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American Jews
please note:
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{{Short description|American nationals and citizens who are Jewish}}{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2012}}- the content below is remote from Wikipedia
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History
{{Further|Antisemitism in the United States|History of antisemitism in the United States}}Jews were present in the Thirteen Colonies since the mid-17th century.WEB,www.jewsinamerica.org/, Jews in America: Portal to American Jewish History, February 15, 2015, www.jewsinamerica.org, May 5, 2018,www.jewsinamerica.org/," title="web.archive.org/web/20180505164009www.jewsinamerica.org/,">web.archive.org/web/20180505164009www.jewsinamerica.org/, live, WEB,www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Kahalsyn.html, Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim Synagogue, jewishvirtuallibrary.org, 2014, January 20, 2016, December 3, 2016,web.archive.org/web/20161203093109/https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Kahalsyn.html, live, However, they were small in number, with at most 200 to 300 having arrived by 1700.EJ, Atkin, Maurice, etal, United States of America, 20, 305, Those early arrivals were mostly Sephardi Jewish immigrants, of Western Sephardic (also known as Spanish and Portuguese Jewish) ancestry,WEB,www.nps.gov/nr/travel/charleston/kah.htm, Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim Synagogue, nps.gov, January 20, 2016, March 15, 2016,www.nps.gov/nr/travel/charleston/kah.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20160315222519www.nps.gov/nr/travel/charleston/kah.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20160315222519www.nps.gov/nr/travel/charleston/kah.htm, live, but by 1720, Ashkenazi Jews from diaspora communities in Central and Eastern Europe predominated.For the first time, the English Plantation Act 1740 permitted Jews to become British citizens and emigrate to the colonies. The first famous Jew in U.S. history was Chaim Salomon, a Polish-born Jew who emigrated to New York and played an important role in the American Revolution. He was a successful financier who supported the patriotic cause and helped raise most of the money needed to finance the American Revolution.WEB, Tzvi, 2017-04-20, The Jew who Financed the American Revolution,aish.com/the-jew-who-financed-the-american-revolution/, 2023-10-09, Aish.com, en-US, November 27, 2022,web.archive.org/web/20221127054734/https://aish.com/the-jew-who-financed-the-american-revolution/, live, Despite the fact that some of them were denied the right to vote or hold office in local jurisdictions, Sephardi Jews became active in community affairs in the 1790s, after they were granted political equality in the five states where they were most numerous.Alexander DeConde, Ethnicity, Race, and American Foreign Policy: A History {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221121045340books.google.com/books?lr=&id=XOlcL8kgrZgC&q= |date=November 21, 2022 }}, p. 52 Until about 1830, Charleston, South Carolina had more Jews than anywhere else in North America. Large-scale Jewish immigration commenced in the 19th century, when, by mid-century, many German Jews had arrived, migrating to the United States in large numbers due to antisemitic laws and restrictions in their countries of birth.WEB, Sarna, Jonathan, Golden, Jonathan, The American Jewish Experience through the Nineteenth Century: Immigration and Acculturation,nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/nineteen/nkeyinfo/judaism.htm, The National Humanities Center, TeacherServe, 27 April 2016, May 1, 2016,nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/nineteen/nkeyinfo/judaism.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20160501030159nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/nineteen/nkeyinfo/judaism.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20160501030159nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/nineteen/nkeyinfo/judaism.htm, live, They primarily became merchants and shop-owners. Gradually early Jewish arrivals from the east coast would travel westward, and in the fall of 1819 the first Jewish religious services west of the Appalachian Range were conducted during the High Holidays in Cincinnati, the oldest Jewish community in the Midwest. Gradually the Cincinnati Jewish community would adopt novel practices under the leadership Rabbi Isaac Meyer Wise, the father of Reform Judaism in the United States,ENCYCLOPEDIA,www.isjl.org/history/archive/tn/HistoryofTempleIsrael.htm, History of Temple Israel, Goldring / Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life, Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities, Jackson, Mississippi, 2006, July 22, 2010, dead,www.isjl.org/history/archive/tn/HistoryofTempleIsrael.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20120402064203www.isjl.org/history/archive/tn/HistoryofTempleIsrael.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20120402064203www.isjl.org/history/archive/tn/HistoryofTempleIsrael.htm, April 2, 2012, such as the inclusion of women in minyan.{{Jewish Encyclopedia|inline=1|title=WISE, ISAAC MAYER|url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/14954-wise-isaac-mayer|last1=Adler|first1=Cyrus|author-link1=Cyrus Adler|last2=Philipson|first2=David|author-link2=David Philipson|access-date=Dec 3, 2015}}Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography:- I. M. Wise, Reminiscences, transl. from the German and ed. by David Philipson, Cincinnati, 1901;
- Selected Writings of Isaac M. Wise, with a biography by David Philipson and Louis Grossmann, ib. 1900;
- The American Israelite, 1854–1900, passim, and the Jubilee number, 30 June 1904. A large community grew in the region with the arrival of German and Lithuanian Jews in the latter half of the 1800s, leading to the establishment of Manischewitz, one of the largest producers of American kosher products and now based in New Jersey, and the oldest continuously published Jewish newspaper in the United States, and second-oldest continuous published in the world, The American Israelite, established in 1854 and still extant in Cincinnati.NEWS,blog.newspapers.library.in.gov/73-years-of-the-jewish-post/, 73 Years of The Jewish Post, November 9, 2015, Hoosier State Chronicles: Indiana’s Digital Newspaper Program, July 29, 2018, en-US, July 30, 2018,web.archive.org/web/20180730021937/https://blog.newspapers.library.in.gov/73-years-of-the-jewish-post/, live, By 1880 there were approximately 250,000 Jews in the United States, many of them being the educated, and largely secular, German Jews, although a minority population of the older Sephardi Jewish families remained influential.
Self-identity
Scholars debate whether the historical experience of Jews in the United States has been such a unique experience as to validate American exceptionalism.Tony Michels, “Is America ‘Different’? A Critique of American Jewish Exceptionalism,” American Jewish History, 96 (Sept. 2010), 201–24; David Sorkin, “Is American Jewry Exceptional? Comparing Jewish Emancipation in Europe and America,” American Jewish History, 96 (Sept. 2010), 175–200.Korelitz (1996) shows how American Jews during the late 19th and early 20th centuries abandoned a racial definition of Jewishness in favor of one that embraced ethnicity. The key to understanding this transition from a racial self-definition to a cultural or ethnic one can be found in the Menorah Journal between 1915 and 1925. During this time contributors to the Menorah promoted a cultural, rather than a racial, religious, or other views of Jewishness as a means to define Jews in a world that threatened to overwhelm and absorb Jewish uniqueness. The journal represented the ideals of the menorah movement established by Horace M. Kallen and others to promote a revival in Jewish cultural identity and combat the idea of race as a means to define or identify peoples.JOURNAL, Seth, Korelitz, The Menorah Idea: From Religion to Culture, From Race to Ethnicity, American Jewish History, 1997, 85, 1, 75–100, 0164-0178, Siporin (1990) uses the family folklore of ethnic Jews to their collective history and its transformation into a historical art form. They tell us how Jews have survived being uprooted and transformed. Many immigrant narratives bear a theme of the arbitrary nature of fate and the reduced state of immigrants in a new culture. By contrast, ethnic family narratives tend to show the ethnicity more in charge of his life, and perhaps in danger of losing his Jewishness altogether. Some stories show how a family member successfully negotiated the conflict between ethnic and American identities.JOURNAL, Steve, Siporin, Immigrant and Ethnic Family Folklore, Western States Jewish History, 1990, 22, 3, 230–242, 0749-5471, After 1960, memories of the Holocaust, together with the Six-Day War in 1967 had major impacts on fashioning Jewish ethnic identity. Some have argued that the Holocaust highlighted for Jews the importance of their ethnic identity at a time when other minorities were asserting their own.BOOK, Peter, Novick, The Holocaust in American Life,archive.org/details/holocaustinameri00novi, registration, 1999, Houghton Mifflin, 9780395840092, BOOK, Hilene, Flanzbaum, The Americanization of the Holocaust, 1999, JOURNAL, Monty Noam, Penkower, Shaping Holocaust Memory, American Jewish History, 2000, 88, 1, 127–132, 0164-0178, 10.1353/ajh.2000.0021, 161364396,Politics
{|class=“wikitable sortable” style="float:left; font-size:90%; margin:0 0 1em 1em;“|+Jewish vote to the Democratic Party in Presidential elections since 1916Participation in civil rights movements
{{See also|Jews in the civil rights movement}}Members of the American Jewish community have included prominent participants in civil rights movements. In the mid-20th century, there were American Jews who were among the most active participants in the Civil Rights Movement and feminist movements. A number of American Jews have also been active figures in the struggle for gay rights in America.Joachim Prinz, president of the American Jewish Congress, stated the following when he spoke from the podium at the Lincoln Memorial during the famous March on Washington on August 28, 1963: “As Jews we bring to this great demonstration, in which thousands of us proudly participate, a twofold experience—one of the spirit and one of our history.{{nbsp}}... From our Jewish historic experience of three and a half thousand years we say: Our ancient history began with slavery and the yearning for freedom. During the Middle Ages my people lived for a thousand years in the ghettos of Europe.{{nbsp}}... It is for these reasons that it is not merely sympathy and compassion for the black people of America that motivates us. It is, above all and beyond all such sympathies and emotions, a sense of complete identification and solidarity born of our own painful historic experience.“WEB,www.joachimprinz.com/civilrights.htm, Joachim Prinz March on Washington Speech, joachimprinz.com, May 25, 2008, March 11, 2008,www.joachimprinz.com/civilrights.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20080311082528www.joachimprinz.com/civilrights.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20080311082528www.joachimprinz.com/civilrights.htm, live, WEB,www.crmvet.org/info/mowprog.htm, Veterans of the Civil Rights Movement – March on Washington, Civil Rights Movement Archive, June 2, 2008, July 23, 2008,www.crmvet.org/info/mowprog.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20080723183053www.crmvet.org/info/mowprog.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20080723183053www.crmvet.org/info/mowprog.htm, live,The Holocaust
During the World War II period, the American Jewish community was bitterly and deeply divided and as a result, it was unable to form a united front. Most Jews who had previously emigrated to the United States from Eastern Europe supported Zionism, because they believed that a return to their ancestral homeland was the only solution to the persecution and the genocide which were then occurring across Europe. One important development was the sudden conversion of many American Jewish leaders to Zionism late in the war.Henry L. Feingold, A Time for Searching: Entering the Mainstream, 1920–1945 (1992), pp. 225–65 The Holocaust was largely ignored by American media as it was happening. Reporters and editors largely did not believe the stories of atrocities which were coming out of Europe.JOURNAL, Korman, Gerd, 1987, Mass Murder Hides Holocaust: Beyond Belief: The American Press and the Coming of the Holocaust, 1933–1945 by Deborah E. Lipstadt, Reviews in American History, 15, 3, 474–479, 2702047, 10.2307/2702047, The Holocaust had a profound impact on the Jewish community in the United States, especially after 1960 as Holocaust education improved, as Jews tried to comprehend what had happened during it, and especially as they tried to commemorate it and grapple with it when they looked to the future. Abraham Joshua Heschel summarized this dilemma when he attempted to understand Auschwitz: “To try to answer is to commit a supreme blasphemy. Israel enables us to bear the agony of Auschwitz without radical despair, to sense a ray [of] God’s radiance in the jungles of history.“Staub (2004) p. 80International affairs
File:Winston Churchill and Bernard Baruch talk in car in front of Baruch’s home, 14 April 1961.jpg|thumb|Winston Churchill and Bernard BaruchBernard BaruchZionism became a well-organized movement in the U.S. with the involvement of leaders such as Louis Brandeis and the promise of a reconstituted homeland in the Balfour Declaration.Melvin I. Urofsky, Louis D. Brandeis: A Life (2009) p. 515 Jewish Americans organized large-scale boycotts of German merchandise during the 1930s to protest Nazi Germany. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s leftist domestic policies received strong Jewish support in the 1930s and 1940s, as did his anti-Nazi foreign policy and his promotion of the United Nations. Support for political Zionism in this period, although growing in influence, remained a distinctly minority opinion among Jews in the United States until about 1944–45, when the early rumors and reports of the systematic mass murder of the Jews in Nazi-occupied countries became publicly known with the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps and extermination camps. The founding of the modern State of Israel in 1948 and recognition thereof by the American government (following objections by American isolationists) was an indication of both its intrinsic support and its response to learning the horrors of the Holocaust.This attention was based on a natural affinity toward and support for Israel in the Jewish community. The attention is also because of the ensuing and unresolved conflicts regarding the founding of Israel and the role for the Zionist movement going forward. A lively internal debate commenced, following the Six-Day War. The American Jewish community was divided over whether or not they agreed with the Israeli response; the great majority came to accept the war as necessary.Staub (2004) Similar tensions were aroused by the 1977 election of Menachem Begin and the rise of Revisionist policies, the 1982 Lebanon War and the continuing administrative governance of portions of the West Bank territory.Roberta Strauss Feuerlicht. “The Fate of the Jews, A people torn between Israeli Power and Jewish Ethics”. Times Books, 1983. {{ISBN|0-8129-1060-5}} Disagreement over Israel’s 1993 acceptance of the Oslo Accords caused a further split among American Jews;BOOK, Ofira, Seliktar, The Changing Identity of American Jews, Israel and the Peace Process, Danny, Ben-Moshe, Zohar, Segev, Israel, the Diaspora, and Jewish Identity,books.google.com/books?id=1bXETKMOI1cC&pg=PA126, January 20, 2016, 2007, Sussex Academic Press, 978-1-84519-189-4, 126, The 1993 Oslo Agreement made this split in the Jewish community official. Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin’s handshake with Yasir Arafat during the September 13 White House ceremony elicited dramatically opposed reactions among American Jews. To the liberal universalists the accord was highly welcome news. As one commentator put it, after a year of tension between Israel and the United States, “there was an audible sigh of relief from American and Jewish liberals. Once again, they could support Israel as good Jews, committed liberals, and loyal Americans.” The community “could embrace the Jewish state, without compromising either its liberalism or its patriotism”. However, to some right wing Jews, the peace treaty was worrisome. From their perspective, Oslo was not just an affront to the sanctity of how they interpreted their culture, but also a personal threat to the lives and livelihood in the West Bank and Gaza, territory which was historically known as “Judea and Samaria”. For these Jews, such as Morton Klein, the president of the Zionist organization of America, and Norman Podhoretz, the editor of Commentary, the peace treaty amounted to an appeasement of Palestinian terrorism. They and others repeatedly warned that the newly established Palestinian Authority (PA) would pose a serious security threat to Israel.,archive.org/details/israeldiasporaje0000unse/page/126, this mirrored a similar split among Israelis and led to a parallel rift within the pro-Israel lobby, and even ultimately to the United States for its “blind” support of Israel. Abandoning any pretense of unity, both segments began to develop separate advocacy and lobbying organizations. The liberal supporters of the Oslo Accord worked through Americans for Peace Now (APN), Israel Policy Forum (IPF) and other groups friendly to the Labour government in Israel. They tried to assure Congress that American Jewry was behind the Accord and defended the efforts of the administration to help the fledgling Palestinian Authority (PA), including promises of financial aid. In a battle for public opinion, IPF commissioned a number of polls showing widespread support for Oslo among the community.In opposition to Oslo, an alliance of conservative groups, such as the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), Americans For a Safe Israel (AFSI), and the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) tried to counterbalance the power of the liberal Jews. On October 10, 1993, the opponents of the Palestinian-Israeli accord organized at the American Leadership Conference for a Safe Israel, where they warned that Israel was prostrating itself before “an armed thug”, and predicted and that the “thirteenth of September is a date that will live in infamy”. Some Zionists also criticized, often in harsh language, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres, his foreign minister and chief architect of the peace accord. With the community so strongly divided, AIPAC and the Presidents Conference, which was tasked with representing the national Jewish consensus, struggled to keep the increasingly antagonistic discourse civil. Reflecting these tensions, Abraham Foxman from the Anti-Defamation League was asked by the conference to apologize for criticizing ZOA’s Morton Klein. The conference, which under its organizational guidelines was in charge of moderating communal discourse, reluctantly censured some Orthodox spokespeople for attacking Colette Avital, the Labor-appointed Israeli Consul General in New York and an ardent supporter of that version of a peace process.JOURNAL, Scott, Lasensky, Barry, Rubin,meria.idc.ac.il/journal/2002/issue1/jv6n1a7.html, Underwriting Peace in the Middle East: U.S. Foreign Policy and the Limits of Economic Inducements, Middle East Review of International Affairs, 6, 1, March 2002, dead,meria.idc.ac.il/journal/2002/issue1/jv6n1a7.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20090510071636meria.idc.ac.il/journal/2002/issue1/jv6n1a7.html,">web.archive.org/web/20090510071636meria.idc.ac.il/journal/2002/issue1/jv6n1a7.html, May 10, 2009, The Palestinian aid effort was certainly not helped by the heated debate that quickly developed inside the Beltway. Not only was the Israeli electorate divided on the Oslo accords, but so, too, was the American Jewish community, particularly at the leadership level and among the major New York and Washington-based public interest groups. American Jews opposed to Oslo joined Israelis “who brought their domestic issues to Washington” and together they pursued a campaign that focused most of its attention on Congress and the aid program. The dynamic was new to Washington. The Administration, the Rabin-Peres government, and some American Jewish groups teamed on one side while Israeli opposition groups and anti-Oslo American Jewish organizations pulled Congress in the other direction.,Demographics
