text: My dad is also a Caucasian Jew/Mountain jew , and he won't identify as Azeri. They left in the '90s but he told me that they were always considered just Jews as their nationality by other people and themselves. In the Caucasus, they lived close together. Even here in New York, they were able to form a community. Marriages usually also stayed within the community, however, overtime some married other groups. But yes, it's mostly because of the religion and how others even viewed them. When you ask them what they are, they will say Caucasian Jews and come from Azerbaijan.