California is considering allowing people to identify Jewish heritage as an ethnicity on state forms, a move that has sparked debate within the community. The state currently recognizes nearly 50 racial and ethnic identities for data collection but treats Jewish identity only as a religion, not an ethnicity.
WHO:California state officials; Jewish community members with differing views
WHAT:Proposal to let people identify Jewish heritage as an ethnicity on state forms; debate over whether singling out Jewish identity is appropriate
WHEN:Reported Sep 6, 2026 at 6:00 AM ET
WHERE:California
WHY:The proposal is driven by California’s existing data-collection framework that recognizes many racial and ethnic identities while treating Jewish identity only as a religion.
Reporting from 1 identified publisher for this event.