{{further|Jews in New York City}}(File:American Jews by state.svg|thumb|upright=1.8|Jewish Americans by state according to the American Jewish Yearbook, 2020 and the U.S. Census Bureau)As of 2020, the American Jewish population is, depending on the method of identification, either the largest in the world, or the second-largest in the world (after Israel).Precise population figures vary depending on whether Jews are accounted for based on halakhic considerations, or secular, political and ancestral identification factors. There were about four million adherents of Judaism in the U.S. as of 2001, approximately 1.4% of the US population. According to the Jewish Agency, for the year 2017 Israel was home to 6.5 million Jews (49.3% of the world’s Jewish population), while the United States contained 5.3 million (40.2%).WEB,www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/903585.html, Haaretz Daily Newspaper Israel, Jewish Agency: 13.2 million Jews worldwide on eve of Rosh Hashanah, 5768, Pfeffer, Anshel, October 18, 2017,haaretz.com/hasen/spages/903585.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20071011130459haaretz.com/hasen/spages/903585.html,">web.archive.org/web/20071011130459haaretz.com/hasen/spages/903585.html, October 11, 2007, dead, According to Gallup and Pew Research Center findings, “at maximum 2.2% of the U.S. adult population has some basis for Jewish self-identification.“NEWS,news.gallup.com/opinion/polling-matters/265898/american-jews-politics-israel.aspx, American Jews, Politics and Israel, Newport, Frank, 2019-08-27, gallup.com, 2019-09-09, A 2013 Pew Research Center analysis of Jewish identification showed that in addition to the 1.8% of U.S. adults who identified their religion as Jewish (very similar to Gallup’s estimate), another small percentage of Americans who did not initially say their religion was Jewish identified their secular heritage as Jewish. According to this research, at maximum 2.2% of the U.S. adult population has some basis for Jewish self-identification., September 5, 2019,web.archive.org/web/20190905175756/https://news.gallup.com/opinion/polling-matters/265898/american-jews-politics-israel.aspx, live, In 2020, it was estimated by demographers Arnold Dashefsky & Ira M. Sheskin in the American Jewish Yearbook that the American Jewish population totaled 7.15 million, making up 2.17% of the country’s 329.5 million inhabitants.NEWS, Population, Population Change, and Estimated Components of Population Change: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2020 (NST-EST2020-alldata),www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/technical-documentation/research/evaluation-estimates.html, The United States Census Bureau, United States Census Bureau, 22 December 2020,web.archive.org/web/20201222173239/https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/technical-documentation/research/evaluation-estimates.html, December 22, 2020, live, In 2012, demographers estimated the core American Jewish population (including religious and non-religious) to be 5,425,000 (or 1.73% of the US population in 2012), citing methodological failures in the previous higher estimates.Sergio DellaPergola. “World Jewish Population, 2012.” The American Jewish Year Book (2012) (Dordrecht: Springer) pp. 212–283 Other sources say the number is around 6.5 million.The American Jewish Yearbook population survey had placed the number of American Jews at 6.4 million, or approximately 2.1% of the total population. This figure is significantly higher than the previous large scale survey estimate, conducted by the 2000–2001 National Jewish Population estimates, which estimated 5.2 million Jews. A 2007 study released by the Steinhardt Social Research Institute (SSRI) at Brandeis University presents evidence to suggest that both these figures may be underestimations with a potential 7.0–7.4 million Americans of Jewish descent.WEB, Brandeis University Study Finds that American-Jewish Population is Significantly Larger than Previously Thought,download.2164.net/PDF-newsletters/jewishpopulation.pdf, 30 November 2013, October 2, 2013,download.2164.net/PDF-newsletters/jewishpopulation.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20131002122538download.2164.net/PDF-newsletters/jewishpopulation.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20131002122538download.2164.net/PDF-newsletters/jewishpopulation.pdf, dead, Those higher estimates were however arrived at by including all non-Jewish family members and household members, rather than surveyed individuals. In a 2019 study by Jews of Color Initiative it was found that approximately 12-15% of Jews in the United States, about 1,000,000 of 7,200,000 identify as multiracial and Jews of color.NEWS, Yellin, Deena, Subjected to anti-Semitism and racism, Jews of color feel ‘stuck in the middle’,www.northjersey.com/story/news/local/2020/08/27/jewish-people-of-color-grapple-with-bigotry-two-fronts/5444526002/, 2021-02-24, North Jersey Media Group, en-US, September 22, 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200922020243/https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/local/2020/08/27/jewish-people-of-color-grapple-with-bigotry-two-fronts/5444526002/, live, NEWS, Dolsten, Josefin, US Jewish recognition of Jews of color took decades of sweat, blood and tears,www.timesofisrael.com/us-jewish-recognition-of-jews-of-color-took-decades-of-sweat-blood-and-tears/, 2021-02-24, www.timesofisrael.com, en-US, January 26, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210126163304/https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-jewish-recognition-of-jews-of-color-took-decades-of-sweat-blood-and-tears/, live, WEB, How Many Jews of Color Are There? – eJewish Philanthropy,ejewishphilanthropy.com/how-many-jews-of-color-are-there/, 2021-02-24, ejewishphilanthropy.com, May 17, 2020, March 1, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210301061555/https://ejewishphilanthropy.com/how-many-jews-of-color-are-there/, live, WEB, 2019-05-16, PRESS RELEASE: Population of Jews of Color is Increasing in U.S., Despite Undercounting in Population Studies {{!, Leichtag Foundation|url=https://leichtag.org/press-release-population-of-jews-of-color-is-increasing-in-u-s-despite-undercounting-in-population-studies/|access-date=2021-02-24|website=leichtag.org|language=en-US|archive-date=February 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210222025933leichtag.org/press-release-population-of-jews-of-color-is-increasing-in-u-s-despite-undercounting-in-population-studies/|url-status=live}}WEB, Kelman, Dr. Ari Y, Tapper, Dr. Aaron Hahn, Fonseca, Ms. Izabel, Saperstein, Dr. Aliya, May 2019, An Analysis of American Jewish Population Studies, with a Focus on Jews of Color,jewsofcolorfieldbuilding.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Counting-Inconsistencies-052119.pdf, The Jews of Color Initiative, February 24, 2021, February 13, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210213130219/https://jewsofcolorfieldbuilding.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Counting-Inconsistencies-052119.pdf, live, The population of Americans of Jewish descent is demographically characterized by an aging population composition and low fertility rates significantly below generational replacement.The National Jewish Population Survey of 1990 asked 4.5 million adult Jews to identify their denomination. The national total showed 38% were affiliated with the Reform tradition, 35% were Conservative, 6% were Orthodox, 1% were Reconstructionists, 10% linked themselves to some other tradition, and 10% said they are “just Jewish.“BOOK, Jack, Wertheimer, Jews in the Center: Conservative Synagogues and Their Members,books.google.com/books?id=U_nEoAZ6ffgC&pg=PA68, 2002, Rutgers University Press, 68, 9780813532066, October 16, 2015, September 15, 2023,web.archive.org/web/20230915111143/https://books.google.com/books?id=U_nEoAZ6ffgC&pg=PA68, live, In 2013, Pew Research’s Jewish population survey found that 35% of American Jews identified as Reform, 18% as Conservative, 10% as Orthodox, 6% who identified with other sects, and 30% did not identify with a denomination.NEWS,www.pewforum.org/2013/10/01/jewish-american-beliefs-attitudes-culture-survey/, A Portrait of Jewish Americans, Pew Research Center’s Religion & Public Life Project, pewforum.org, June 23, 2017, October 2013, September 15, 2018,www.pewforum.org/2013/10/01/jewish-american-beliefs-attitudes-culture-survey/," title="web.archive.org/web/20180915231110www.pewforum.org/2013/10/01/jewish-american-beliefs-attitudes-culture-survey/,">web.archive.org/web/20180915231110www.pewforum.org/2013/10/01/jewish-american-beliefs-attitudes-culture-survey/, live, Pew’s 2020 poll found that 37% affiliated with Reform Judaism, 17% with Conservative Judaism, and 9% with Orthodox Judaism. Young Jews are more likely to identify as Orthodox or as unaffiliated compared to older members of the Jewish community.Many Jews are concentrated in the Northeast, particularly around New York City. Many Jews also live in South Florida, Los Angeles and other large metropolitan areas, like Chicago, San Francisco, or Atlanta. The metropolitan areas of New York City, Los Angeles, and Miami contain nearly one quarter of the world’s JewsNEWS,www.adherents.com/largecom/com_judaism.html, The Largest Jewish Communities, adherents.com, November 8, 2008,www.adherents.com/largecom/com_judaism.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20081016132750www.adherents.com/largecom/com_judaism.html,">web.archive.org/web/20081016132750www.adherents.com/largecom/com_judaism.html, October 16, 2008, usurped, and the New York City metropolitan area itself contains around a quarter of all Jews living in the United States.By state
According to a study published by demographers and sociologists Ira M. Sheskin and Arnold Dashefsky in the American Jewish Yearbook, the distribution of the Jewish population in 2020 was as follows:{{srn}} {{mw-datatable}}{| class=“sortable mw-datatable wikitable static-row-numbers”Significant Jewish population centers{| class“wikitable sortable“|+Metropolitan areas with largest Jewish populations (2015)
! colspan=2 | Rank! rowspan=2 | Metro area! colspan=2 | Number of Jews- The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development calculated an ‘expatriate rate’ of 2.9 persons per thousand, putting Israel in the mid-range of expatriate rates among the 175 OECD countries examined in 2005.WEB, Database on immigrants and expatriates:Emigration rates by country of birth (Total population), Organisation for Economic Co-ordination and Development, Statistics Portal,www.oecd.org/document/51/0,3343,en_2825_494553_34063091_1_1_1_1,00.html, April 15, 2008,www.oecd.org/document/51/0%2C3343%2Cen_2825_494553_34063091_1_1_1_1%2C00.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20080512003030www.oecd.org/document/51/0%2C3343%2Cen_2825_494553_34063091_1_1_1_1%2C00.html,">web.archive.org/web/20080512003030www.oecd.org/document/51/0%2C3343%2Cen_2825_494553_34063091_1_1_1_1%2C00.html, May 12, 2008, dead,
Distribution of Jewish Americans
According to the North American Jewish Data BankWEB,www.jewishdatabank.org/Studies/details.cfm?StudyID=602, Jewish Maps of the United States by Counties, 2011, Joshua, Comenetz, Berman Jewish DataBank, September 10, 2017, June 3, 2016,www.jewishdatabank.org/Studies/details.cfm?StudyID=602," title="web.archive.org/web/20160603025610www.jewishdatabank.org/Studies/details.cfm?StudyID=602,">web.archive.org/web/20160603025610www.jewishdatabank.org/Studies/details.cfm?StudyID=602, live, the 104 counties and independent cities {{as of|2011|lc=y}} with the largest Jewish communities, as a percentage of population, were:{{srn}}{|class=“mw-datatable sortable wikitable static-row-numbers” style=text-align:rightAssimilation and population changes
These parallel themes have facilitated the extraordinary economic, political, and social success of the American Jewish community, but also have contributed to widespread cultural assimilation.MAGAZINE, Postrel, Virginia, Uncommon Culture, Reason Magazine, May 1993,www.reason.com/news/show/29368.html, October 5, 2007,reason.com/news/show/29368.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20071010033730reason.com/news/show/29368.html,">web.archive.org/web/20071010033730reason.com/news/show/29368.html, October 10, 2007, live, More recently however, the propriety and degree of assimilation has also become a significant and controversial issue within the modern American Jewish community, with both political and religious skeptics.JOURNAL, Marsha L., Rozenblit, 4467195, Review of Bela Vago’s “Jewish Assimilation in Modern Times”, Jewish Social Studies, 44, 3/4, 1982, 334–335, Religious Jews regarded those who assimilated with horror, and Zionists campaigned against assimilation as an act of treason., While not all Jews disapprove of intermarriage, many members of the Jewish community have become concerned that the high rate of interfaith marriage will result in the eventual disappearance of the American Jewish community. Intermarriage rates have risen from roughly 6% in 1950 and 25% in 1974,WEB, THE LARGER TASK – MARCUS,media.americanjewisharchives.org/docs/marcus/largerTask.pdf, American Jewish Archives, 17 October 2013, February 3, 2016,media.americanjewisharchives.org/docs/marcus/largerTask.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20160203092656media.americanjewisharchives.org/docs/marcus/largerTask.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20160203092656media.americanjewisharchives.org/docs/marcus/largerTask.pdf, live, to approximately 40–50% in the year 2000.WEB,college.hmco.com/history/readerscomp/rcah/html/ah_047702_religiouscul.htm,college.hmco.com/history/readerscomp/rcah/html/ah_047702_religiouscul.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20021128122938college.hmco.com/history/readerscomp/rcah/html/ah_047702_religiouscul.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20021128122938college.hmco.com/history/readerscomp/rcah/html/ah_047702_religiouscul.htm, 2002-11-28, Cengage Learning – Login, February 15, 2015, By 2013, the intermarriage rate had risen to 71% for non-Orthodox Jews.NEWS,www.jta.org/2013/10/01/news-opinion/united-states/pew-survey-u-s-jewish-intermarriage-rate-rises-to-58-percent, Pew survey of U.S. Jews: soaring intermarriage, assimilation rates, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, October 2013, March 2, 2014, February 27, 2014,www.jta.org/2013/10/01/news-opinion/united-states/pew-survey-u-s-jewish-intermarriage-rate-rises-to-58-percent," title="web.archive.org/web/20140227094139www.jta.org/2013/10/01/news-opinion/united-states/pew-survey-u-s-jewish-intermarriage-rate-rises-to-58-percent,">web.archive.org/web/20140227094139www.jta.org/2013/10/01/news-opinion/united-states/pew-survey-u-s-jewish-intermarriage-rate-rises-to-58-percent, live, This, in combination with the comparatively low birthrate in the Jewish community, has led to a 5% decline in the Jewish population of the United States in the 1990s. In addition to this, when compared with the general American population, the American Jewish community is slightly older.A third of intermarried couples provide their children with a Jewish upbringing, and doing so is more common among intermarried families raising their children in areas with high Jewish populations.NEWS,www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/11/10/jewish_population_in_region_rises/, Boston Globe, Jewish population in region rises, November 29, 2009, Michael, Paulson, November 10, 2006, April 11, 2009,www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/11/10/jewish_population_in_region_rises/," title="web.archive.org/web/20090411122355www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/11/10/jewish_population_in_region_rises/,">web.archive.org/web/20090411122355www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/11/10/jewish_population_in_region_rises/, live, The Boston area, for example, is exceptional in that an estimated 60% of children of intermarriages are being raised Jewish, meaning that intermarriage would actually be contributing to a net increase in the number of Jews.WEB,www.cjp.org/local_includes/downloads/16072.pdf, The 2005 Boston Community Survey: Preliminary Findings,www.cjp.org/local_includes/downloads/16072.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20061213074021www.cjp.org/local_includes/downloads/16072.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20061213074021www.cjp.org/local_includes/downloads/16072.pdf, dead, December 13, 2006, December 13, 2006, As well, some children raised through intermarriage rediscover and embrace their Jewish roots when they themselves marry and have children.In contrast to the ongoing trends of assimilation, some communities within American Jewry, such as Orthodox Jews, have significantly higher birth rates and lower intermarriage rates, and are growing rapidly. The proportion of Jewish synagogue members who were Orthodox rose from 11% in 1971 to 21% in 2000, while the overall Jewish community declined in number. NEWS,www.nysun.com/foreign/future-of-judaism/8189/, The Future of Judaism, nysun.com, January 20, 2016, January 9, 2016,www.nysun.com/foreign/future-of-judaism/8189/," title="web.archive.org/web/20160109094437www.nysun.com/foreign/future-of-judaism/8189/,">web.archive.org/web/20160109094437www.nysun.com/foreign/future-of-judaism/8189/, live, In 2000, there were 360,000 so-called “ultra-orthodox” (Haredi) Jews in USA (7.2%).NEWS,www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/article/?id=2932, Majority of Jews will be Ultra-Orthodox by 2050, manchester.ac.uk, January 20, 2016, January 9, 2016,www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/article/?id=2932," title="web.archive.org/web/20160109094438www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/article/?id=2932,">web.archive.org/web/20160109094438www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/article/?id=2932, live, The figure for 2006 is estimated at 468,000 (9.4%). Data from the Pew Center shows that, as of 2013, 27% of American Jews under the age of 18 live in Orthodox households, a dramatic increase from Jews aged 18 to 29, only 11% of whom are Orthodox. The UJA-Federation of New York reports that 60% of Jewish children in the New York City area live in Orthodox homes. In addition to economizing and sharing, many Haredi communities depend on government aid to support their high birth rate and large families. The Hasidic village of New Square, New York receives Section{{nbsp}}8 housing subsidies at a higher rate than the rest of the region, and half of the population in the Hasidic village of Kiryas Joel, New York receive food stamps, while a third receive Medicaid.Orthodox Population Grows Faster Than First Figures in Pew #JewishAmerica Study {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161121140033forward.com/articles/187429/orthodox-population-grows-faster-than-first-figure/?p=all |date=November 21, 2016 }}, The Jewish Daily Forward, 15 November 2013About half of the American Jews are considered to be religious. Out of this 2,831,000 religious Jewish population, 92% are non-Hispanic white, 5% Hispanic (Most commonly from Argentina, Venezuela, or Cuba), 1% Asian, 1% black and 1% Other (mixed race etc.). Almost this many non-religious Jews exist in the United States.WEB,www.gc.cuny.edu/faculty/research_briefs/aris.pdf,www.gc.cuny.edu/faculty/research_briefs/aris.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20071127094118www.gc.cuny.edu/faculty/research_briefs/aris.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20071127094118www.gc.cuny.edu/faculty/research_briefs/aris.pdf, dead, 2007-11-27, ARIS 2001, {{small|(449 KB)}}Race and ethnicity
