Actually, there are several different types of ethnicities described as Jewish (e.g., Ashkenazi). It’s almost as if a group of people of a certain religion have been so marginalized and isolated, whether de jure or de facto, for centuries and it was enough for ethnogensis to occur. Also, looking at genetics, most (or all?) Jewish ethnolinguistic groups trace their roots to the Levant (part of the Middle East, where Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and parts Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt are located)