Hebrew
: a member of an ancient group of people who lived mostly in the kingdom of Israel and practiced Judaism
: the language of the ancient Hebrews
: the language of modern Israel
http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2002/summer/immigration-law-2.html
...By far the most pressing, and embarrassing, item on the List of Races or Peoples in the late 1930s was the term “Hebrew.”
The American Jewish Committee protested the classification of Hebrew as a race as early as 1930, warning that such “inquisition” into religion by the government was “improper and susceptible of unfortunate abuse.”
At that time, the solicitor for the Department of Labor wrote a long memorandum on the legal requirement for including race— and Hebrew as a race— on both immigration and naturalization forms. The department found the American Jewish Committee’s complaint groundless and rejected their request.
In the following years, as Nazi persecution of Jews in Europe increased, dissatisfaction with the presence of Hebrew on the list widened and deepened...