File:Jewish_Ethnic_Divisions_map.png|thumb|500x500px|Jewish Ethnic Divisions ]]The United States Census Bureau classifies most American Jews as white.U.S. Census Bureau, 2000 Census of Population, Public Law 94-171 Redistricting Data File.{{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011103175823quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/meta/long_68178.htm|date=November 3, 2001|title=Race}}. (archived from the original on November 3, 2001). Jewish people are culturally diverse and may be of any race, ethnicity, or national origin. Many Jews have culturally assimilated into and are phenotypically indistinguishable from the dominant local populations of regions like Europe, the Caucasus and the Crimea, North Africa, West Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, South, East, and Central Asia, and the Americas where they have lived for many centuries.Johnson, A History of the Jews, p.237{{citation |last=Eyal |first=Gil |title=The Disenchantment of the Orient: Expertise in Arab Affairs and the Israeli State |pages=86–90 |year=2006 |chapter=The “One Million Plan” and the Development of a Discourse about the Absorption of the Jews from Arab Countries |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5d3iEECpQSoC&pg=PA86 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=9780804754033}} p. 86: “The principal significance of this plan lies in the fact, noted by Yehuda Shenhav, that this was the first time in Zionist history that Jews from Middle Eastern and North African countries were all packaged together in one category as the target of an immigration plan. There were earlier plans to bring specific groups, such as the Yemenites, but the “one million plan” was, as Shenhav says, “the zero point,” the moment when the category of Mizrahi Jews in the current sense of this term, as an ethnic group distinct from European-born Jews, was invented.” p.89—90 ...“Shehav’s argument that the one million plan led to the invention of the category of Mizrahi Jews and gave the term the meaning it has today, because the plan treated all Jews who originated in these countries as belonging to a single category of candidates for immigration. ... it added another layer of meaning to the newly minted and still crystallizing Mizrahi category, that is, as implying a quasi-racial division between those who had an “oriental appearance” and those who did not.“WEB, Separatists, continued...,www.adherents.com/Na/Na_588.html, November 17, 2014, Adherents.com, September 23, 2003,www.adherents.com/Na/Na_588.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20030923000736www.adherents.com/Na/Na_588.html,">web.archive.org/web/20030923000736www.adherents.com/Na/Na_588.html, dead, Most American Jews are Ashkenazi Jews who descend from Jewish populations of Central and Eastern Europe and are considered white unless they are Ashkenazi Jews of color.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}} Many American Jews identify themselves as being both Jewish and white, while many solely identify as Jewish, resisting this identification.BOOK, Chen, Carolyn,books.google.com/books?id=LoUUCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA88, Sustaining Faith Traditions: Race, Ethnicity, and Religion Among the Latino and Asian American Second Generation, Jeung, Russell, NYU Press, 2012, 978-0-8147-1735-6, 88, September 30, 2017, September 15, 2023,web.archive.org/web/20230915111216/https://books.google.com/books?id=LoUUCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA88, live, Several commentators have observed that “many American Jews retain a feeling of ambivalence about whiteness”.“American Jews, Race, Identity, and the Civil Rights Movement” {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170714211748jwa.org/teach/livingthelegacy/american-jews-race-identity-and-civil-rights-movement |date=July 14, 2017 }} Rosenbaum, Judith. Jewish Women’s Archive. Accessed December 12, 2015. “Today, many American Jews retain an ambivalence about whiteness, despite the fact that the vast majority have benefited and continue to benefit from white privilege. This ambivalence stems from many different places: a deep connection to a Jewish history of discrimination and otherness; a moral imperative to identify with the stranger; an anti-universalist impulse that does not want Jews to be among the “melted” in the proverbial melting pot; an experience of prejudice and awareness of the contingency of whiteness; a feeling that Jewish identity is not fully described by religion but has some ethnic/tribal component that feels more accurately described by race; and a discomfort with contemporary Jewish power and privilege.” Karen Brodkin explains this ambivalence as rooted in anxieties about the potential loss of Jewish identity, especially outside of intellectual elites.BOOK, Brodkin, Karen,archive.org/details/howjewsbecamewhi00brod, How Jews Became White Folks and what that Says about Race in America, 1998, Rutgers University Press, registration, : “Ambivalence was expressed in the counterpoint between Jewish intellectuals’ embrace of whiteness and the more ambivalent responses to whiteness in Jewish popular culture” (p. 182). Similarly, Kenneth Marcus observes a number of ambivalent cultural phenomena which have also been noted by other scholars, and he concludes that “the veneer of whiteness has not established conclusively the racial construction of American Jews”.BOOK, Marcus, Kenneth L., Jewish Identity and Civil Rights in America, 2010, Cambridge University Press, The relationship between Jewish identity and white majority identity continues to be described as “complicated” for many American Jews, particularly Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews of European descent. The issue of Jewish whiteness may be different for many Mizrahi, Sephardi, Black, Asian, and Latino Jews, many of whom may never be considered white by society.NEWS, Schechter, Dave, December 19, 2016, Are Jews White? It’s Complicated, Atlanta Jewish Times,atlantajewishtimes.timesofisrael.com/jews-white-complicated/, September 1, 2017, August 31, 2017,atlantajewishtimes.timesofisrael.com/jews-white-complicated/," title="web.archive.org/web/20170831181801atlantajewishtimes.timesofisrael.com/jews-white-complicated/,">web.archive.org/web/20170831181801atlantajewishtimes.timesofisrael.com/jews-white-complicated/, live, Many American white nationalists and white supremacists view all Jews as non-white, even if they are of European descent.BOOK, Andersen, Margaret,books.google.com/books?id=AJBvCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA84, Race, Class, & Gender: An Anthology, Patricia Hill Collins, Cengage Learning, 2015, 978-1-305-53727-9, 84–85, August 12, 2018, September 15, 2023,web.archive.org/web/20230915111720/https://books.google.com/books?id=AJBvCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA84, live, Some white nationalists believe that Jews can be white and a small number of white nationalists are Jewish.WEB,www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/jared-taylor, Jared Taylor, Southern Poverty Law Center, 2023-09-06, November 21, 2018,web.archive.org/web/20181121162838/https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/jared-taylor, live, In 2013, the Pew Research Center’s Portrait of Jewish Americans found that more than 90% of Jews who responded to its survey described themselves as being non-Hispanic whites, 2% described themselves as being black, 3% described themselves as being Hispanic, and 2% described themselves as having other racial or ethnic backgrounds.WEB, October 1, 2013, A Portrait of Jewish Americans: Findings from a Pew Research Center Survey of U.S. Jews,assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2013/10/jewish-american-full-report-for-web.pdf, August 19, 2017, Pew Research Center, 46, August 19, 2017,assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2013/10/jewish-american-full-report-for-web.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20170819102800assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2013/10/jewish-american-full-report-for-web.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20170819102800assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2013/10/jewish-american-full-report-for-web.pdf, live,Jews by race or ethnicity
Asian-American Jews
According to the Pew Research Center, fewer than 1% of American Jews in 2020 identified as Asian Americans. Around 1% of religious Jews identified as Asian-American.A small but growing community of around 350 Indian American Jews lives in the New York City metropolitan area, in both New York state and New Jersey. Many are members of India’s Bene Israel community.WEB,nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/how-indian-jewish-community-preserving-traditions-next-generation-n827226, How the Indian Jewish community is preserving traditions for the next generation, December 11, 2017, NBC News, 2024-01-31, January 31, 2024,web.archive.org/web/20240131070800/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/how-indian-jewish-community-preserving-traditions-next-generation-n827226, live, The Indian Jewish Congregation of USA, headquartered in New York City, is the center of the organized community.WEB,www.jewsofindia.org/PDFs/Indian%20Jewish%20Congregation%20Newsletter%20Feb-2007.pdf, Indian Jewish Congregation of USA Newsletter, 2024-01-31, February 28, 2008,www.jewsofindia.org/PDFs/Indian%20Jewish%20Congregation%20Newsletter%20Feb-2007.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20080228210318www.jewsofindia.org/PDFs/Indian%20Jewish%20Congregation%20Newsletter%20Feb-2007.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20080228210318www.jewsofindia.org/PDFs/Indian%20Jewish%20Congregation%20Newsletter%20Feb-2007.pdf, live,Jews of European descent
Jews of European descent, often referred to as white Jews, are classified as white by the US census and have generally been classified as legally white throughout American history.JOURNAL,digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1096&context=jpps, The “Becoming White Thesis” Revisited, The Journal of Public and Professional Sociology, 8, 1, 2022-09-01, Philip, Q. Yang, Kavitha, Koshy, March 2016, May 20, 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220520104950/https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1096&context=jpps, live, Many American Jews of European descent identify themselves as being both Jewish and white, while others solely identify themselves as being Jewish or identify as both Jewish and non-white.BOOK, Carolyn, Chen, Russell, Jeung, Sustaining Faith Traditions: Race, Ethnicity, and Religion Among the Latino and Asian American Second Generation,books.google.com/books?id=LoUUCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA88, 2012, NYU Press, 978-0-8147-1735-6, 88, September 30, 2017, September 15, 2023,web.archive.org/web/20230915111216/https://books.google.com/books?id=LoUUCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA88, live, However, Jews of European descent rarely identify as Jews of color and are rarely considered people of color in American society. According to the Pew Research Center, the majority of American Jews are non-Hispanic white Ashkenazi Jews. Law professor David Bernstein has questioned the idea that American Jews were once considered non-white, writing that American Jews were “indeed considered white by law and by custom” despite the fact that they experienced “discrimination, hostility, assertions of inferiority and occasionally even violence.” Bernstein notes that Jews were not targeted by laws against interracial marriage, were allowed to attend whites-only schools, and were classified as white in the Jim Crow South.NEWS,www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2017/03/22/sorry-but-the-irish-were-always-white-and-so-were-the-italians-jews-and-so-on/, Sorry, but the Irish were always ‘white’ (and so were Italians, Jews and so on), The Washington Post, 2022-09-01, David, Bernstein, March 22, 2017, September 22, 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220922044422/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2017/03/22/sorry-but-the-irish-were-always-white-and-so-were-the-italians-jews-and-so-on/, live, The sociologists Philip Q. Yang and Kavitha Koshy have also questioned what they call the “becoming white thesis”, noting that most Jews of European descent have been legally classified as white since the first US census in 1790, were legally white for the purposes of the Naturalization Act of 1790 that limited citizenship to “free White person(s)”, and that they could find no legislative or judicial evidence that American Jews had ever been considered non-white.Several commentators have observed that “many American Jews retain a feeling of ambivalence about whiteness”.WEB,jwa.org/teach/livingthelegacy/american-jews-race-identity-and-civil-rights-movement, American Jews, Race, Identity, and the Civil Rights Movement,web.archive.org/web/20170714211748/https://jwa.org/teach/livingthelegacy/american-jews-race-identity-and-civil-rights-movement, July 14, 2017, Rosenbaum, Judith, Jewish Women’s Archive, December 12, 2015, Today, many American Jews retain an ambivalence about whiteness, despite the fact that the vast majority have benefited and continue to benefit from white privilege. This ambivalence stems from many different places: a deep connection to a Jewish history of discrimination and otherness; a moral imperative to identify with the stranger; an anti-universalist impulse that does not want Jews to be among the “melted” in the proverbial melting pot; an experience of prejudice and awareness of the contingency of whiteness; a feeling that Jewish identity is not fully described by religion but has some ethnic/tribal component that feels more accurately described by race; and a discomfort with contemporary Jewish power and privilege., Karen Brodkin explains this ambivalence as rooted in anxieties about the potential loss of Jewish identity, especially outside of intellectual elites.BOOK, How Jews Became White Folks and what that Says about Race in America,archive.org/details/howjewsbecamewhi00brod, registration, Karen, Brodkin, 1998, Rutgers University Press, : “Ambivalence was expressed in the counterpoint between Jewish intellectuals’ embrace of whiteness and the more ambivalent responses to whiteness in Jewish popular culture” (p. 182). Similarly, Kenneth Marcus observes a number of ambivalent cultural phenomena which have also been noted by other scholars, and he concludes that “the veneer of whiteness has not established conclusively the racial construction of American Jews”.BOOK, Jewish Identity and Civil Rights in America, Kenneth L., Marcus, 2010, Cambridge University Press, The relationship between American Jews and white majority identity continues to be described as “complicated”.NEWS,atlantajewishtimes.timesofisrael.com/jews-white-complicated/, Are Jews White? It’s Complicated, Dave, Schechter, December 19, 2016, Atlanta Jewish Times, September 1, 2017, August 31, 2017,atlantajewishtimes.timesofisrael.com/jews-white-complicated/," title="web.archive.org/web/20170831181801atlantajewishtimes.timesofisrael.com/jews-white-complicated/,">web.archive.org/web/20170831181801atlantajewishtimes.timesofisrael.com/jews-white-complicated/, live, Many American white nationalists view Jews as non-white.BOOK, Margaret, Andersen, Patricia Hill Collins, Race, Class, & Gender: An Anthology,books.google.com/books?id=AJBvCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA84, 2015, Cengage Learning, 978-1-305-53727-9, 84–85, August 12, 2018, September 15, 2023,web.archive.org/web/20230915111720/https://books.google.com/books?id=AJBvCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA84, live,Jews of Middle Eastern and North African descent
Jews of Middle Eastern and North African descent (often referred to as Mizrahi Jews) are classified as white by the US census. Mizrahi Jews sometimes identify as Jews of color, but often do not, and they may or may not be considered people of color by society. Syrian Jews rarely identify as Jews of color and are generally not considered Jews of color by society. Many Syrian Jews identify as white, Middle Eastern, or otherwise non-white rather than as Jews of color.WEB, May 11, 2021, JEWISH AMERICANS IN 2020: 9. Race, ethnicity, heritage and immigration among U.S. Jews,www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/05/11/race-ethnicity-heritage-and-immigration-among-u-s-jews/, Pew Research Center, September 2, 2022, August 16, 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220816120928/https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/05/11/race-ethnicity-heritage-and-immigration-among-u-s-jews/, live,African American Jews
Hispanic and Latino American Jews
Hispanic Jews have lived in what is now the United States since colonial times. The earliest Hispanic Jewish settlers were Sephardi Jews from Spain and Portugal. Beginning in the 1500s, some of the Spanish settlers in what is now New Mexico and Texas were Crypto-Jews, but there was no organized Jewish presence.WEB,www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/new-mexico-jewish-history, Virtual Jewish World: New Mexico, United States, Jewish Virtual Library, 2022-09-01, September 2, 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220902065329/https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/new-mexico-jewish-history, live, WEB,www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/texas-jewish-history, Virtual Jewish World: Texas, United States, Jewish Virtual Library, 2022-09-01, September 2, 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220902065318/https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/texas-jewish-history, live, Later waves of Sephardi immigration brought Judeo-Spanish speaking Jews from the Ottoman Empire, in what is now Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria, and Syria. These Spanish-speaking Sephardi Jews are sometimes considered “Hispanic”, but are not Latino. Sephardi Jews of European descent, such as the Spanish and Portuguese Jews, are not considered Jews of color and may or may not be considered to be Hispanic or Latino.Hispanic and Latino American Jews, particularly Hispanic and Latino Ashkenazi Jews, often identify as white rather than as Jews of color. Some Jews with roots in Latin America may not identify as “Hispanic” or “Latino” at all, usually due to their recent European immigrant origins. American Jews of Argentine, Brazilian, and Mexican descent are often Ashkenazi, but some are Sephardi.WEB,www.latintimes.com/sephardic-hispanic-heritage-13-facts-about-latino-jews-340203, Sephardic Hispanic Heritage: 13 Facts About ‘Latino Jews’, September 15, 2015, Latin Times, 2022-09-01, September 2, 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220902064021/https://www.latintimes.com/sephardic-hispanic-heritage-13-facts-about-latino-jews-340203, live,Jews divided by Cultural or Jewish Ethnic Division Groupings {| class“wikitable sortable” style@text-align:right”
