September 25, 2008
By MATTHEW WAGNER
People take part in an Israel solidarity rally outside the
Goldsmith Jewish Federation Center in Los Angeles
Photo: AP
Natural population growth in Israel that was partially canceled out by negative growth in the Diaspora resulted in a net increase in the past year of 70,000 Jews, according to data released Thursday by the Jewish Agency ahead of Rosh Hashana.
There are 13.3 million people around the world who define themselves as Jewish and who do not belong to any other faith.
Jewish Agency Chairman Ze'ev Bielski said the data proved that a "tangible danger of assimilation was hanging over the Jewish people."
The survey was conducted by Prof. Sergio Della Pergola from the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute and the Harman Institute of Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University.
Over the past year, the Jewish population in Israel grew by 85,000, while there was a decrease of 15,000 in the Diaspora.
There are 5.55 million Jews in Israel and 7.75 million in the Diaspora, meaning 41.3 percent of World Jewry now resides in the Jewish state.
The United States is next, with 5.3 million Jews, or 39.8%, then France with 490,000, Canada with 375,000, Britain with 295,000, Russia with 215,000 (340,000 in the entire FSU), Argentina with 183,000, Germany with 120,000, Australia with 107,000 and Brazil with 96,000.
There are about 1.5 million people in North America who are either Jews married to a non-Jew or are the offspring of a mixed Jewish-non-Jewish couple. According to the Jewish Agency, this is proof that assimilation is growing.
Bielski said the agency would "step up its efforts to provide Jewish education in Diaspora communities and to strengthen the Jewish identity of the new generation and tighten the ties between Israel and the Diaspora."
Other data released by the agency: There is one Jew living in Afghanistan, 95 countries have 100 or more Jews, there are 11 million people living in the US who are eligible for automatic citizenship under the Law of Return, and another million in the FSU.