By the broadest definition, there are approximately 9 million Jewish adults in America. Among them, 5.3 million are Jewish because they practice the Jewish religion or because they have a Jewish parent and consider themselves Jewish. Non-Hispanic blacks represent 2% of this population. (A Portrait of American Jews) Blacks make up such a small percentage of the Jewish population that they are often considered blatantly "non-Jewish." This is the experience of Rabbi Shlomo ben Levy, in an article entitled “Who are we? Where do we come from? How many of us are there? ", Rabbi Levy describes his feelings of marginalization triggered by an advertisement for Levy's Jewish Rye. The ad features a black boy eating a sandwich and the caption "You don't have to be Jewish to love Levy's." The idea was to feature a child who was clearly not Jewish enjoying Jewish bread, but for Rabbi Levy who is both black and Jewish, it was yet another message that denied its existence. (Who are we?) His experience is not uncommon. In fact, denial of the existence of black Jews dates back at least to the Renaissance. In 1591, Gincarlo Bruno was among the first to attempt to classify people by race. He observed that Jews and Africans had different skin colors and therefore could not share the same ancestry. He insisted that Ethiopians must be descended from a pre-Adamite race and could in no way be Jewish. (Parfitt 1-3) Bruno's theory was completely incorrect and clearly demonstrates ignorance of Jewish law, but perceptions of Jewish ethnicity persist to the point where, in today's America, Jews of any color other than white are an oddity. (Kaye/Kantrowitz 9) This is largely because most American Jews are Ashkenazim, in the middle of the article ...... on: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. 15-32. Print.Wolfson, Bernard J. “African American Jews: Dispelling the Myths, Bridging the Gap.” Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. 33-51. Print."Salomonid Dynasty". Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2014. Web. March 2, 2014 “History”. Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation Beth Shalom B'nai Zaken. Internet. March 3, 2014. “Racist Black Hebrew Israelites Become More Militant. » Southern Poverty Law Center intelligence report. 131 (2008) Internet. March 2. 2014. .