Beginning in the late 1800's, many Jews from Eastern Europe immigrated to Israel, then called Palestine. Many more Jews came to Palestine following the Holocaust. The state of Israel was founded in 1948. Because of the long and varied history of the Jews, it is difficult to define a Jew. There is no such thing as a Jewish race.
Jewish identity is a mixture of religious, historical, and ethnic factors.
According to Jewish law, anyone born to a Jewish mother or converted to Judaism is considered a Jew. The branch of Judaism that is known as Reform Judaism also accepts as Jews children born to a non-Jewish mother and a Jewish father. Two Main Groups There are two broad groups of Jews. Most Ashkenazim are descendants of members of Jewish communities of central and Eastern Europe. The Sephardim are descendants of Jews from Spain, Portugal, or other Mediterranean countries and the Middle East.