Tracing Roots: Defining the Sephardic Jewish Diaspora

Scott Snyder of Levant in Portland, Ore., has a hard time defining the core influence of the Sephardic Jewish diaspora. The title “Sephardic” originally encapsulated those forced from Spain and Portugal into Africa and the Middle East after 1492, yet Snyder points out it now also applies to Jews of Arab states outside of Palestine who immigrated into Israel. “So my using za’atar,” he says, “falls into Sephardic tradition. It’s a lot broader now.”

Some...