Wealthy and assimilated
World Jewry wealthy, prospering, but most Jews choose to marry outside religion, newly released study says. Meanwhile, Israel’s Jewish community to become world’s largest by next year. Intermarriage rate hits 80 percent in Russia; Israel, Canada, and Mexico only countries to report steady increase in Jewish population figures
The institute’s study was presented Monday morning to the Knesset’s Immigration and Absorption Committee, and is slated to be presented to the government next week.
By 2020, the global Jewish population is expected to stand at about 13.6 million, compared to 13 million today, with 46 percent of the world’s Jews residing in Israel. Overall, Israel’s Jewish community is expected to grow by a million in that period.
Currently, about 80 percent of world Jews reside in Israel and the United States. The world’s third largest community is in France, which is home to about 494,000 Jews.
On another front, with the exception of Israel, Canada, and Mexico, which have all reported a steady increase in Jewish population figures, all other countries have witnessed a decline in the number of Jews residing there.
Highest intermarriage rate in Russia, Ukraine
On average, Jews are among the world’s wealthiest nations. Overall, about 90 percent of world Jews reside in countries ranked in the top two tenths when it comes to wealth and development.
Meanwhile, the American Jewish community is the most influential Jewish community in the Diaspora, while the Jewish communities in Mexico, Australia, and Canada are the most prosperous, in terms of participation rate in the Jewish education system, intermarriage rate, organized communal activity, and ties with Israel.
However, the situation in most countries is not very encouraging, the study found, with most world Jews opting for marriage with non-Jews.
In Russia and Ukraine, the intermarriage rate stands at a whopping 80 percent, compared to about three percent in Israel.
Meanwhile, many Jews have visited Israel at least once, with 80 percent of Brits reporting they visited the Holy Land, compared to the 35 percent of American Jews.
American Jewish community declining
The American Jewish community is declining at a rapid rate, the study found, with many Jews opting for intermarriage and disconnecting from their Jewish roots. About 800,000 Jews out of a total population of approximately 5.3 million are Jewish but do not identify at all with the Jewish people or view themselves as part of it.
The American community’s decline is a very serious problem, the institute’s Director-General Avinoam Bar-Yosef told Ynet.
“In the 1990s alone, the American Jewish community declined by about 10 percent, and it continues to diminish,” he said. “The main reason is the lack of Jewish education or a connection to Israel.”
“Public schools in the United States do not deal with religion for ideological and political reasons, and therefore the only way for parents to provide their children with Jewish education is to send them to private Jewish schools, which can cost up to USD 20,000 a year,” Bar-Yosef said.
Moreover, as a result of the generally high socioeconomic status of American Jews, they are considered a good partner for marriage among the general population and are highly sought after, he said.
“The Jews wish to integrate into society, which wants to integrate them, and the result is a diminishing community and assimilation,” Bar-Yosef said.
