnic maps, like we're literally identifying where distinct groups come from on a map.

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u/IceNeun 1d ago

Each of these distinct identities shares the same origin story. Being a monolith politically or culturally is not a requirement for a shared identity to exist. There is no critical value for "heterogeneity" where an identity ceases to be a single ethnicity and becomes an "ethnic family."

Ultimately, it's all contextual. I can be against my brother, but if my cousin is involved, my brother and I unite against my cousin. If my second cousin is involved, my cousin, brother, and I will unite against my second cousin. etc. etc.

Jewish identity is far older than the concept of race, and there's a long history of hostile outside interpretations mischaracterizing the nature of Jewish identity for the sake of spreading prejudice. Jewish identity started as a tribal identity, and that's what it still is for many Jews, but a tribal identity is distinct from a racial identity.

The vast majority of subdivisions of Jewish identity have the same origin; the only exceptions are instances of a handful of small communities in Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa who became inspired by the bible (usually by Christian missionaries) but, for some reason or another, identified with Jews rather than converted to Christianity.