Threads about Sphardim becoming too Ashkenaz happen a lot in the CR. I personally believe that this narrative about Sphardim being ashamed and wishing they were Ashkenazi is completely made up. From what I’ve seen, it’s common for Ashkenazim to go to Sphardi communities because they think it’s cool and different (you can see evidence of that occurrence in this very thread). The problem is that that can wear down the Sphardi integrity of the shul. For example, the oldest community in America is a Spanish shul on the upper west side. They still follow Spanish/Portuguese custom to the letter when in shul. However, of the hundreds of congregants they have, you can count the actual Sephardim on one hand, of the three Rabbis, only one is Sephardi.
I’ve heard this isn’t uncommon. It’s not that the Sphardim are leaving their communities, it’s that the Ashkenazim are flooding them.
I have no idea about what it’s like in Israel. I was told there are more religious Sphardim over there than there are religious Ashkenazim. Is that true?