I'm not so much for putting a chanukiah by the White House. After all, the US is a Christian country, the Jews are only 2% of the population and getting less each day. Israel is our one and only Jewish country. Soon there will be more Moslems in the US than Jews.

Jews have a long history in the USA, from financing General Washington's congressional army, to serving in the country's military and of course having Jewish politicians. nothing wrong with having a Hanukkya by the White House, not every country is warm to the idea! You in Israel however have arabs/muslims in the Knesset and a church every 5 meters!

as proud of being jews as you are. the menorah by the white house shows our love of judaism. it also attests to america's freedom of religion. Hashem is with the jews in both israel and the usa.

Neither the Y'hudi or the American Christians no it, but, close study will prove that TRUE followers of Yeshua HaMoshiach that are called "Christian" are in fact "Jews!" Rabbi Shaul said that "He is a Jew who is one inwardly" The early Messianic Community were all Y'hudi. The church founded in Rome by Constantine in not Messianic. They are pagan.

Can you not talk about the grand history of the Jews in America without knocking Israel? Do you knock Israel because deep down you feel inferior for not living in Israel? By the way there are also Muslim politicians in America too such as the one from Minnesota. As for your foolish remark about churches being everywhere in Israel. I guess you have only been to Jerusalem. I have never seen a church in the Golan. Only synagogues and Druze mosques.

How many descendants of the early Jews in America are still Jewish? Probably none. Many of them do not even know that they have Jewish roots. I know this because before I made aliyah years ago, the Jewish community in the town where I lived decided to put out a booklet on the Jews who had arrived there only about 150 years before. None of their descendants were Jewish, and as I wrote above, most didn't even know that their great-grandfathers had been Jewish. The handwriting is on the wall for American and all Galut Jews: Israel is the only Jewish country in the world and where the majority of Jewish families will remain Jewish.

To Debra, It is true that for now almost half of the world's Jews live in the USA, but not for long. All of the demography experts agree that in another 10-15 years, the majority of the world's Jews will be in Israel. Jews in America are disappearing through ageing, low birthrates, intermarriage, etc. The future of world Jewry is only in Israel.

Maybe the chanukiah near the White House will remind assimilated Jews in America that they are Jews, a fact that seems not to have much importance to many of them. On the other hand, I agree with Miriam: Jews are only about 2% of the population there. Only the Orthodox and their offspring will remain Jewish. In Israel, however, the secular Jews will still be a part of the Jewish people.

'The son remembers what the father forgot.' Meaning, many younger Jews are studying Judaism. Even some Christians welcome the study of the Jews. Jesus Christ, their leader, and he was a Jew. I remember in the 40's in a Jewish community, there was no minion. We have forgotten from whence we came.

don't try to figure it out you'll get a giant oriental headache

The better question is why there is a Habad rabbi, when they do not represent American Jewry , which tends to be more educated and more liberal. As for your comments/predictions about the fate of us American Jewry, you have as much insight about us as I probably do abt you and what really goes on in your neighborhood. Which isnt very much, I am afraid. (UNless you come from here and am rationalizing your decisions). Ideology aside, Judaism is very vibrant here, in many forms, and will continue so well into the future.

I and most experts disagree with you. American Jewry is disappearing and only the Orthodox there will have Jewish descendants.With an intermarriage rate of over 50%, a very low birthrate, and the Jewish community ageing (and dying off), what kind of "vibrant" future can it have??

Only in America ok maybe in other countries too. Attorney General Michael P. Mukasey wearing a kippa/yarmulke! Navy band playing Hebrew songs and God Bless America. It was wonderful.

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR NOT "REACTING" TO MY CITING YOUR IGNORANCE ,AS IT IS NOT A DENIGRATION AND IS THERE TO BE OVERCOME ! FIRST OF ALL YOUR NOT A JEW ! THE FACT IS NEITHER AM I IN SPITE OF THE FACT THAT I HAVE AN UNTRIMMED BEARD AND LIVE IN GUSH ETZION ! IN THE ENTIRE TORAH NOT ONCE IS THE TERM "JEW" USED TO DESIGNATE "THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL" ! IN FACT WE ARE REFERRED TO AS THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL BECAUSE WE COME FROM JACOB OUR FATHER ,THAT IS OUR HERITAGE ! THAT IS OUR ROOTS , THAT IS THE ESSENCE OF WHO WE ARE AS "JEWS" ! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS ? IT MEANS THAT "WE" ARE; WHO WE ARE, BY VIRTUE OF OUR HERITAGE AND AS SUCH OUR GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION IS OF NO MOMENT IN TERMS OF OUR HERITAGE ;THEREFORE, WE ARE THE CHILDREN OF JACOB & AS SUCH THE TERM "American Jewry" CEASES TO HAVE MEANING ! WITH THIS UNDERSTANDING YOUR HYPHENATION REGARDING A SUBJECT THAT YOU NOTE; "you have as much insight about us as I" INDICATING YOUR NOTION OF THINGS IS PREDICATED ON CONJECTURE RATHER THAN EDUCATED INSIGHT, SO WHEN YOU IDENTIFY YOURSELF AS AN "AMERICAN JEW" ("American Jewry , which tends to be more educated and more liberal") YOU DO YOURSELF A GREAT DISSERVICE ! WERE YOU TO AVAIL YOURSELF OF THE EXTRAORDINARY FREE EDUCATION OFFERED BY CHABAD YOU WOULD KNOW "what really goes on in your neighborhood" EXCEPT YOU WOULD REALIZE THAT IT INDEED IS NOT "your neighborhood" BUT RATHER THE NEIGHBOR HOOD OF "US" IE; OUR NEIGHBORHOOD ! JUDIASM IS AN "Ideology" AND NOT AN "ASIDE" IN FACT THAT'S WHY THE WORLD HAS SHABBAT EVEN IF IF IT IS TO MANY , ON SUNDAY ! THAT’S WHY WE ARE CALLED A "LIGHT UNTO THE NATIONS" AND "THE PEOPLE OF THE BOOK" ! THAT'S WHY WE REPRESENT LESS THAN 1% OF THE WORLDS POPULATION YET WEIGH IN AS RECIPIENTS OF APPROXIMATELY 40 % OF NOBLE LAUREATES ! "vibrant" PERHAPS BUT, STATISTICALLY DWINDLING IN AMERICA. SO LET'S SUM UP, THE ANSWER IS THERE IS A CHABAD RABBI BECAUSE THERE IS A DIRE NEED FOR THE "EDUCATION" THEY DISPENSE AND THEY HAVE A VERY GOOD "INSIGHT" INTO JEWRY WHERE EVER IT IS ! FOR THE RECORD I AM NOT A CHABAD, BUT I AM BLESSED TO HAVE A GOOD MEASURE OF "INSIGHT" AND STRIVE TO HAVE MORE EACH DAY ! FURTHER MORE I'M NOT INTERESTED IN CHARACTERIZATIONS AND WHATEVER "TYPE" OF "JEW" YOU MAY BE, THE BLOOD IS OF JACOB ! I'M NOT AFRAID TO GET "EDUCATED" ARE YOU ? MY HOME IS OPEN TO YOU FOR SHABAT , I DON'T EVANGELIZE BUT I DO SHARE.................................

Where do you take this number ? In the extraordinary free [ brainwashing ] chabad education ? Be serious , there are certainly 17 % of Nobel prizes awarded to Jews . Maybe a little bit more , if considering person whose Jewishness is a question . But even 17 % is a great number , we can and have to be proud of .

Look at : www.jinfo.org , there you will find a list of all the Jewish Nobels .