America is home to almost 20 percent more Jews than previously estimated, according to a study released Wednesday by Brandeis University.
There are 6 million to 6.4 million American Jews, rather than the 5.2 million counted by the 2000-01 National Jewish Population Study. Children, young adults and non-Orthodox Jews came in at higher percentages in the new study, done by the Massachusetts university’s Steinhardt Social Research Institute.
Most of the new numbers are non-Orthodox Jews, so that the Orthodox are a smaller percentage of the total: 6 percent to 8 percent, versus the usual guess of 8 percent to 10 percent.
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4 Responses
Who are counted as Jews? Does Brandeis have a criteria for being Jewish, or is it depended on how many bagels, herring and gefilte fish is bought in that community? There are groups of Jews that like to hear that there are still more Jews in the USA than in Israel, I would think this # is super inflated.
IMHO, the number is inflated relative to non-frum Jews, because they count people who are Halachically non-Jews. It is deflated relative to frum Jews, since most frum Jews are either not contacted by the pollsters, or don’t answer these polls.
That is very possible, noting that there are 1 millions Israelis now living in America. Also a possible reason for the inflated numbers are the counting of deceased people. These names never taken off the lists. My father O”B is gone 19 years and still gets mail. Besides, is this counting allowed? Am I to feel proud now?
I just want to know who gets all the 1/2 shekels that they used to count yidden.