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World Jewish CommunitiesNorth America and the CaribbeanUnited StatesPopulation 270,000,000 Jewish Population 5,200,000 - 5,300,000* Demography
The demographic survey of American Jewry published in 1991 is viewed as a major watershed. The shocking revelations on the current rate of intermarriage (more than 50%) and assimilation aroused a feeling of pessimism in the public life of the largest Jewish community in the world. The study, which was commissioned by the Council of Jewish Federations, estimated at 4.1 million the "core" Jewish population (or 5.8 million based on local community counts). Only 3.5 million belong to families in which both parents are Jews. In the last two to three decades, there has been a double movement of Jews away from the Northeast (and to some extent from the Midwest) to the South and West, and away from the big cities to the suburbs and even to the exurbs. These demo-geographic changes have served to dissolve established Jewish communities and have increased distances between Jewish centers, creating smaller and more dispersed communities. At the same time, many of the Jewish communities in smaller cities and towns are disappearing as Jews are drawn by the opportunities in the large urban agglomerations. History At the time of the Declaration of Independence (1776), there were already 1,500 to 2,500 Jews in the United States.The cultural hegemony of Spanish-Portuguese Jews was slowly reduced in the wake of immigration from Germany. The new arrivals bolstered the Jewish population from 6,000 in 1826 to 15,000 in 1840 and 280,000 in 1880 Beginning in 1881, a wave of immigration from the Russian Empire and other parts of eastern Europe commenced, and by the turn of the century, the Jewish population had already reached 1.1 million. That immigration continued until the imposition, in 1924, of strict quotas designed to restrict the entry of new immigrants from eastern and southern Europe. Until that time, the United States absorbed about two-thirds of the total number of Jewish emigrants leaving eastern Europe. By 1918 the country had already become the largest Jewish community in the world.
In the 1930s, only a small fraction of the Jewish refugees clamoring to escape the threat of Nazism was admitted. Still, by 1940, the Jewish population had risen to 4,500,000, and that number increased after the war when many Holocaust survivors arrived on American shores. In the last 30 years, some 250,000 Israelis have immigrated to the United States, as have 150,000 Soviet Jews, 30,000 Jews from Iran, and thousands of others from Latin America, South Africa, and elsewhere. This immigration offset the community's low birth rate and strong tendency toward assimilation. Jewish immigrants dreamed of the United States as a promised land, a goldene medina, but the reality was harsh. Most newcomers worked at manual labor in appalling conditions. The largest concentration was in New York's Lower East Side, which at one time was home to over 350,000 Jews crammed into a single square mile. The dominant Russian and eastern European element spoke Yiddish and established a rich cultural and religious life. They also banded together with other landsmann (immigrants from the same localities in Europe), and at one point there were 1,200 such landsmannschaft associations in New York. With the passage of time, the patterns of education and occupation changed.
Ever greater numbers of Jews entered the free professions, and Jews distinguished themselves in commerce, industry, and science. Jews play an especially active role in art, communication, and entertainment (including Hollywood films and Broadway theater). The proportion of Jewish university graduates is higher than that of the general population, and Jews hold high positions in government. The number of senators (10) and congressmen (33) reached a peak after the November 1992 elections. Many of the country's outstanding universities are headed by Jews, and all include disproportionately large Jewish student and faculty populations. Jewish cuisine (particularly the bagel) is also enjoyed by non-Jews, and Jewish motifs are an integral part of American culture, constituting a distinct sub culture. Moreover, many Yiddish words have crept into the general idiom (chutzpa, schlep, schlemiel, yenta, meshuga, megilla). Certain Jewish communities form groups that preserve special customs and traditions. These include the Bukharan and Syrian Jews in Queens, New York; Soviet Jews in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, New York; and Iranian Jews in Los Angeles. The United States, particularly Brooklyn, is also the home of many Chassidic groups. Community A Forest of Organizations: It is easy to locate more than 2,000 organizations and 700 federations in many cities, towns, and neighborhoods, and of course, thousands of synagogues. The Jewish community finds expression and fulfillment in a tremendous range of associations and institutions. Many of these inevitably overlap, so there is a considerable degree of duplication. The Council of Jewish Federations (CJF) is the strongest roof organization in terms of allocation of funds and national planning. Various education and welfare boards are connected to the CJF, which also embraces Canadian Jewry. Among the leading voluntary Jewish organizations in the United States are two Jewish advocacy groups: the American Jewish Committee, established by Jews of German origin in 1906, and the American Jewish Congress, which was founded in 1918 by Rabbi Stephen Wise, who later co-founded the World Jewish Congress with Nahum Goldmann. The B'nai B'rith Jewish Brotherhood was founded in 1843 by German immigrants and today focuses on social and welfare activities. These include the lively Hillel chapters on university campuses and several Jewish hospitals. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) was founded in 1913 as a B'nai B'rith committee to combat anti-Semitism, and today operates as an independent organization. In terms of membership, the largest organization is Hadassah, the women's Zionist group, with 385,000 members.