!Ancestry!Population!% of US populationAshkenazi Jews in the United States
Ashkenazi Jews,BOOK, Wells, John, Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 3 April 2008, Pearson Longman, 978-1-4058-8118-0, 3rd, John C. Wells, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or, by using the Hebrew plural suffix -im, Ashkenazim{{efn|{{IPAc-en|,|{|S|-|,_|a:|S|k|@|’|n|a:|z|I|m}} {{Respell|ASH|-,_|AHSH|kÉ™|NAH|zim}}; , Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: {{IPA-he|ËŒaʃkəˈnazim|}}, singular: {{IPA-he|ËŒaʃkəˈnazi|}}, Modern Hebrew: {{IPA-he|(Ê”)aʃkenaˈzim, (Ê”)aʃkenaˈzi|}}; also {{Script/Hebrew|יְהוּדֵי ×ַשְ××›Ö°Ö¼× Ö·×–}}, {{transliteration|he|Y’hudey Ashkenaz}},Ashkenaz, based on JOSEPHUS, 1, anti, W, 1, 6, 1, 1, J., AJ, 1.6.1, no, no, yes, and his explanation of {{bibleverse|Genesis|10:3}}, is considered to be the progenitor of the ancient Gauls (the people of Gallia, meaning, mainly the people from modern France, Belgium, and the Alpine region) and the ancient Franks (of, both, France, and Germany). According to Gedaliah ibn Jechia the Spaniard, in the name of Sefer Yuchasin (see: Gedaliah ibn Jechia, Shalshelet Ha-Kabbalah {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513031902www.hebrewbooks.org/6618 |date=May 13, 2021 }}, Jerusalem 1962, p. 219; p. 228 in PDF), the descendants of Ashkenaz had also originally settled in what was then called Bohemia, which today is the present-day Czech Republic. These places, according to the Jerusalem Talmud (Megillah 1:9 [10a], were also called simply by the diocese “Germamia”. Germania, Germani, Germanica have all been used to refer to the group of peoples comprising the Germanic tribes, which include such peoples as Goths, whether Ostrogoths or Visigoths, Vandals and Franks, Burgundians, Alans, Langobards, Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Suebi and Alamanni. The entire region east of the Rhine river was known by the Romans as “Germania” (Germany).}} are a Jewish diaspora population who coalesced in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium.BOOK, Mosk, Carl,books.google.com/books?id=rH9c5JSo1Y4C&pg=PA143, Nationalism and economic development in modern Eurasia, Routledge, 2013, 9780415605182, New York, 143, In general the Ashkenazi originally came out of the Holy Roman Empire, speaking a version of German that incorporates Hebrew and Slavic words, Yiddish., January 4, 2023, September 15, 2023,web.archive.org/web/20230915111725/https://books.google.com/books?id=rH9c5JSo1Y4C&pg=PA143, live, The term “Ashkenazi” refers to Jewish settlers who established communities along the Rhine river in Western Germany and in Northern France dating to the Middle Ages.ENCYCLOPEDIA, Ashkenazi - people, Encyclopedia Britannica, July 4, 2023,www.britannica.com/topic/Ashkenazi, January 4, 2023, July 13, 2019,web.archive.org/web/20190713203430/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ashkenazi, live, The traditional diaspora language of Ashkenazi Jews is Yiddish (a Germanic language with elements of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Slavic languages), developed after they had moved into northern Europe: beginning with Germany and France in the Middle Ages. For centuries they used Hebrew only as a sacred language, until the revival of Hebrew as a common language in 20th century’s Israel.BOOK, Henry L. Feingold,books.google.com/books?id=ts5lKWho2YwC&pg=PA36, Bearing Witness: How America and Its Jews Responded to the Holocaust, Syracuse University Press, 1995, 9780815626701, 36, January 4, 2023, September 15, 2023,web.archive.org/web/20230915111726/https://books.google.com/books?id=ts5lKWho2YwC&pg=PA36, live, BOOK, Eric Hobsbawm, Interesting Times: A Twentieth Century Life, Abacus Books, 2002, 25, Eric Hobsbawm, Glenda Abramson (ed.), Encyclopedia of Modern Jewish Culture {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230915111734books.google.com/books?id=rr_qaE0a8rsC&pg=PT20 |date=September 15, 2023 }}, Routledge 2004 p. 20.T. C. W. Blanning (ed.), The Oxford History of Modern Europe {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230915111727books.google.com/books?id=rhrXAJye1cEC&pg=PA146 |date=September 15, 2023 }}, Oxford University Press, 2000 pp. 147–48 A majority of the Jewish population in the United States are Ashkenazi Jews who descend from diaspora Jewish populations of Central and Eastern Europe. Most American Ashkenazi Jews are non-Hispanic whites, but a minority are Jews of color, Hispanic/Latino, or both. Most African-American Jews are Ashkenazi.Sephardi Jews in the United States
Sephardi Jews, also known as Sephardic Jews, Sephardim,{{efn|, Modern Hebrew: Sefaraddim, Tiberian: SÉ™pÌ„Äraddîm, also {{Script/Hebrew|יְהוּדֵי סְפָרַד}}, Ye’hude Sepharad, lit. “The Jews of Spain”, (or sefarditas), }} or Hispanic Jews by modern scholars,WEB, Aroeste, Sarah, 13 December 2018, Latino, Hispanic or Sephardic? A Sephardi Jew explains some commonly confused terms,www.myjewishlearning.com/jewish-and/latino-hispanic-or-sephardic/, My Jewish Learning, January 4, 2023, August 7, 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200807030107/https://www.myjewishlearning.com/jewish-and/latino-hispanic-or-sephardic/, live, are a Jewish ethnic division originating from traditionally established communities in the Iberian Peninsula (modern Spain and Portugal). The term “Sephardim” also sometimes refers to Mizrahi Jews (Eastern Jewish communities) of Western Asia and North Africa. Although most of this latter group do not have ancestry from the Jewish communities of Iberia, the majority of them were influenced by the Sephardic style of liturgy and Sephardic law and customs from the influence of the Iberian Jewish exiles over the course of the last few centuries (including from the Sephardic Golden Age and the teachings of many Iberian Jewish philosophers). This article deals with Sephardim within the narrower ethnic definition.Largely expelled from the Iberian Peninsula in the late 15th century, they carried a distinctive Jewish diasporic identity with them to North Africa, including modern day Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt; South-Eastern and Southern Europe, including France, Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, and North Macedonia; Western Asia, including Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Iran; as well as the Americas (although in smaller numbers compared to the Ashkenazi Jewish diaspora); and all other places of their exiled settlement. They sometimes settled near existing Jewish communities, such as the one from former Kurdistan, or were the first in new frontiers, with their furthest reach via the Silk Road.WEB, Sephardi People,www.britannica.com/topic/Sephardi, Britannica.com, May 11, 2023, Britannica, January 4, 2023, October 29, 2020,web.archive.org/web/20201029205859/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sephardi, live, As a result of the more recent Jewish exodus from Arab lands, many of the Sephardim Tehorim from Western Asia and North Africa relocated to either Israel or France, where they form a significant portion of the Jewish communities today. Other significant communities of Sephardim Tehorim also migrated in more recent times from the Near East to New York City, Argentina, Costa Rica, Mexico, Montreal, Gibraltar, Puerto Rico, and Dominican Republic.WEB, Jews migration to the Dominican Republic to seek refuge from the Holocaust,www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/sosua.html, 2013-05-15, September 6, 2014,www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/sosua.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20140906010532www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/sosua.html,">web.archive.org/web/20140906010532www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/sosua.html, live, Because of poverty and turmoil in Latin America, another wave of Sephardic Jews joined other Latin Americans who migrated to the United States, Canada, Spain, and other countries of Europe.Mizrahi Jews in the United States
Mizrahi Jews () or Mizrahim (), also sometimes referred to as Mizrachi (), Edot HaMizrach (; {{Translation|’[Jewish] Communities of the [Middle] East’}}) or Oriental Jews,ENCYCLOPEDIA, Mizrahi Jews, Encyclopædia Britannica,www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/432355/Oriental-Jews, 8 March 2015, October 1, 2023,web.archive.org/web/20231001142729/https://www.gstatic.com/readaloud/player/web/api/analytics/analytics.html?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.britannica.com%2Ftopic%2FMitnagged%2FIntroduction&trackingIds=G-0B6QQVKFV8&tracking=false&sourceUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.britannica.com%2Ftopic%2FReform-Judaism&sourceReferrerUrl=&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.britannica.com, live, are the descendants of the local Jewish communities that had existed in Western Asia and North Africa from Biblical times into the modern era.In current usage, the term Mizrahim is almost exclusively applied to descendants of the Middle Eastern Jewish communities from Western Asia and North Africa; in this classification are Iraqi, Kurdish, Lebanese, Syrian, Yemenite, Turkish and Iranian Jews, as well as the descendants of Maghrebi Jews who had lived in North African countries, such as Egyptian, Libyan, Tunisian, Algerian, and Moroccan Jews.WEB, Ancient Jewish History: Jews of the Middle East,www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jews-of-the-middle-east, JVL, January 4, 2023, April 7, 2019,web.archive.org/web/20190407072301/https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jews-of-the-middle-east, live, Mizrahim is also sometimes extended to include Jewish communities from the CaucasusWEB, Mizrahi Jews in Israel,www.myjewishlearning.com/article/mizrahim-in-israel/, 3 March 2021, My Jewish Learning, en-US, May 26, 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220526111733/https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/mizrahim-in-israel/, live, and Central Asia,WEB, Who Are the Mizrahi (Oriental/Arab) Jews? - Israeli-Palestinian - ProCon.org,israelipalestinian.procon.org/questions/who-are-the-mizrahi-oriental-arab-jews/, 3 March 2021, Israeli-Palestinian, en-US, October 1, 2023,web.archive.org/web/20231001142708/https://israelipalestinian.procon.org/questions/who-are-the-mizrahi-oriental-arab-jews/, live, such as Mountain Jews from Dagestan and Azerbaijan, and Bukharan Jews from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. While both communities traditionally speak Judeo-Iranian languages such as Juhuri and Bukharian, these countries were all part of the former Soviet Union, as a result of which many of their descendants also speak Russian to a large extent.Post-1948, Mizrahi Jewish, mostly thousands from Lebanese, Syrian and Egyptian Jewish descent, as well as some from other Middle East and North African Jewish communities migrated to the United States.Ethiopian Jews in the United States
{{Further|Ethiopian Americans|Ethiopian Jews|Ethiopian Jews in Israel}}The Beta Israel, also known as Ethiopian Jews, are a Jewish community that developed and lived for centuries in the area of the Ethiopian Empire. Most of the Beta Israel community emigrated to Israel in the late 20th century.Weil, Shalva (1997) “Collective Designations and Collective Identity of Ethiopian Jews”, in Shalva Weil (ed.) Ethiopian Jews in the Limelight, Jerusalem: NCJW Research Institute for Innovation in Education, Hebrew University, pp. 35–48. (Hebrew)WEB, Beta Israel | History, Names, Movement, & Facts,www.britannica.com/topic/Beta-Israel, Encyclopedia Britannica, January 4, 2023, January 4, 2023,web.archive.org/web/20230104025959/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Beta-Israel, live, NEWS, Mekelberg, Prof Yossi, May 25, 2015, Who are Israel’s Ethiopian Jews?, BBC News,www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32813056, January 4, 2023, January 4, 2023,web.archive.org/web/20230104025951/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32813056, live, Since the 1990s, around 1000 Hebrew-speaking, Ethiopian Jews that had settled in Israel as Ethiopian Jews in Israel re-settled in the United States as Ethiopian Americans, with around half of the Ethiopian Jewish Israeli-American community living in New York.WEB, Mozgovaya, Natasha, 2008-04-02, Focus U.S.A.-Israel News – Haaretz Israeli News source,www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1077094.html, 2010-12-25, Haaretz.com, February 5, 2010,haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1077094.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20100205220535haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1077094.html,">web.archive.org/web/20100205220535haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1077094.html, dead,Socioeconomics
{{See also|Jewish-American working class|Model minority}}Education plays a major role as a part of Jewish identity. As Jewish culture puts a special premium on it and stresses the importance of cultivation of intellectual pursuits, scholarship, and learning, American Jews as a group tend to be better educated and earn more than Americans as a whole.BOOK,books.google.com/books?id=8CBKlNyBM8AC&q=American+Jews+value+education&pg=PA39, Portrait of American Jews: the last half of the twentieth century, 26 August 2014, Samuel C Heilman, 9780295800653, 2011-07-01, University of Washington Press, September 15, 2023,web.archive.org/web/20230915112133/https://books.google.com/books?id=8CBKlNyBM8AC&q=American+Jews+value+education&pg=PA39, live, NEWS,forward.com/opinion/183260/a-jewish-fight-for-public-education/?p=all, A Jewish Fight for Public Education, The Jewish Daily, September 2, 2013, 26 August 2014, Amy B., Dean, The Forward, January 15, 2016,forward.com/opinion/183260/a-jewish-fight-for-public-education/?p=all," title="web.archive.org/web/20160115144353forward.com/opinion/183260/a-jewish-fight-for-public-education/?p=all,">web.archive.org/web/20160115144353forward.com/opinion/183260/a-jewish-fight-for-public-education/?p=all, live, WEB,www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/148845, New Study Claims US Jews Have Reasons to Be Proud – Latest News Briefs, Arutz Sheva, June 25, 2008, February 15, 2015, February 15, 2015,www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/148845," title="web.archive.org/web/20150215163016www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/148845,">web.archive.org/web/20150215163016www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/148845, live, WEB,www.pbs.org/jewishamericans/jewish_life/education_and_philanthropy.html, Doing Well and Doing Good, 26 August 2014, Grubin, David, PBS, October 20, 2014,www.pbs.org/jewishamericans/jewish_life/education_and_philanthropy.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20141020005852www.pbs.org/jewishamericans/jewish_life/education_and_philanthropy.html,">web.archive.org/web/20141020005852www.pbs.org/jewishamericans/jewish_life/education_and_philanthropy.html, live, Jewish Americans also have an average of 14.7 years of schooling making them the most highly educated of all major religious groups in the United States.NEWS,www.pewforum.org/2016/12/13/jewish-educational-attainment/, 6. Jewish educational attainment, Pew Research, December 13, 2016, July 17, 2017, November 18, 2018,www.pewforum.org/2016/12/13/jewish-educational-attainment/," title="web.archive.org/web/20181118235537www.pewforum.org/2016/12/13/jewish-educational-attainment/,">web.archive.org/web/20181118235537www.pewforum.org/2016/12/13/jewish-educational-attainment/, live, WEB,www.pewforum.org/2016/12/13/religion-and-education-around-the-world/, Religion and Education Around the World, Pew Research, December 13, 2016, July 17, 2017, February 10, 2019,www.pewforum.org/2016/12/13/religion-and-education-around-the-world/," title="web.archive.org/web/20190210111009www.pewforum.org/2016/12/13/religion-and-education-around-the-world/,">web.archive.org/web/20190210111009www.pewforum.org/2016/12/13/religion-and-education-around-the-world/, live, Forty-four percent (55% of Reform Jews) report family incomes of over $100,000 compared to 19% of all Americans, with the next highest group being Hindus at 43%.NEWS,www.pewforum.org/2015/05/12/chapter-3-demographic-profiles-of-religious-groups/, Demographic Profiles of Religious Groups, Pew Research Center’s Religion & Public Life Project, Pew Research Centre, May 12, 2015, 12 May 2015, May 14, 2015,www.pewforum.org/2015/05/12/chapter-3-demographic-profiles-of-religious-groups/," title="web.archive.org/web/20150514231927www.pewforum.org/2015/05/12/chapter-3-demographic-profiles-of-religious-groups/,">web.archive.org/web/20150514231927www.pewforum.org/2015/05/12/chapter-3-demographic-profiles-of-religious-groups/, live, NEWS,religions.pewforum.org/pdf/table-income-by-tradition.pdf,religions.pewforum.org/pdf/table-income-by-tradition.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20090429190052religions.pewforum.org/pdf/table-income-by-tradition.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20090429190052religions.pewforum.org/pdf/table-income-by-tradition.pdf, 2009-04-29, Religion in America: U.S. Religious Data, Demographics and Statistics – Pew Research Center, May 11, 2015, Pew Research Center’s Religion & Public Life Project, And while 27% of Americans have a four-year university or postgraduate education, fifty-nine percent (66% of Reform Jews) of American Jews have, the second highest of any ethnic groups after Indian-Americans.NEWS,religions.pewforum.org/comparisons, Comparative Religions – U.S. Religious Landscape Study – Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, Pew Research Center’s Religion & Public Life Project, February 15, 2015, February 13, 2015,religions.pewforum.org/comparisons," title="web.archive.org/web/20150213155757religions.pewforum.org/comparisons,">web.archive.org/web/20150213155757religions.pewforum.org/comparisons, live, NEWS,religions.pewforum.org/pdf/table-education-by-tradition.pdf,religions.pewforum.org/pdf/table-education-by-tradition.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20090206154901religions.pewforum.org/pdf/table-education-by-tradition.