Are Jews a Race Under U.S. Law?

Is being Jewish a race? A national origin? An ethnicity? A religion? All four? The answer is: It’s complicated. To begin with, in late 1800s America, "race" was often used to include groups such as Jews, Arabs, Swedes, Italians, and the like. That’s important, because the Civil Rights Act of 1866 provided that "All persons" have the same rights "to make and enforce contracts ... and to the full and equal benefit of all laws," "as is enjoyed by white citizens." And in Shaare Tefila Congregation v. Cobb (1987), the Supreme Court held that this covered discrimination against Jews (even though most of us would today be generally viewed as "white") and not just against, say, Blacks or Asians.