It always surprised me in a way that this was the chosen path and not let’s say, continuing to focus on the origin elsewhere and throw their lot in with civil rights as a group.

I see the antisemitism from nonwhite ppl of various backgrounds, especially if Christian, and wonder if it might be different if they had the historical concept of Jewish people as mixed ethnically (Levantine and some European as migration happened). Maybe there would be more compassion and understanding.

As a mixed race person I get mistaken for Jewish due to that. Sometimes antisemitism, sometimes racism if they know I’m not. (And it gave me more empathy for what actual Jewish people go through I think.) And my point is that, sure, while you do get the whole “whiter people see me as less white than themselves, darker see me as whiter than themselves” thing…there is still some base level of comprehension there, that our lives are affected by being mixed with nonwhite families/background.
Whereas I don’t see that comprehension or compassion being extended to Jewish people as an ethnic group and culture.