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20090206154901religions.pewforum.org/pdf/table-education-by-tradition.pdf, 2009-02-06, Religion in America: U.S. Religious Data, Demographics and Statistics – Pew Research Center, May 11, 2015, Pew Research Center’s Religion & Public Life Project, 75% of American Jews have achieved some form of post-secondary education if two-year vocational and community college diplomas and certificates are also included.NEWS,www.pewforum.org/2016/12/13/religion-and-education-around-the-world/religioneducation_usminorities/, In United States, religious minorities more likely to have college degrees than Christian majority, Pew Research, December 5, 2016, July 17, 2017, July 16, 2017,www.pewforum.org/2016/12/13/religion-and-education-around-the-world/religioneducation_usminorities/," title="web.archive.org/web/20170716164717www.pewforum.org/2016/12/13/religion-and-education-around-the-world/religioneducation_usminorities/,">web.archive.org/web/20170716164717www.pewforum.org/2016/12/13/religion-and-education-around-the-world/religioneducation_usminorities/, live, NEWS,www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/13/jews-are-worlds-best-educated-religious-group-study-reveals, Jews are world’s best-educated religious group, study reveals, Harriet, Sherwood, December 13, 2016, The Guardian, July 17, 2017, July 13, 2017,web.archive.org/web/20170713195744/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/13/jews-are-worlds-best-educated-religious-group-study-reveals, live, WEB,www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/hindus-are-the-most-educated-group-in-the-us-least-educated-worldwide/story-I0Y2xVjO05CJNMXl3g01iM.html, Hindus are the most educated group in the US, least educated worldwide, December 14, 2016, July 17, 2017, July 24, 2017,www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/hindus-are-the-most-educated-group-in-the-us-least-educated-worldwide/story-I0Y2xVjO05CJNMXl3g01iM.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20170724235837www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/hindus-are-the-most-educated-group-in-the-us-least-educated-worldwide/story-I0Y2xVjO05CJNMXl3g01iM.html,">web.archive.org/web/20170724235837www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/hindus-are-the-most-educated-group-in-the-us-least-educated-worldwide/story-I0Y2xVjO05CJNMXl3g01iM.html, live, 31% of American Jews hold a graduate degree; this figure is compared with the general American population where 11% of Americans hold a graduate degree. White collar professional jobs have been attractive to Jews and much of the community tend to take up professional white collar careers requiring tertiary education involving formal credentials where the respectability and reputability of professional jobs is highly prized within Jewish culture. While 46% of Americans work in professional and managerial jobs, 61% of American Jews work as professionals, many of whom are highly educated, salaried professionals whose work is largely self-directed in management, professional, and related occupations such as engineering, science, medicine, investment banking, finance, law, and academia.WEB,www.jewishfederations.org/local_includes/downloads/3905.pdf,www.jewishfederations.org/local_includes/downloads/3905.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20101214132705www.jewishfederations.org/local_includes/downloads/3905.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20101214132705www.jewishfederations.org/local_includes/downloads/3905.pdf, 2010-12-14, NATIONAL JEWISH POPULATION SURVEY 2000–01, The Jewish Federations, January 30, 2013, Bernard J., Shapiro, Much of the Jewish American community lead middle class lifestyles.WEB,www.frumforum.com/do-jews-hate-palin/, Do Jews Hate Palin, Frum Forum, January 4, 2010, 26 August 2014, Frum, David,www.frumforum.com/do-jews-hate-palin/," title="web.archive.org/web/20140826160849www.frumforum.com/do-jews-hate-palin/,">web.archive.org/web/20140826160849www.frumforum.com/do-jews-hate-palin/, August 26, 2014, dead, While the median household net worth of the typical American family is $99,500, among American Jews the figure is $443,000.BOOK, (The Triple Package, The Triple Package: How Three Unlikely Traits Explain the Rise and Fall of Cultural Groups in America), Penguin Press HC, Amy Chua, Jed Rubenfeld, 2014, 7, 978-1594205460, WEB,www.smh.com.au/small-business/managing/work-in-progress/lessons-from-jews-and-mormons-20140306-34b11, Lessons from Jews and Mormons, The Sydney Herald, 7 March 2014, 20 August 2014, James, Adonis, January 9, 2016,www.smh.com.au/small-business/managing/work-in-progress/lessons-from-jews-and-mormons-20140306-34b11," title="web.archive.org/web/20160109094437www.smh.com.au/small-business/managing/work-in-progress/lessons-from-jews-and-mormons-20140306-34b11,">web.archive.org/web/20160109094437www.smh.com.au/small-business/managing/work-in-progress/lessons-from-jews-and-mormons-20140306-34b11, live, In addition, the median Jewish American income is estimated to be in the range of $97,000 to $98,000, nearly twice as high the American national median.BOOK, The Triple Package: How Three Unlikely Traits Explain the Rise and Fall of Cultural Groups in America, Penguin Press HC, Amy Chua, Jed Rubenfeld, 2014, 53, 978-1594205460, Either of these two statistics may be confounded by the fact that the Jewish population is on average older than other religious groups in the country, with 51% of polled adults over the age of 50 compared to 41% nationally. Older people tend to both have higher income and be more highly educated. By 2016, Modern Orthodox Jews had a median household income of $158,000, while Open Orthodox Jews had a median household income at $185,000 (compared to the American median household income of $59,000 for 2016).5 key takeaways, some surprising, from new survey of US Modern Orthodox Jews {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612190930www.timesofisrael.com/5-key-takeaways-some-surprising-from-new-survey-of-us-modern-orthodox-jews/ |date=June 12, 2018 }} By BEN SALES 30 September 2017, JTAAs a whole, American and Canadian Jews donate more than $9{{nbsp}}billion a year to charity. This reflects Jewish traditions of supporting social services as a way of living out the dictates of Jewish law. Most of the charities that benefit are not specifically Jewish organizations.Shaul Bar Nissim, Hanna. “American Jews and Charitable Giving: An Enduring Tradition.” {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190603202359theconversation.com/american-jews-and-charitable-giving-an-enduring-tradition-87993 |date=June 3, 2019 }} The Conversation. 10 December 2017. 3{{nbsp}}June 2019.While the median income of Jewish Americans is high, some Jewish communities have high levels of poverty. In the New York area, there are approximately 560,000 Jews living in poor or near-poor households, representing about 20% of the New York metropolitan Jewish community. Jewish people affected by poverty are disproportionately likely to be children, young adults, the elderly, people with low educational attainment, part-time workers, immigrants from the former Soviet Union, immigrants without American citizenship, Holocaust survivors, Orthodox families, and single adults including single parents.NEWS,forward.com/news/breaking-news/178160/jewish-poverty-skyrockets-in-new-york-doubles-in/, Jewish Poverty Skyrockets in New York — Doubles in Size Since 1991, Berkman, Seth, June 6, 2013, The Forward, The Jewish Daily Forward, January 20, 2016, January 9, 2016,forward.com/news/breaking-news/178160/jewish-poverty-skyrockets-in-new-york-doubles-in/," title="web.archive.org/web/20160109094437forward.com/news/breaking-news/178160/jewish-poverty-skyrockets-in-new-york-doubles-in/,">web.archive.org/web/20160109094437forward.com/news/breaking-news/178160/jewish-poverty-skyrockets-in-new-york-doubles-in/, live, Disability is a major factor in the socioeconomic status of disabled Jews. Disabled Jews are significantly more likely to be low-income compared to able-bodied Jews, while high-income Jews are significantly less likely to be disabled.WEB,www.respectability.org/2022/01/washington-dc-jewish-survey-results/#:~:text=Disability%20and%20Poverty&text=Fully%2026%20percent%20of%20disabled,people%20without%20a%20disability%20connection., Survey of Greater Washington, D.C. Jews Marks Improvement on Jewish Disability Inclusion, January 7, 2022, RespectAbility, 2023-05-15, May 15, 2023,web.archive.org/web/20230515053006/https://www.respectability.org/2022/01/washington-dc-jewish-survey-results/#:~:text=Disability%20and%20Poverty&text=Fully%2026%20percent%20of%20disabled,people%20without%20a%20disability%20connection., live, WEB,www.jpost.com/diaspora/disabled-us-jews-twice-as-likely-to-live-in-poverty-new-report-685285, ‘Disabled US Jews twice as likely to live in poverty’ - new report, November 17, 2021, The Jerusalem Post, 2023-05-15, May 15, 2023,web.archive.org/web/20230515053007/https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/disabled-us-jews-twice-as-likely-to-live-in-poverty-new-report-685285, live, Secular Jews, Jews of no denomination, and people who identify as “just Jewish” are also more likely to live in poverty compared to Jews affiliated with a religious denomination.WEB,hjweinbergfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/dlm_uploads/2019/03/jewish-poverty-in-the-united-states.pdf, Jewish Poverty in the United States: A Summary of Recent Research, Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, 2023-05-15, March 30, 2023,web.archive.org/web/20230330113925/https://hjweinbergfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/dlm_uploads/2019/03/jewish-poverty-in-the-united-states.pdf, live, According to analysis by Gallup, American Jews have the highest well-being of any ethnic or religious group in America.NEWS,news.gallup.com/poll/152732/religious-higher-wellbeing-across-faiths.aspx, In U.S., Very Religious Have Higher Well-Being Across All Faiths, Newport, Frank, Agrawal, Sangeeta, Witters, Dan, February 16, 2012, The Gallup Organization, Gallup, July 15, 2020, July 25, 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200725055957/https://news.gallup.com/poll/152732/religious-higher-wellbeing-across-faiths.aspx, live, NEWS,www.jpost.com/Jewish-World/Jewish-News/Jews-religious-or-not-top-US-well-being-index, Jews, religious or not, top US ‘well-being’ index, The Jerusalem Post, Horn, Jordana, January 17, 2011, January 20, 2016, January 9, 2016,www.jpost.com/Jewish-World/Jewish-News/Jews-religious-or-not-top-US-well-being-index," title="web.archive.org/web/20160109094437www.jpost.com/Jewish-World/Jewish-News/Jews-religious-or-not-top-US-well-being-index,">web.archive.org/web/20160109094437www.jpost.com/Jewish-World/Jewish-News/Jews-religious-or-not-top-US-well-being-index, live, The great majority of school-age Jewish students attend public schools, although Jewish day schools and yeshivas are to be found throughout the country. Jewish cultural studies and Hebrew language instruction is also commonly offered at synagogues in the form of supplementary Hebrew schools or Sunday schools.From the early 1900s until the 1950s, quota systems were imposed at elite colleges and universities particularly in the Northeast, as a response to the growing number of children of recent Jewish immigrants; these limited the number of Jewish students accepted, and greatly reduced their previous attendance. Jewish enrollment at Cornell’s School of Medicine fell from 40% to 4% between the world wars, and Harvard’s fell from 30% to 4%.L. Sandy Maisel and Ira N. Forman, Eds. Jews in American Politics, pp. 5–6 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221121045318books.google.com/books?id=7g1jaWlsY24C&pg=PA6& |date=November 21, 2022 }}, Rowman & Littlefield, (2001). Before 1945, only a few Jewish professors were permitted as instructors at elite universities. In 1941, for example, antisemitism drove Milton Friedman from a non-tenured assistant professorship at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.Milton Friedman and Rose D. Friedman, Two Lucky People: Memoirs (1998) p. 58 online {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221121045319books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0226264157&id=kvf0b1pmJsMC&pg=PA58&lpg=PA58&vq=anti-semitism&dq=milton+friedman+lucky+people&sig=aRnNuTIZ0LmDAoBylCBHI-j03LQ |date=November 21, 2022 }} Harry Levin became the first Jewish full professor in the Harvard English department in 1943, but the Economics department decided not to hire Paul Samuelson in 1948. Harvard hired its first Jewish biochemists in 1954.Morton Keller, Making Harvard Modern: The Rise of America’s University. (2001), pp. 75, 82, 97, 212, 472.According to Clark Kerr, Martin Meyerson in 1965 became the first Jew to serve, albeit temporarily, as the leader of a major American research university.BOOK, Kerr, Clark, The Gold and the Blue: A Personal Memoir of the University of California, 1949-1967, Volume 2, 2001, University of California Press, Berkeley, 9780520925014, 264,books.google.com/books?id=-GSEPX5JIKkC&pg=PA264, 2 September 2020, September 15, 2023,web.archive.org/web/20230915112134/https://books.google.com/books?id=-GSEPX5JIKkC&pg=PA264, live, That year, Meyerson served as acting chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, but was unable to obtain a permanent appointment as a result of a combination of tactical errors on his part and antisemitism on the UC Board of Regents. Meyerson served as the president of the University of Pennsylvania from 1970 to 1981.By 1986, a third of the presidents of the elite undergraduate final clubs at Harvard were Jewish. Rick Levin was president of Yale University from 1993 to 2013, Judith Rodin was president of the University of Pennsylvania from 1994 to 2004 (and is currently president of the Rockefeller Foundation), Paul Samuelson’s nephew, Lawrence Summers, was president of Harvard University from 2001 until 2006, and Harold Shapiro was president of Princeton University from 1992 until 2000.AMERICAN JEWS AT AMERICAN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS{,www.hillel.org/about/news/2006/feb/20060216_top.htm" title="web.archive.org/web/20071220203907www.hillel.org/about/news/2006/feb/20060216_top.htm">web.archive.org/web/20071220203907www.hillel.org/about/news/2006/feb/20060216_top.htm >archive-date=2007-12-20
Religion
File:Touro_Synagogue,_Newport,_RI.jpg|thumb|Touro SynagogueTouro SynagogueJewishness in the United States is considered an ethnic identity as well as a religious one. See ethnoreligious group.ENCYCLOPAEDIA, Jew people, Encyclopaedia Britannica Online,www.britannica.com/topic/Jew-people, December 8, 2022, August 4, 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220804140340/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Jew-people, live,Observances and engagement
{{See also|Religion in the United States#Judaism}}File:BirkatHachamaEncino.jpg|thumb|left|Birkat Hachama of Conservative Jews, Encino, Los AngelesEncino, Los AngelesThe American Jews’ majority continues to identify themselves with Judaism and its main traditions, such as Conservative, Orthodox and Reform Judaism.BOOK, Wertheimer, Jack, Jack Wertheimer, Recent Trends in American Judaism, Neusner, Jacob, Jacob Neusner, An Introduction to Judaism: A Textbook and Reader, Louisville, Kentucky, Westminster/John Knox Press, 1991, 85–116, {{Google books, 6M8oxDql1KIC, y, 85, |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6M8oxDql1KIC |isbn=0-664-25348-2 |access-date=June 29, 2023 |archive-date=June 24, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230624043151books.google.com/books?id=6M8oxDql1KIC |url-status=live }} pp. 86–88.BOOK, Wertheimer, Jack, Jack Wertheimer, The New American Judaism: How Jews Practice Their Religion Today, Princeton, NJ; Oxford, Princeton University Press, 2018,books.google.com/books?id=1DthDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA103, 103, 978-0-691-18129-5, July 3, 2023, July 3, 2023,web.archive.org/web/20230703055818/https://books.google.com/books?id=1DthDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA103, live, But, already in the 1980s, 20–30 percent of members of largest Jewish communities, such as of New York City, Chicago, Miami, and others, rejected a denominational label.According to the 1990 National Jewish Population Survey, 38% of Jews were affiliated with the Reform tradition, 35% were Conservative, 6% were Orthodox, 1% were Reconstructionists, 10% linked themselves to some other tradition, and 10% said they are “just Jewish”.BOOK, Wertheimer, Jack, Jack Wertheimer, Jews in the Center: Conservative Synagogues and Their Members, {{Google books, U_nEoAZ6ffgC, y, 68, |year=2002 |publisher=Rutgers University Press |page=68 |isbn=0-8135-2821-6 |archive-date=2016-01-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109094436books.google.com/books?id=U_nEoAZ6ffgC&pg=PA68 |url-status=live}}File:US_Navy_091211-N-6003P-067_Lt._Zac_Stang,_operations_administrator_and_Jewish_lay_leader_of_the_Nimitz-class_aircraft_carrier_USS_Harry_S._Truman_(CVN_75).jpg|thumb|left|US serviceman lighting a Menorah in observance of the first day of HanukkahHanukkahJewish religious practice in America is quite varied. Among the 4.3 million American Jews described as “strongly connected” to Judaism, over 80% report some sort of active engagement with Judaism,NEWS, A Portrait of Jewish Americans – Chapter 3: Jewish Identity,www.pewforum.org/2013/10/01/chapter-3-jewish-identity/, Pew Research, October 1, 2013, 2014-01-04, January 4, 2014,www.pewforum.org/2013/10/01/chapter-3-jewish-identity/," title="web.archive.org/web/20140104213222www.pewforum.org/2013/10/01/chapter-3-jewish-identity/,">web.archive.org/web/20140104213222www.pewforum.org/2013/10/01/chapter-3-jewish-identity/, live, ranging from attending at daily prayer services on one end of the spectrum, to as little as attending only Passover Seders or lighting Hanukkah candles on the other.A 2003 Harris Poll found that 16% of American Jews go to the synagogue at least once a month, 42% go less frequently but at least once a year, and 42% go less frequently than once a year.WEB, Humphrey, Taylor,www.harrisinteractive.com/vault/Harris-Interactive-Poll-Research-While-Most-Americans-Believe-in-God-Only-36-pct-A-2003-10.pdf, While Most Americans Believe in God, Only 36% Attend a Religious Service Once a Month or More Often, The Harris Poll #59, October 15, 2003, dead,www.harrisinteractive.com/vault/Harris-Interactive-Poll-Research-While-Most-Americans-Believe-in-God-Only-36-pct-A-2003-10.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20101206042041www.harrisinteractive.com/vault/Harris-Interactive-Poll-Research-While-Most-Americans-Believe-in-God-Only-36-pct-A-2003-10.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20101206042041www.harrisinteractive.com/vault/Harris-Interactive-Poll-Research-While-Most-Americans-Believe-in-God-Only-36-pct-A-2003-10.pdf, December 6, 2010, The survey found that of the 4.3 million strongly connected Jews, 46% belong to a synagogue. Among those households who belong to a synagogue, 38% are members of Reform synagogues, 33% Conservative, 22% Orthodox, 2% Reconstructionist, and 5% other types.Traditionally, Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews do not have different branches (Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, etc.) but usually remain observant and religious. However, their synagogues are generally considered Orthodox or Sephardic Haredim by non-Sephardic Jews. But, not all Sephardim are Orthodox; among the pioneers of Reform Judaism movement in the 1820s there was the Sephardic congregation Beth Elohim in Charleston, South Carolina.BOOK, Meyer, Michael A., Michael A. Meyer, Response to Modernity: A History of the Reform Movement in Judaism, Oxford University Press, 1988, New York, 9780195051674, 232–35,books.google.com/books?id=M12toEjI5PEC&pg=PA232, June 30, 2023, June 30, 2023,web.archive.org/web/20230630175739/https://books.google.com/books?id=M12toEjI5PEC&pg=PA232, live, The survey discovered that Jews in the Northeast and Midwest are generally more observant than Jews in the South or West. Reflecting a trend also observed among other religious groups, Jews in the Northwestern United States are typically the least observant.In recent years, there has been a noticeable trend of secular American Jews returning to a more observant, in most cases, Orthodox, lifestyle. Such Jews are called baalei teshuva (“returners”, see also Repentance in Judaism).{{Citation needed|date=June 2014}}The 2008 American Religious Identification Survey found that around 3.4 million American Jews call themselves religious—out of a general Jewish population of about 5.4 million. The number of Jews who identify themselves as only culturally Jewish has risen from 20% in 1990 to 37% in 2008, according to the study. In the same period, the number of all US adults who said they had no religion rose from 8% to 15%. Jews are more likely to be secular than Americans in general, the researchers said. About half of all US Jews—including those who consider themselves religiously observant—claim in the survey that they have a secular worldview and see no contradiction between that outlook and their faith, according to the study’s authors. Researchers attribute the trends among American Jews to the high rate of intermarriage and “disaffection from Judaism” in the United States.NEWS,www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3759000,00.html, US survey: Number of religious Jews drops sharply, ynet, August 9, 2009, February 15, 2015, November 29, 2014,www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3759000,00.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20141129154638www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3759000,00.html,">web.archive.org/web/20141129154638www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3759000,00.html, live,Religious beliefs