The community's main fundraising instrument is the United Jewish Appeal (UJA). Today the majority of money that is collected is used to meet the domestic needs of American Jewry. About 30% is donated to Israel through the Jewish Agency and the World Zionist Organization. The UJA also finances the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), which alleviates the hardships of many communities around the world. Culture and Education Only about 15% of Jewish children attend Jewish day schools. There are more than 300 Orthodox day schools and more than 50 Conservative ones. Most of the schools of the Reform movement are affiliated with synagogues and only have classes on Sunday. There are two major institutions of higher learning under Jewish auspices: Yeshiva University in New York City and Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. There are also several smaller Jewish colleges and specialized institutes. Many non-sectarian and Christian universities also have programs of Jewish studies. Moreover, there are a number of rabbinical seminaries and teacher-training institutions. Of the former, the most noteworthy are the Isaac Elchanan Seminary connected to Yeshiva University (Orthodox), the Jewish Theological Seminary (Conservative), and the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (Reform). Some of the most outstanding Jewish libraries in the world are located in the United States. Religious Life Each of the three main religious trends-Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform-has its own national association of synagogues and rabbis. The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations also manages the supervision of much of the kosher food produced in the United States. The union has its own rabbinical organization, the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA), and a youth movement. The RCA is ideologically close to the religious Zionist stream. There is also a Union of Orthodox Rabbis, which is close to the Agudath Israel party, as well as other Orthodox rabbinical groups identified with the Satmar, Lubavitch (Chabad), and other Chassidic groups. The Conservative establishment is the United Synagogue Council with its own Rabbinical Assembly. The Reform movement is represented by the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. The Reform rabbinical union is called the Central Conference of American Rabbis. The small Reconstructionist stream has its own college of rabbis in Philadelphia.
Media The American Jewish press is characterized by its great diversity. Virtually every organization has its own organ or bulletin. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) distributes its Daily News Bulletin in the United States and throughout the world. Many Jewish papers depend on this wire service to provide them with coverage of events outside of their immediate communities. There are about 80 Jewish weeklies and several dozen monthlies and quarterlies. Of the once great Yiddish press only a scant number of publications remains. A number of publishers specialize in Jewish works, and many of the non-Jewish publishing houses also print books on Jewish themes. In almost all large Jewish communities there are Jewish radio and television programs. However, the leading source of Jewish and Israeli news is the general American media and its major newspapers. Israel The American-Israeli relationship has been characterized as "special." Washington's relations with Jerusalem have had an important strategic significance for Israel and have prevented its total isolation during critical periods of political pressure, especially during economic and political boycotts. Since 1985 American aid to Israel has amounted to $3 billion per annum, of which $1.8 billion represents military assistance and $1.2 billion is used for the repayment of Israel's debts to Washington. Apart from the embassy in Washington, Israel has a consulate general in New York and consulates in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia, and San Francisco. Aliya: Since 1948, 73,000 American Jews have emigrated to Israel.
Sites Among the leading sites are the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., and the Bet HaShoah-Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. In New York City, the Jewish Museum, the Lower East Side, and the Chassidic neighborhoods such as Boro Park, Williamsburg, and Crown Heights are leading stops on any Jewish visitor's itinerary. The story of the immigrants, Jewish and non-Jewish, is chronicled at Ellis Island, which once served as a reception center for new arrivals. There are also many historic synagogues-first and foremost that of Newport, Rhode Island-a fine example of American colonial architecture. In distinct contrast is the ultra-modern synagogue of Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, which was designed by the famous American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Nearly all of the large communities have a Jewish museum. Consulate General Embassy *source The Jewish People Policy Planning Institute http://www.jpppi.org.il |
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