Term: Ashkenazi Jews

Pronunciation: (ASH-keh-NAH-zee jooz)

Description:

One of two major ancestral groups of Jewish people whose ancestors lived in France and Central and Eastern Europe, including Germany, Poland, and Russia. The other group is called Sephardic Jews and includes those whose ancestors lived in Spain, Portugal, North Africa, and the Middle East. Most Jewish people living in the United States are of Ashkenazi descent.