American Jews are more likely to be atheists or agnostics than most Americans, especially when they are compared with American Protestants or Catholics. A 2003 poll found that while 79% of Americans believe in God, only 48% of American Jews do, compared to 79% and 90% of American Catholics and Protestants respectively. While 66% of Americans said that they were “absolutely certain” of God’s existence, 24% of American Jews said the same. And though 9% of Americans believe that there is no God (8% of American Catholics and 4% of American Protestants), 19% of American Jews believe that God does not exist.A 2009 Harris Poll showed that American Jews constitute the one religious group which is most accepting of the science of evolution, with 80% accepting evolution, compared to 51% for Catholics, 32% for Protestants, and 16% of born-again Christians.WEB,ncse.com/news/2009/12/evolution-new-harris-poll-005232, Evolution in a new Harris poll, NCSE, March 14, 2012, 2009-12-16, January 25, 2012,ncse.com/news/2009/12/evolution-new-harris-poll-005232," title="web.archive.org/web/20120125174028ncse.com/news/2009/12/evolution-new-harris-poll-005232,">web.archive.org/web/20120125174028ncse.com/news/2009/12/evolution-new-harris-poll-005232, live, They were also less likely to believe in supernatural phenomena such as miracles, angels, or heaven.A 2013 Pew Research Center report found that 1.7 million American Jewish adults, 1.6 million of whom were raised in Jewish homes or had Jewish ancestry, identified as Christians or Messianic Jews but also consider themselves ethnically Jewish. Another 700,000 American Christian adults considered themselves “Jews by affinity” or “grafted-in” Jews.WEB,www.nycreligion.info/national-survey-shows-jews-leaving-judaism-assimilating-christians-nones/, National survey shows Jews leaving Judaism, assimilating, becoming Christians or “Nones”, October 1, 2013, A Journey through NYC religions, December 12, 2019, December 12, 2019,web.archive.org/web/20191212034549/https://www.nycreligion.info/national-survey-shows-jews-leaving-judaism-assimilating-christians-nones/, live, How many Jews are there in the United States? {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210529104046www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/10/02/how-many-jews-are-there-in-the-united-states/ |date=May 29, 2021 }} Pew Research CenterBuddhism
Jewish BuddhistsBOOK, Cohn-Sherbok, Dan, Dan Cohn-Sherbok, Jewish Buddhists, Judaism Today, 2010, Continuum, London; New York, 98–100, {{Google books, kw8SBwAAQBAJ, y, 98, |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kw8SBwAAQBAJ |isbn=978-0-8264-3829-4 |access-date=July 3, 2023 |archive-date=June 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230628053238books.google.com/books?id=kw8SBwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }} are overrepresented among American Buddhists; this is specifically the case among those Jews whose parents are not Buddhist, and those Jews who are without a Buddhist heritage, with between one fifthNEWS, Yoheved, Sara,www.aish.com/sp/so/48905982.html, Conflicts of a Buddhist Jew, Aishcom, Aish.com, May 14, 2005, March 14, 2012, June 3, 2012,www.aish.com/sp/so/48905982.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20120603120838www.aish.com/sp/so/48905982.html,">web.archive.org/web/20120603120838www.aish.com/sp/so/48905982.html, live, and 30% of all American Buddhists identifying as JewishWEB,www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week126/cover.html,www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethic" title="web.archive.org/web/20081110221232www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethic">web.archive.org/web/20081110221232www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethic/week126/cover.html, 2008-11-10, Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly . COVER STORY . Jews and American Buddhism . February 27, 1998, PBS, February 27, 1998, March 14, 2012, though only 2% of Americans are Jewish. Nicknamed Jubus, an increasing{{citation needed|date=July 2020}} number of American Jews have started to adopt Buddhist spiritual practices, while at the same time, they are continuing to identify with and practice Judaism. It may be the individual practices both Judaism and Buddhism. Notable American Jewish Buddhists include: Robert Downey Jr.NEWS, https:www.nytimes.com/2004/11/21/arts/music/robert-downey-jr-the-album.html, The New York Times, Robert Downey Jr.: The Album, November 21, 2004, May 6, 2010, Hilary, De Vries, September 20, 2015,www.nytimes.com/2004/11/21/arts/music/robert-downey-jr-the-album.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20150920063301www.nytimes.com/2004/11/21/arts/music/robert-downey-jr-the-album.html,">web.archive.org/web/20150920063301www.nytimes.com/2004/11/21/arts/music/robert-downey-jr-the-album.html, live, Allen Ginsberg,WEB, Michael, Schumacher,www.allenginsberg.org/bio.php, The Allen Ginsberg Trust: Biography, allenginsberg.org, January 27, 2002, August 23, 2016, dead,allenginsberg.org/bio.php," title="web.archive.org/web/20080723165917allenginsberg.org/bio.php,">web.archive.org/web/20080723165917allenginsberg.org/bio.php, July 23, 2008, Linda Pritzker,Forbes: The World’s Billionaires - Linda Pritzker {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180714151328www.forbes.com/profile/linda-pritzker/ |date=July 14, 2018 }} July 2018 Jonathan F.P. Rose,IN PERSON; Developer With Eye To Profits For Society” By TINA KELLEY {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180808204436www.nytimes.com/2004/04/11/nyregion/in-person-developer-with-eye-to-profits-for-society.html |date=August 8, 2018 }} April 11, 2004 Goldie HawnNEWS,transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0602/24/lkl.01.html, CNN, May 6, 2010, CNN.com, June 29, 2011,transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0602/24/lkl.01.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20110629093937transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0602/24/lkl.01.html,">web.archive.org/web/20110629093937transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0602/24/lkl.01.html, live, and daughter Kate Hudson, Steven Seagal, Adam Yauch of the rap group The Beastie Boys, and Garry Shandling. Film makers the Coen Brothers have been influenced by Buddhism as well for a time.WEB,dudespaper.com/the-dude-abidesnot-just-coen-brothers-fans-will-take-comfort-in-that.html/, The Dude Abides{{nbsp, ... Not Just Coen Brothers Fans Will Take Comfort in That |work=The Dudespaper |date=September 5, 2009 |access-date=February 11, 2014 |archive-date=April 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422230926www.reddit.com/static/button/button1.html?newwindow=true&width=120&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdudespaper.com%2Fthe-dude-abidesnot-just-coen-brothers-fans-will-take-comfort-in-that.html%2F&title=The%20Dude%20Abides...Not%20Just%20Coen%20Brothers%20Fans%20Will%20Take%20Comfort%20in%20That |url-status=live }}Contemporary politics
(File:Map of Jewish US Senators.png|thumb|Map of Jewish senators as of 2024. Blue indicates there is currently one Jewish senator from that state. Gray indicates no Jewish senators from that state.)
|qalign = right
}}Today, American Jews are a distinctive and influential group in the nation’s politics. Jeffrey S. Helmreich writes that the ability of American Jews to effect this through political or financial clout is overestimated,Steven L. Spiegel, The Other Arab-Israeli Conflict (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985), pp. 150–165. that the primary influence lies in the group’s voting patterns.WEB,www.jcpa.org/jl/vp446.htm, The Israel swing factor: how the American Jewish vote influences U.S. elections, Jeffrey S., Helmreich, October 2, 2008,www.jcpa.org/jl/vp446.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20080920070714www.jcpa.org/jl/vp446.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20080920070714www.jcpa.org/jl/vp446.htm, September 20, 2008, live, “Jews have devoted themselves to politics with almost religious fervor,” writes Mitchell Bard, who adds that Jews have the highest percentage voter turnout of any ethnic group (84% reported being registered to voteNEWS,religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report2religious-landscape-study-chapter-2.pdf, Pugh Forum findings Page 81, Pew Research Center’s Religion & Public Life Project, March 10, 2011,religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report2religious-landscape-study-chapter-2.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20110309205034religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report2religious-landscape-study-chapter-2.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20110309205034religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report2religious-landscape-study-chapter-2.pdf, March 9, 2011, live, ).Though the majority (60–70%) of the country’s Jews identify as Democratic, Jews span the political spectrum, with those at higher levels of observance being far more likely to vote Republican than their less observant and secular counterparts.WEB,andrewgelman.com/2008/05/23/voting_patterns/, Voting patterns of Jews and other religious groups, Statistical Modeling, Causal Inference, and Social Science, February 15, 2015, February 15, 2015,andrewgelman.com/2008/05/23/voting_patterns/," title="web.archive.org/web/20150215194355andrewgelman.com/2008/05/23/voting_patterns/,">web.archive.org/web/20150215194355andrewgelman.com/2008/05/23/voting_patterns/, live, File:Florence_Prag_Kahn.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Florence Kahn was the first Jewish woman to be elected to the United States CongressUnited States CongressOwing to high Democratic identification in the 2008 United States Presidential Election, 78% of Jews voted for Democrat Barack Obama versus 21% for Republican John McCain, despite Republican attempts to connect Obama to Muslim and pro-Palestinian causes. It has been suggested that running mate Sarah Palin’s conservative views on social issues may have nudged Jews away from the McCain–Palin ticket.WEB,www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3618408,00.html, 78% of American Jews vote Obama, Yitzhak, Benhorin, Yedioth Internet, October 5, 2008, November 8, 2008,www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3618408,00.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20081108102151www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3618408,00.html,">web.archive.org/web/20081108102151www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3618408,00.html, live, In the 2012 United States presidential election, 69% of Jews voted for the Democratic incumbent President Obama.NEWS, Berenbaum, Michael,www.jewishjournal.com/opinion/article/some_jewish_takeaways_from_the_2012_election, Some Jewish takeaways from the 2012 Election, Jewish Journal, November 8, 2012, November 8, 2012, January 16, 2013,www.jewishjournal.com/opinion/article/some_jewish_takeaways_from_the_2012_election," title="web.archive.org/web/20130116070345www.jewishjournal.com/opinion/article/some_jewish_takeaways_from_the_2012_election,">web.archive.org/web/20130116070345www.jewishjournal.com/opinion/article/some_jewish_takeaways_from_the_2012_election, live, In 2019, after the 2016 election of Donald Trump, poll data from the Jewish Electorate Institute showed that 73% of Jewish voters felt less secure as Jews than before, 71% disapproved of Trump’s handling of anti-Semitism (54% strongly disapprove), 59% felt that he bears “at least some responsibility” for the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting and Poway synagogue shooting, and 38% were concerned that Trump was encouraging right-wing extremism. Views of the Democratic and Republican parties were milder: 28% were concerned that Republicans were making alliances with white nationalists and tolerating anti-Semitism within their ranks, while 27% were concerned that Democrats were tolerating anti-Semitism within their ranks.Jewish Electorate Institute. POLL: Domestic issues dominate the priorities of the Jewish electorate {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190815211740www.jewishelectorateinstitute.org/poll-domestic-issues-dominate-the-priorities-of-the-jewish-electorate/ |date=August 15, 2019 }}. May 22, 2019.In the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election, 77% of American Jews voted for Joe Biden, while 22% voted for Donald Trump.NEWS, Ziri, Danielle, Over three-quarters of U.S. Jews Voted for Biden in Election, Poll Finds,www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium-over-three-quarters-of-u-s-jews-voted-for-biden-in-election-poll-finds-1.9288692, 2 July 2021, Haaretz, November 4, 2020, July 4, 2021,web.archive.org/web/20210704160954/https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium-over-three-quarters-of-u-s-jews-voted-for-biden-in-election-poll-finds-1.9288692, live, Foreign policy
American Jews have displayed a very strong interest in foreign affairs, especially regarding Germany in the 1930s, and Israel since 1945.Michael N. Barnett, The Star and the Stripes: A History of the Foreign Policies of American Jews (2016) Both major parties have made strong commitments in support of Israel. Dr. Eric Uslaner of the University of Maryland argues, with regard to the 2004 election: “Only 15% of Jews said that Israel was a key voting issue. Among those voters, 55% voted for Kerry (compared to 83% of Jewish voters not concerned with Israel).” Uslander goes on to point out that negative views of Evangelical Christians had a distinctly negative impact for Republicans among Jewish voters, while Orthodox Jews, traditionally more conservative in outlook as to social issues, favored the Republican Party.Eric M. Uslaner, WEB,www.bsos.umd.edu/gvpt/uslaner/uslanerlichbachjewishvotingbehaviorsummary.pdf,www.bsos.umd.edu/gvpt/uslaner/uslanerlichbachjewishvotingbehaviorsummary.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20100615202225www.bsos.umd.edu/gvpt/uslaner/uslanerlichbachjewishvotingbehaviorsummary.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20100615202225www.bsos.umd.edu/gvpt/uslaner/uslanerlichbachjewishvotingbehaviorsummary.pdf, dead, 2010-06-15, Two Front War: Jews, Identity, Liberalism, and Voting, {{small|(59.6 KB)}} A New York Times article suggests that the Jewish movement to the Republican party is focused heavily on faith-based issues, similar to the Catholic vote, which is credited for helping President Bush taking Florida in 2004.NEWS, Laurie, Goodstein, William, Yardley,www.nytimes.com/2004/11/05/politics/campaign/bush-benefits-from-efforts-to-build-a-coalition-of-the-faithful.html, President Benefits From Efforts to Build a Coalition of Religious Voters, The New York Times, November 5, 2004, January 19, 2016, However, Natan Guttman, The Forward{{’}}s Washington bureau chief, dismisses this notion, writing in Moment that while “[i]t is true that Republicans are making small and steady strides into the Jewish community{{nbsp}}... a look at the past three decades of exit polls, which are more reliable than pre-election polls, and the numbers are clear: Jews vote overwhelmingly Democratic,“NEWS, Natan, Guttman,www.momentmag.com/, Myths About the “Jewish Vote”, Moment Magazine, July–August 2011, June 30, 2011, July 3, 2011,www.momentmag.com/," title="web.archive.org/web/20110703222905www.momentmag.com/,">web.archive.org/web/20110703222905www.momentmag.com/, live, an assertion confirmed by the most recent presidential election results.Jewish Americans were more strongly opposed to the Iraq War from its onset than any other ethnic group, or even most Americans. The greater opposition to the war was not simply a result of high Democratic identification among Jewish Americans, as Jewish Americans of all political persuasions were more likely to oppose the war than non-Jews who shared the same political leanings.NEWS,www.gallup.com/poll/26677/Among-Religious-Groups-Jewish-Americans-Most-Strongly-Oppose-War.aspx, Among Religious Groups, Jewish Americans Most Strongly Oppose War, Gallup, Inc., Jeffrey M., Jones, Gallup.com, February 23, 2007, October 4, 2008,www.gallup.com/poll/26677/Among-Religious-Groups-Jewish-Americans-Most-Strongly-Oppose-War.aspx," title="web.archive.org/web/20081011153616www.gallup.com/poll/26677/Among-Religious-Groups-Jewish-Americans-Most-Strongly-Oppose-War.aspx,">web.archive.org/web/20081011153616www.gallup.com/poll/26677/Among-Religious-Groups-Jewish-Americans-Most-Strongly-Oppose-War.aspx, October 11, 2008, live, WEB,www.aipac.org/Publications/AIPACPeriodicalsNearEastReport/NER011507.pdf, Editor’s Comments, Near East, October 4, 2008,www.aipac.org/Publications/AIPACPeriodicalsNearEastReport/NER011507.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20081029001438www.aipac.org/Publications/AIPACPeriodicalsNearEastReport/NER011507.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20081029001438www.aipac.org/Publications/AIPACPeriodicalsNearEastReport/NER011507.pdf, October 29, 2008, live,Domestic issues
A 2013 Pew Research Center survey suggests that American Jews’ views on domestic politics are intertwined with the community’s self-definition as a persecuted minority who benefited from the liberties and societal shifts in the United States and feel obligated to help other minorities enjoy the same benefits. American Jews across age and gender lines tend to vote for and support politicians and policies which are supported by the Democratic Party. On the other hand, Orthodox American Jews have domestic political views which are more similar to those of their religious Christian neighbors.Boyarsky, Bill. “Pew finds Jews mostly liberal.” {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110145921www.jewishjournal.com/bill_boyarsky/article/pew_finds_jews_mostly_liberal |date=November 10, 2013 }} Jewish Journal. 23 October 2013. 23 October 2013.American Jews are largely supportive of LGBT rights with 79% responding in a 2011 Pew poll that homosexuality should be “accepted by society”, while the overall average in the same 2011 poll among Americans of all demographic groups was that 50%.NEWS,religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report2religious-landscape-study-chapter-2.pdf, Pew Forum findings Page 92, Pew Research Center’s Religion & Public Life Project, March 10, 2011,religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report2religious-landscape-study-chapter-2.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20110309205034religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report2religious-landscape-study-chapter-2.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20110309205034religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report2religious-landscape-study-chapter-2.pdf, March 9, 2011, live, A split on homosexuality exists by level of observance. Reform rabbis in America perform same-sex marriages as a matter of routine, and there are fifteen LGBT Jewish congregations in North America.NEWS,www.haaretz.com/the-gay-question-and-the-jewish-question-1.206707, The gay question and the Jewish question, haaretz, January 6, 2010, 2006-12-10, January 9, 2016,www.haaretz.com/the-gay-question-and-the-jewish-question-1.206707," title="web.archive.org/web/20160109094438www.haaretz.com/the-gay-question-and-the-jewish-question-1.206707,">web.archive.org/web/20160109094438www.haaretz.com/the-gay-question-and-the-jewish-question-1.206707, live, Reform, Reconstructionist and, increasingly, Conservative, Jews are far more supportive on issues like gay marriage than Orthodox Jews are.WEB,www.jewsonfirst.org/howjewsseegr.html, Attacks on Gay Rights: How Jews See It, jewsonfirst.org, February 25, 2009,www.jewsonfirst.org/howjewsseegr.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20130116072133www.jewsonfirst.org/howjewsseegr.html,">web.archive.org/web/20130116072133www.jewsonfirst.org/howjewsseegr.html, January 16, 2013, dead, A 2007 survey of Conservative Jewish leaders and activists showed that an overwhelming majority supported gay rabbinical ordination and same-sex marriage.WEB,forward.com/news/9989/poll-conservative-leaders-back-gay-rabbis/, Poll: Conservative Leaders Back Gay Rabbis, Rebecca, Spence, February 2007, April 23, 2009, Forward Association, July 2, 2015,forward.com/news/9989/poll-conservative-leaders-back-gay-rabbis/," title="web.archive.org/web/20150702160629forward.com/news/9989/poll-conservative-leaders-back-gay-rabbis/,">web.archive.org/web/20150702160629forward.com/news/9989/poll-conservative-leaders-back-gay-rabbis/, live, Accordingly, 78% of Jewish voters rejected Prop{{nbsp}}8, the bill that banned gay marriage in California. No other ethnic or religious group voted as strongly against it.NEWS,latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2008/11/la-jews-overwhe.html, L.A. Jews overwhelmingly opposed Prop. 8, exit poll finds, LA Times, December 10, 2008, November 9, 2008,latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2008/11/la-jews-overwhe.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20081212232129latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2008/11/la-jews-overwhe.html,">web.archive.org/web/20081212232129latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2008/11/la-jews-overwhe.html, December 12, 2008, live, A 2014 Pew poll found that American Jews mostly support abortion rights, with 83% answering that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.WEB, Views about abortion among Jews, pewresearch.org,www.pewresearch.org/religion/religious-landscape-study/religious-tradition/jewish/views-about-abortion/, 27 June 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220619163830/https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/religious-landscape-study/religious-tradition/jewish/views-about-abortion/, 19 June 2022, In considering the trade-off between the economy and environmental protection, American Jews were significantly more likely than other religious groups (excepting Buddhism) to favor stronger environmental protection.NEWS,religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report2religious-landscape-study-chapter-2.pdf, Pugh Forum findings Page 104, Pew Research Center’s Religion & Public Life Project, March 10, 2011,religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report2religious-landscape-study-chapter-2.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20110309205034religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report2religious-landscape-study-chapter-2.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20110309205034religions.pewforum.org/pdf/report2religious-landscape-study-chapter-2.pdf, March 9, 2011, live, Jews in America also overwhelmingly oppose current United States marijuana policy.{{update inline|date=March 2021}} In 2009, eighty-six percent of Jewish Americans opposed arresting nonviolent marijuana smokers, compared to 61% for the population at large and 68% of all Democrats. Additionally, 85% of Jews in the United States opposed using federal law enforcement to close patient cooperatives for medical marijuana in states where medical marijuana is legal, compared to 67% of the population at large and 73% of Democrats.WEB,norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5052, Majority of Americans Oppose US Marijuana Policies, April 23, 2009, NORML,norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5052," title="web.archive.org/web/20090423031414norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5052,">web.archive.org/web/20090423031414norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5052, April 23, 2009, live, A 2014 Pew Research survey titled “How Americans Feel About Religious Groups”, found that Jews were viewed the most favorably of all other groups, with a rating of 63 out of 100.NEWS, How Americans Feel About Religious Groups, Pew Research Center’s Religion & Public Life Project, 2014-07-16,www.pewforum.org/2014/07/16/how-americans-feel-about-religious-groups/, 2018-02-10, February 9, 2017,www.pewforum.org/2014/07/16/how-americans-feel-about-religious-groups/," title="web.archive.org/web/20170209101432www.pewforum.org/2014/07/16/how-americans-feel-about-religious-groups/,">web.archive.org/web/20170209101432www.pewforum.org/2014/07/16/how-americans-feel-about-religious-groups/, live, Jews were viewed most positively by fellow Jews, followed by white Evangelicals. Sixty percent of the 3,200 persons surveyed said they had ever met a Jew.WEB, Green, Emma, Americans Say Jews Are the Coolest, The Atlantic, 2014-07-16,www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/07/americans-just-think-jews-are-the-coolest/374530/, 2018-02-10, February 11, 2018,web.archive.org/web/20180211185959/https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/07/americans-just-think-jews-are-the-coolest/374530/, live,Jewish American culture
{{See also|Jewish secularism|Jewish culture}}Since the time of the last major wave of Jewish immigration to America (over 2,000,000 Jews from Eastern Europe who arrived between 1890 and 1924), Jewish secular culture in the United States has become integrated in almost every important way with the broader American culture. Many aspects of Jewish American culture have, in turn, become part of the wider culture of the United States.Language{| class“wikitable floatright“|+ Jewish languages in the US
Jewish American literature
Although American Jews have contributed greatly to American arts in general, there still remains a distinctly Jewish American literature. Jewish American literature often explores the experience of being a Jew in America, and the conflicting pulls of secular society and history.Popular culture
Yiddish theater was very well attended, and provided a training ground for performers and producers who moved to Hollywood in the 1920s. Many of the early Hollywood moguls and pioneers were Jewish.BOOK, Sarah Blacher Cohen, Sarah Blacher Cohen, From Hester Street to Hollywood: The Jewish-American Stage and Screen,archive.org/details/fromhesterstreet00cohe, registration, 1983, Indiana University Press, 9780253325006, BOOK, Gabler, Neal, Neal Gabler, An Empire of Their Own: How the Jews Invented Hollywood, 1988, Crown Publishing Group, An Empire of Their Own, They played roles in the development of radio and television networks, typified by William S. Paley who ran CBS.Sally Bedell Smith, In All His Glory: the Life and Times of William S. Paley and the Birth of Modern Broadcasting (1990). Stephen J. Whitfield states that “The Sarnoff family was long dominant at NBC.“Stephen J. Whitfield, “The Jewish contribution to American journalism.” American Journalism 3.2 (1986): 99–112, quote p 102.Many individual Jews have made significant contributions to American popular culture.Paul Buhle, From the Lower East Side to Hollywood: Jews in American Popular Culture (Verso, 2004). There have been many Jewish American actors and performers, ranging from early 1900s actors, to classic Hollywood film stars, and culminating in many currently known actors. The field of American comedy includes many Jews. The legacy also includes songwriters and authors, for example the author of the song “Viva Las Vegas” Doc Pomus, or Billy the Kid composer Aaron Copland. Many Jews have been at the forefront of women’s issues.There were 110 Jewish players in Major League Baseball between 1870 and 1881.JOURNAL, Patterson, Alan Owen, February 2008, The Eastern European Jewish Immigrant Experience with Baseball in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century, Modern Judaism, 28, 1, 79–104, 30130936, 10.1093/mj/kjm019, 161807444, The first generation of Jewish Americans who immigrated during the 1880–1924 peak period were not interested in baseball, and in some cases tried to prevent their children from watching or participating in baseball-related activities. Most were focused on making sure they and their children took advantage of education and employment opportunities. Despite the efforts of parents, Jewish children became interested in baseball quickly since it was already embedded in the broader American culture. The second generation of immigrants saw baseball as a means to celebrate American culture without abandoning their broader religious community. After 1924, many Yiddish newspapers began covering baseball, which they had not done previously.Government and military
File:JewishConfederate.JPG|thumb|right|Grave of a Confederate Jewish soldier near Clinton, LouisianaClinton, Louisiana{{See also|Military history of Jewish Americans}}Since 1845, a total of 34 Jews have served in the Senate, including the 14 present-day senators noted above. Judah P. Benjamin was the first practicing Jewish Senator, and would later serve as Confederate Secretary of War and Secretary of State during the Civil War. Rahm Emanuel served as Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama. The number of Jews elected to the House rose to an all-time high of 30. Eight Jews have been appointed to the United States Supreme Court, of which one (Elena Kagan) is currently serving. Had Merrick Garland’s 2016 nomination been accepted, that number would have risen to four out of nine since Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer were also serving at that time.The Civil War marked a transition for American Jews. It killed off the antisemitic canard, widespread in Europe, to the effect that Jews are cowardly, preferring to run from war rather than serve alongside their fellow citizens in battle.Adam Mendelsohn, “Beyond the Battlefield: Reevaluating the Legacy of the Civil War for American Jews,” American Jewish Archives Journal 64 (nos. 1–2, 2012), 82–111 online {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140708104454americanjewisharchives.org/publications/journal/PDF/2012_64_01_00_mendelsohn.pdf |date=July 8, 2014 }}.Howard B. Rock, “Upheaval, Innovation, and Transformation: New York City Jews and the Civil War,” American Jewish Archives Journal 64 (nos. 1–2, 2012), 1–26.At least twenty eight American Jews have been awarded the Medal of Honor.World War II
More than 550,000 Jews served in the U.S. military during World War II; about 11,000 of them were killed and more than 40,000 of them were wounded. There were three recipients of the Medal of Honor; 157 recipients of the Army Distinguished Service Medal, Navy Distinguished Service Medal, Distinguished Service Cross, or Navy Cross; and about 1600 recipients of the Silver Star. About 50,000 other decorations and awards were given to Jewish military personnel, making a total of 52,000 decorations. During this period, Jews were approximately 3.3 percent of the total U.S. population but they constituted about 4.23 percent of the U.S. armed forces. About 60 percent of all Jewish physicians in the United States who were under 45 years of age were in service as military physicians and medics.Brody, Seymour. “Jewish Heroes and Heroines in America: World War II to the Present, A Judaica Collection Exhibit {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160302191841seymourbrody.com/index.htm |date=March 2, 2016 }}.“Many{{citation needed|date=February 2020}} Jewish physicists, including J. Robert Oppenheimer, were involved in the Manhattan Project, the secret World War II effort to develop the atomic bomb. Many of these physicists were refugees from Nazi Germany or they were refugees from antisemitic persecution which was also occurring elsewhere in Europe.American folk music
Jews have been involved in the American folk music scene since the late 19th century;BOOK,www.amazon.com/Union-Hymnal-Prayers-Jewish-Worship/dp/B00157OXGY, Union Hymnal: Songs and Prayers for Jewish Worship: Central Conference of American Rabbis, Committee on Synagogue Music, Amazon.com, January 1948, The Central Conference of American Rabbis, August 29, 2017, September 18, 2018,web.archive.org/web/20180918051622/https://www.amazon.com/Union-Hymnal-Prayers-Jewish-Worship/dp/B00157OXGY, live, these tended to be refugees from Central and Eastern Europe, and significantly more economically disadvantaged than their established Western European Sephardic coreligionists.WEB,old.library.jhu.edu/collections/specialcollections/sheetmusic/musictours/text/jewishmusic.html, The Jew and American Popular Music, Margaret, Burri, July 18, 2007, jhu.edu, dead,old.library.jhu.edu/collections/specialcollections/sheetmusic/musictours/text/jewishmusic.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20130116072128old.library.jhu.edu/collections/specialcollections/sheetmusic/musictours/text/jewishmusic.html,">web.archive.org/web/20130116072128old.library.jhu.edu/collections/specialcollections/sheetmusic/musictours/text/jewishmusic.html, January 16, 2013, mdy-all, Historians see it as a legacy of the secular Yiddish theater, cantorial traditions and a desire to assimilate. By the 1940s Jews had become established in the American folk music scene.Examples of the major impact Jews have had in the American folk music arena include, but are not limited to: Moe Asch the first to record and release much of the music of Woody Guthrie, including “This Land is Your Land” (see The Asch Recordings) in response to Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America”, and Guthrie wrote Jewish songs. Guthrie married a Jew and their son Arlo became influential in his own right. Asch’s one-man corporation Folkways Records also released much of the music of Leadbelly and Pete Seeger from the ‘40s and ‘50s. Asch’s large music catalog was voluntarily donated to the Smithsonian.Jews have also thrived in Jazz music and contributed to its popularization.Three of the four creators of the Newport Folk Festival, Wein, Bikel and Grossman (Seeger is not) were Jewish. Albert Grossman put together Peter, Paul and Mary, of which Yarrow is Jewish. Oscar Brand, from a Canadian Jewish family, has the longest running radio program “Oscar Brand’s Folksong Festival” which has been on air consecutively since 1945 from New York City.WEB,www.wnyc.org/shows/folksong-festival/, Folksong Festival, WNYC, August 20, 2012, August 4, 2012,www.wnyc.org/shows/folksong-festival/," title="web.archive.org/web/20120804171950www.wnyc.org/shows/folksong-festival/,">web.archive.org/web/20120804171950www.wnyc.org/shows/folksong-festival/, live, And is the first American broadcast where the host himself will answer any personal correspondence.The influential group The Weavers, successor to the Almanac Singers, led by Pete Seeger, had a Jewish manager, and two of the four members of the group were Jewish (Gilbert and Hellerman). The B-side of “Good Night Irene” had the Hebrew folk song personally chosen for the record by Pete Seeger “Tzena, Tzena, Tzena”.The influential folk music magazine Sing Out! was co-founded and edited by Irwin Silber in 1951, and edited by him until 1967, when the magazine stopped publication for decades. Rolling Stone magazine’s first music critic Jon Landau is of German Jewish descent. Izzy Young who created the legendaryDylan, Seeger, Lomax, Cohen all either write whole songs about it, or spend considerable time praising it Folklore Center in New York, and currently the Folklore Centrum near Mariatorget in Södermalm, Sweden, which relates to American and Swedish folk music.WEB, Izzy Young: A folk man in Sweden defined by Dylan,www.thelocal.se/20100215/24996, The Local, 4 January 2014, 2010-02-15, January 4, 2014,www.thelocal.se/20100215/24996," title="web.archive.org/web/20140104212540www.thelocal.se/20100215/24996,">web.archive.org/web/20140104212540www.thelocal.se/20100215/24996, live, Dave Van Ronk observed that the behind the scenes 1950s folk scene “was at the very least 50 percent Jewish, and they adopted the music as part of their assimilation into the Anglo-American tradition which itself was largely an artificial construct but none the less provided us with some common ground”.Dave von Ronk, The Mayor of Macdougal Street, A Folk Memoir p. 29Nobel Prize winner Bob Dylan is also Jewish.Finance and law
Jews have been involved in financial services since the colonial era. They received rights to trade fur, from the Dutch and Swedish colonies. British governors honored these rights after taking over. During the Revolutionary War, Haym Solomon helped create America’s first semi-central bank, and advised Alexander Hamilton on the building of America’s financial system.{{citation needed|date=December 2019}}American Jews in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries played a major role in developing America’s financial services industry, both at investment banks and with investment funds.WEB,www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/banking-and-bankers, Banking and Bankers, www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org, August 28, 2022, August 28, 2022,web.archive.org/web/20220828074945/https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/banking-and-bankers, live, German Jewish bankers began to assume a major role in American finance in the 1830s when government and private borrowing to pay for canals, railroads and other internal improvements increased rapidly and significantly. Men such as August Belmont (Rothschild’s agent in New York and a leading Democrat), Philip Speyer, Jacob Schiff (at Kuhn, Loeb & Company), Joseph Seligman, Philip Lehman (of Lehman Brothers), Jules Bache, and Marcus Goldman (of Goldman Sachs) illustrate this financial elite.Stephen Birmingham, Our Crowd: The Great Jewish Families of New York (1967) pp. 8–9, 96–108, 128–42, 233–36, 331–37, 343, As was true of their non-Jewish counterparts, family, personal, and business connections, a reputation for honesty and integrity, ability, and a willingness to take calculated risks were essential to recruit capital from widely scattered sources. The families and the firms which they controlled were bound together by religious and social factors, and by the prevalence of intermarriage. These personal ties fulfilled real business functions before the advent of institutional organization in the 20th century.Vincent P. Carosso, “A Financial Elite: New York’s German-Jewish Investment Bankers,” American Jewish Historical Quarterly, 1976, Vol. 66 Issue 1, pp. 67–88Barry E. Supple, “A Business Elite: German-Jewish Financiers in Nineteenth-Century New York,” Business History Review, Summer 1957, Vol. 31 Issue 2, pp. 143–177 Antisemitic elements often falsely targeted them as key players in a supposed Jewish cabal conspiring to dominate the world.Richard Levy, ed. “Bankers, Jewish” in Antisemitism: A Historical Encyclopedia of Prejudice and Persecution (2005) pp. 55–56Since the late 20th century, Jews have played a major role in the hedge fund industry, according to Zuckerman (2009).Bruce Zuckerman, The Jewish Role In American Life (2009) pp. 64, 70 Thus SAC Capital Advisors,Led by Steven Cohen; Bruce Zuckerman, The Jewish Role In American Life (2009) p. 71 Soros Fund Management,Bruce Zuckerman, The Jewish Role In American Life (2009) p. 72 Och-Ziff Capital Management,“Schechter school mourns founder Golda Och, 74” New Jersey Jewish News January 13, 2010 GLG Partners“The 400 Richest Americans: No. 355 Noam Gottesman” Forbes Sept 17. 1008 Renaissance TechnologiesSteven L. Pease. The Golden Age of Jewish Achievement (2009) p. 510 and Elliott Management Corporationblogs.jta.org/politics/article/2011/05/14/3087695/jewish-republican-pro-gay-rights" title="web.archive.org/web/20111213231257blogs.jta.org/politics/article/2011/05/14/3087695/jewish-republican-pro-gay-rights">JTA: “Jewish, Republican, pro-gay rights” By Ron Kampeas May 14, 2011NEWS,fortune.com/2012/03/26/mitt-romneys-hedge-fund-kingmaker/, Mitt Romney’s hedge fund kingmaker, Fortune, en, 2019-12-12, November 20, 2019,web.archive.org/web/20191120153302/https://fortune.com/2012/03/26/mitt-romneys-hedge-fund-kingmaker/, live, are large hedge funds cofounded by Jews. They have also played a pivotal role in the private equity industry, co-founding some of the largest firms in the United States, such as Blackstone,See Jamie Johnson, “Wasps Stung over Renaming of the N.Y.P.L.” www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2008/05/it-is-an-act-of.html" title="web.archive.org/web/20090809075734www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2008/05/it-is-an-act-of.html">Vanity Fair Daily May 19, 2008 Cerberus Capital Management,Hareetz: “A shy wunderkind, Stephen Feinberg” By Eytan Avriel {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140505111845www.haaretz.com/print-edition/business/a-shy-wunderkind-stephen-feinberg-1.174285 |date=May 5, 2014 }} November 16, 2005 TPG Capital,“TPG Sells Shares of Indian Company – Win-win for Everybody!” By Orna Taub {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140111053821jewishbusinessnews.com/2013/03/26/tpg-sells-shares-of-indian-company-win-win-for-everybody-2/ |date=January 11, 2014 }}, Jewish Business News, March 26, 2013 BlackRock,NEWS,forward.com/the-assimilator/131013/jews-dominate-vanity-fair-100-most-influential-mog/, The Jewish Daily Forward, Jews Dominate Vanity Fair 100 Most Influential Moguls List, 3 September 2010, September 3, 2010, Israel, Michael, Kaminer, December 12, 2015,forward.com/the-assimilator/131013/jews-dominate-vanity-fair-100-most-influential-mog/," title="web.archive.org/web/20151212120223forward.com/the-assimilator/131013/jews-dominate-vanity-fair-100-most-influential-mog/,">web.archive.org/web/20151212120223forward.com/the-assimilator/131013/jews-dominate-vanity-fair-100-most-influential-mog/, live, Carlyle Group,Robin Pogrebin, “Donor Gives Lincoln Center $10 Million”, New York Times Sept. 30, 2009 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121116110128www.nytimes.com/2009/10/01/arts/01donor.html |date=November 16, 2012 }} Warburg Pincus,Ron Chernow, The Warburgs (1994) p. 661 and KKR.R. William Weisberger, “Jews and American Investment Banking,” American Jewish Archives, June 1991, Vol. 43 Issue 1, pp. 71–75On the careers of John Gutfreund (at Salomon Brothers); Felix Rohatyn (based at Lazard); Sanford I. Weill (of Citigroup) and numerous others see Judith Ramsey Ehrlich, The New Crowd: The Changing of the Jewish Guard on Wall Street (1990), pp. 4, 72, 226.Charles D. Ellis, The Partnership: The Making of Goldman Sachs (2nd ed. 2009) pp. 29, 45, 52, 91, 93Very few Jewish lawyers were hired by White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (“WASP“) upscale white-shoe law firms, but they started their own. The WASP dominance in law ended when a number of major Jewish law firms attained elite status in dealing with top-ranked corporations. As late as 1950 there was not a single large Jewish law firm in New York City. However, by 1965 six of the 20 largest firms were Jewish; by 1980 four of the ten largest were Jewish.Eli Wald, “The rise and fall of the WASP and Jewish law firms.” Stanford Law Review 60 (2007): 1803-1866; discrimination p. 1838 and statistics p. 1805.Federal Reserve
Paul Warburg, one of the leading advocates of the establishment of a central bank in the United States and one of the first governors of the newly established Federal Reserve System, came from a prominent Jewish family in Germany.Ron Chernow, The Warburgs (1994) p. 26 Since then, several Jews have served as chairmen of the Fed, including Eugene Meyer, Arthur F. Burns, Alan Greenspan, Ben Bernanke and Janet Yellen.Science, business, and academia
Many Jews have become remarkably successful as an entrepreneurial and professional minority in the United States. Many Jewish family businesses that are passed down from one generation to the next serve as an asset, source of income and layer a strong financial groundwork for the family’s overall socioeconomic prosperity.WEB,www.atimes.com/atimes/China/CHIN-01-100114.html,atimes.com/atimes/China/CHIN-01-100114.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20140110131435atimes.com/atimes/China/CHIN-01-100114.html,">web.archive.org/web/20140110131435atimes.com/atimes/China/CHIN-01-100114.html, unfit, January 10, 2014, Common traits bind Jews and Chinese, Asia Times Online, January 10, 2014, 23 September 2015, WEB,www.philstar.com/business-life/2015/08/03/1483091/misconceptions-and-lessons-about-chinese-and-jewish-entrepreneurs, Misconceptions and lessons about Chinese and Jewish entrepreneurs, Lifestyle, August 3, 2015, 23 September 2015, July 28, 2017,www.philstar.com/business-life/2015/08/03/1483091/misconceptions-and-lessons-about-chinese-and-jewish-entrepreneurs," title="web.archive.org/web/20170728171231www.philstar.com/business-life/2015/08/03/1483091/misconceptions-and-lessons-about-chinese-and-jewish-entrepreneurs,">web.archive.org/web/20170728171231www.philstar.com/business-life/2015/08/03/1483091/misconceptions-and-lessons-about-chinese-and-jewish-entrepreneurs, live, WEB,www.pbs.org/newshour/making-sense/the-chosen-few-a-new-explanati/, The Chosen Few: A New Explanation of Jewish Success, PBS Newshour, April 18, 2013, 4 July 2015, Maristella Botticini and Zvi Eckstein, September 6, 2017,www.pbs.org/newshour/making-sense/the-chosen-few-a-new-explanati/," title="web.archive.org/web/20170906223448www.pbs.org/newshour/making-sense/the-chosen-few-a-new-explanati/,">web.archive.org/web/20170906223448www.pbs.org/newshour/making-sense/the-chosen-few-a-new-explanati/, live, NEWS,www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4099803,00.html, How did American Jews get so rich?, YNetNews, 2011-10-26, 4 July 2015, Tani, Goldstein, November 1, 2013,www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4099803,00.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20131101054101www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4099803,00.html,">web.archive.org/web/20131101054101www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4099803,00.html, live, Within the Jewish American cultural sphere, Jewish Americans have also developed a strong culture of entrepreneurship, for excellence in entrepreneurship and engagement in business and commerce is highly prized in Jewish culture.NEWS,forward.com/articles/197643/why-are-so-many-pro-basketball-owners-jewish-like/?p=all, Why Are So Many Pro Basketball Owners Jewish (Like Donald Sterling)?, Forward, May 6, 2014, 5 April 2015, Josh, Nathan-Kazis, April 12, 2015,forward.com/articles/197643/why-are-so-many-pro-basketball-owners-jewish-like/?p=all," title="web.archive.org/web/20150412134117forward.com/articles/197643/why-are-so-many-pro-basketball-owners-jewish-like/?p=all,">web.archive.org/web/20150412134117forward.com/articles/197643/why-are-so-many-pro-basketball-owners-jewish-like/?p=all, live, American Jews have also been drawn to various disciplines within academia such as physics, sociology, economics, psychology, mathematics, philosophy and linguistics (see Jewish culture for some of the causes), and have played a disproportionate role in numerous academic domains. Jewish American intellectuals such as Saul Bellow, Ayn Rand, Noam Chomsky, Thomas Friedman, Milton Friedman and Elie Wiesel have made a major impact within mainstream American public life. Of American Nobel Prize winners, 37 percent have been Jewish Americans (18 times the percentage of Jews in the population), as have been 61 percent of the John Bates Clark Medal in economics recipients (thirty-five times the Jewish percentage).WEB,www.jinfo.org/Clark_Economics.html, JEWISH RECIPIENTS OF THE JOHN BATES CLARK MEDAL IN ECONOMICS, Jinfo, September 9, 2014, August 26, 2014,www.jinfo.org/Clark_Economics.html," title="web.archive.org/web/20140826160929www.jinfo.org/Clark_Economics.html,">web.archive.org/web/20140826160929www.jinfo.org/Clark_Economics.html, live, In the business world, it was found in 1995 that while Jewish Americans constituted less than 2.5 percent of the U.S. population, they occupied 7.7 percent of board seats at various U.S. corporations.NEWS,www.motherjones.com/politics/1998/03/new-power-elite, Mother Jones, the Changing Power Elite, 1998, Mother Jones, January 20, 2007, May 8, 2009,www.motherjones.com/politics/1998/03/new-power-elite," title="web.archive.org/web/20090508052706www.motherjones.com/politics/1998/03/new-power-elite,">web.archive.org/web/20090508052706www.motherjones.com/politics/1998/03/new-power-elite, live, American Jews also have a strong presence in NBA ownership. Of the 30 teams in the NBA, there are 14 Jewish principal owners. Several Jews have served as NBA commissioners including prior NBA commissioner David Stern and current commissioner Adam Silver.Since many careers in science, business, and academia generally pay well, Jewish Americans also tend to have a somewhat higher average income than most Americans. The 2000–2001 National Jewish Population Survey shows that the median income of a Jewish family is $54,000 a year ($5,000 more than the average family) and 34% of Jewish households report income over $75,000 a year.WEB,www.jewishfederations.org/page.aspx?id=46193, NJPS: Demography: Education, Employment and Income, jewishfederations.org, 2001, dead,www.jewishfederations.org/page.aspx?id=46193," title="web.archive.org/web/20130720145138www.jewishfederations.org/page.aspx?id=46193,">web.archive.org/web/20130720145138www.jewishfederations.org/page.aspx?id=46193, July 20, 2013,Food
Jewish American people have had a large effect on the cuisine of the United States. Common foods eaten by Jewish Americans are bagels, knish, gefilte fish, kreplach, matzoh ball soup, hamantash, lox, kugel, pastrami, and brisket. Companies specializing in Jewish American foods include Manischewitz and Streit’s.Notable people
See also
- American Jewish cuisine
- Israeli Americans
- Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America
- List of Jewish political milestones in the United States
- National Museum of American Jewish Military History
- Jews in Los Angeles
- Jews in Maine
- Perpetual foreigner stereotype in America
- Stereotypes of Jews
Notes
{{Notelist}}References
{{Reflist|refs =7,153,065 as of 2020 according to:- WEB, Jewish Population in the United States by State,www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jewish-population-in-the-united-states-by-state, Jewish Population in the United States by State, Jewish Virtual Library, 24 February 2021, October 18, 2020,web.archive.org/web/20201018050539/https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jewish-population-in-the-united-states-by-state, live,
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Historiography and memory
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- BOOK, Raphael, Marc Lee, Judaism in America, Columbia University Press, New York, 2003, 0-231-12060-5,archive.org/details/judaisminamerica00raph, registration,
- JOURNAL, Raphael, Melissa, April 1998, Goddess Religion, Postmodern Jewish Feminism, and the Complexity of Alternative Religious Identities, Nova Religio, 1, 2, 198–215, 10.1525/nr.1998.1.2.198,online.ucpress.edu/nr/article-abstract/1/2/198/70030/Goddess-Religion-Postmodern-Jewish-Feminism-and?redirectedFrom=PDF, registration,
- BOOK, Rebhum, Uzi, 2016, Jews and the American Religious Landscape, New York, Columbia University Press, {{Google books, cb6lDAAAQBAJC, y, |isbn=9780231178266 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
- BOOK, Sarna, Jonathan D., Jonathan Sarna, American Judaism: A History, {{Google books, j4-EmcMrAy4C, y, |year=2004 |place=New Haven, Conn |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-10197-3}}
- Shokeid, Moshe (1995). A Gay Synagogue in New York. New York: Columbia University Press. ([{{Google books|id=hazES1iT8AUC|plainurl=y}} Reprint]: Philadelphia, Pa: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002).
- BOOK, Sklare, Marshall, Conservative Judaism: An American Religious Movement, 1955, Glencoe, Il, The Free Press, 0819144800,
- Waxman, Chaim I. (2002). “What We Don’t Know about the Judaism of America’s Jews.” Contemporary Jewry, 23. pp. 72–95. {{ISSN|0147-1694}} Uses survey data to map the religious beliefs of American Jews, 1973–2002.
- BOOK, Wertheimer, 1987, Jack, Jack Wertheimer, The American Synagogue: A Sanctuary Transformed, {{Google books, D5dZQhCII6UC, y, |publisher=Cambridge University Press |place=Cambridge |isbn=0-521-33290-7}}
- BOOK, Wertheimer, Jack, Jack Wertheimer, Recent Trends in American Judaism, Neusner, Jacob, Jacob Neusner, An Introduction to Judaism: A Textbook and Reader, Louisville, Kentucky, Westminster/John Knox Press, 1991, 85–116, {{Google books, 6M8oxDql1KIC, y, 85, |url={{Google books|id=6M8oxDql1KIC|plainurl=y}} |isbn=0-664-25348-2}}
- BOOK, Wertheimer, Jack, Jack Wertheimer, 1997, A People Divided: Judaism in Contemporary America Religion Today, Brandeis University Press, Waltham, Ma, 9780874518481,
- BOOK, 2002, Wertheimer, Jack, Jack Wertheimer, Jews in the Center: Conservative Synagogues and Their Members, {{Google books, U_nEoAZ6ffgC, y, |publisher=Rutgers University Press |place=New Brunswick, NJ |isbn=0-8135-2821-6}}
- BOOK, Wertheimer, Jack, Jack Wertheimer, The New American Judaism: How Jews Practice Their Religion Today, Princeton, NJ; Oxford, Princeton University Press, 2018, 978-0-691-18129-5, {{Google books, 1DthDwAAQBAJ, y, }}
Other topics
- Antler, Joyce, ed. (1998). Talking Back: Images of Jewish Women in American Popular Culture.
- BOOK, Cohen, Steven Martin, Steven M. Cohen, 1983, American Modernity and Jewish Identity, London, Tavistock Publ., 0422777501,
- Cutler, Irving. (1995). The Jews of Chicago: From Shtetl to Suburb.
- Dinnerstein, Leonard (1994). Antisemitism in America.
- Heilman, Samuel C. Portrait of American Jews: The Last Half of the 20th Century.
- Kobrin, Rebecca, ed. Chosen Capital: The Jewish Encounter With American Capitalism (Rutgers University Press; 2012) 311 pages; scholarly essays on the liquor, real-estate, and scrap-metal industries, and Jews as union organizers.
- Liebman, Charles S. (2001). Ambivalent American Jew: Politics, Religion, and Family in American Jewish Life, Varda Books. {{ISBN|1-59045-039-6}}
- Liebman, Charles S.; Argov, Merkaz (2001). A Research Agenda for American Jews. Ramat Gan: Bar-Ilan University, Dept. of Political Studies.
- Moore, Deborah Dash. (To the Golden Cities: Pursuing the American Jewish Dream in Miami and L. A.) 1994.
- Moore, Deborah Dash. GI Jews: How World War II Changed a Generation (2006).
- Morawska, Ewa (1999). Insecure Prosperity: Small-Town Jews in Industrial America, 1890–1940. Princeton University Press.
- Novick, Peter. The Holocaust in American Life. 1999.
- BOOK, Rebhum, Uzi, Ari, Lilakh Lev, 2010, American Israelis: Migration, Transnationalism, and Diasporic Identity, Leiden, Brill, {{Google books, CG-WQZDJdo8C, y, |isbn=978-90-04-18388-9}}
- BOOK, Waxman, Chaim I., 1989, Chaim I. Waxman, American Aliya: Portrait of an Innovative Migration Movement, Detroit, Mi, Wayne State University Press, {{Google books, aWmoHFPZa_UC, y, |isbn=0-8143-1936-X}}
Sourcebooks
- American Jewish Committee. American Jewish Yearbook: The Annual Record of Jewish Civilization (annual, 1899–2012+),complete text online 1899–2007; long sophisticated essays on status of Jews in U.S. and worldwide; the standard primary source used by historians.
- BOOK, Blau, Joseph Leon, Joseph Leon Blau, Baron, Salo Wittmayer, Salo Wittmayer Baron, The Jews of the United States, 1790–1840: A Documentary History, 1, 1963, Columbia University Press; The Jewish Publication Society, New York; Philadelphia, Pa,
- Marcus, Jacob Rader, ed. The American Jewish Woman, A Documentary History (Ktav 1981).
- Schappes, Morris Urman, ed. A documentary history of the Jews in the United States, 1654–1875 (Citadel Press, 1952).
- Staub, Michael E. ed. The Jewish 1960s: An American Sourcebook University Press of New England, 2004; 371 pp. {{ISBN|1-58465-417-1}} online review
- BOOK, Wenger, Beth S., The Jewish Americans: Three Centuries of Jewish Voices in America, 2007, English, 978-0-385-52139-0, Doubleday, New York, 144774311, mdy-all,
External links
{{Commons category|Jewish people of the United States}}- American Jewish Historical Society
- American Jewish Archives
- American Jewish Congress
- American Jewish World Service
- Jewish Federations of North America
- My Jewish Learning: American Jewish Life
- Jewish population growth in the United States – The Literary Digest (1922)
- The Berman Jewish Databank @ The Jewish Federations of North America
- content above as imported from Wikipedia
- "American Jews" does not exist on GetWiki (yet)
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