2—THE BULLETIN—Thursday, August 14, 1975
7& StUtin^
Will your chTid remain Jewish?
Dry Bonei
(Reprinted courtesy Jerusalem Post)
THE SUBJECT of this column is a matter of life and death.
We are referring to the possible loss of three million Jews. Not the three millions of our brethren who live in the Soviet Union, nor the three million who are citizens of the beleaguered State of Israel. But three million North American Jews.
It has recently been revealed that ' the Jews of North America are intermarrying at the rate of 48 percent. At this pace, it is expected that within a generation (a decade or two) the Jewish population of the United States and Canada, which now numbers about six million, will be reduced to approximately three million.
Surely this is a crisis situation worthy of at least as much energy, organization, brains and ingenuity as we put into fund-raising for the life and death needs of Jews overseas. For it is time that we faced the stark reality that in another generation there will only be half the donors and half the fund-raisers on whom we now draw to maintain Jewish life around the world.
THERE IS OBVIOUSLY no way that we can approach the problem constructively or comprehensively in one small column such as this; but we can sound the alert and issue a cry for help.
It is our suggestion that "think tanks" be convened immediately, in local communities, nationally and internationally, wherein our best brains can put their heads together and endeavor to come up with a strategem to make war against the "enemies" that threaten these three million Jews.
In the meantime, each one of us can enter the fray by committing ourselves to re-building two of the pillars of Jewish survival: the Jewish home and the Jewish school.
Because it is now only a few weeks until the opening of the Jewish schools in our community, formal Jewish education is the urgent matter to which we must address ourselves today.
Perhaps the most important institution in our community is the Jewish school, though it is often relegated to a place somewhere at the end of the line.
WHETHER IT BE the Hebrew Day school or the three-day-a-week congregational school or the Jewish Community High School, it is up to every parent to make sure that his child is enrolled for a Jewish education.
Negative feelings on the part of either the children or the parents must be firmly set aside if we are to save three million Jews. (Sometimes it is necessary for a doctor to prescribe medicine which a patient does not want to take but must do so in order to get well or to survive.)
Furthermore, Jewish education involves more than Commitment, because it is costly in the high scale of living today. It often requires great financial sacrifices, both individually and communally.
But if only more parents would realize what a small cost is involved, when compared to the alternatives. There is no guarantee, of course, but the chances are infinitely greater that Jewish children will grow into Jewish adults if they know who they are, where they came from and have pride and knowledge of their cultural heritage.
Parents must also accept the fact that not all Jewish education everywhere is first rate. Some schools are better than others, some teachers are better than others, and not every year will be a good year.
BUT THE CHILD who becomes a dropout or who is never given a chance to enroll in the first place because of arguments about quality of education or the high cost of education — that child is on the road leadihg away from his people.
We ought to realize that Jewish children in the Soviet Union, in Arab lands and in the smaller communities of North America do not have any choice at all. They can not decide to have a Jewish education because it is just not available in any shape or form, whether good or bad.
But the spiritual and cultural demise of these children as Jews is just as predictable as that of our children.
We who are parents must now take a long, hard^ look at the situation and decide whether we are going to help our children disappear as Jews or whether we are going to fight it.
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World Jewish population estimated at 14,1 50,000
NEW YORK~the total number of Jews throughout the world is estimated at 14,150,000 in the 1974-75 American Jewish Year Book, with 5,732,000 in the United Sti'tes, the largest Jewish Community in the world.
Jews represent 2.8 percent of the total American population.
The world estimates were compiled by Leon Shapiro of Rutgers university. The United States figures were supplied by Alvin Chenkin, supervisor of statistics unit of Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds, who derived them from the CJF National Jewish population study.
Chenkin noted that the figure ' for the United States represented a decline from the national estimate of 6,115,000 American Jews in the prior edition of the Year Book. He attributed the differential mainly to a drop in the estimate for the New York area.
The new Year Book does not give a revised figure for the Jewish population of New York City, because of a discrepancy
between the CJF survey and the estimate in last year's Year Book.
That figure for New York City Jewry was 2,381,000 but the CJF survey indicated 400,000 less Jews, or 1,981,000.
Pending an evaluation of the discrepancy, the Year Book does not contain a New York City figure although the CJF estimate was used in arriving at total state and national figures.
After the United States, countries with the largest Jewish populations are: Israel, 2,806,000; Russia, 2,680,000; France, 550,-000; Argentina, 475,000; Britain, 410,000; and Canada, 305,000.
Forty-nine percent of world Jewry is located in North, Central and South America, 29 percent in Europe, 20 percent in Asia, 1.5 percent in Africa and 0.5 percent in Australia and New Zealand.
Jewish population figures for major American cities include: Los Angeles, 463,000; Philadelphia, 350,000; Chicago, 253,000; Miami, 200,000; Boston, 180,000;
Washington, 112,500; Bergen County (N.J.), 100,000; Essex County (NfJ.), 95,000; Baltimore, 94,000; Cleveland, 80,000; Detroit, 80,000; San Francisco, 75,000; St. Louis, 60,000; Montgomery County (Md.), 50,000.
There are an estimated 4,090,-000 Jews in Europe, Shapiro reported, including 10,000 in Austria, 40,000 in Belgium, 7,000 in Bulgaria, 14,000 in Czechoslovakia, 7,000 in Dertmark, 26,500 in West Germany, 5,500 in East Germany, 6,500 in Greece, 80,000 in Hungary, 4,000 in Ireland, 36,-000 in Italy, 30,000 in The Netherlands, 8,000 in Poland, 90,000 in Rumania, 9,000 in Spain, 15,000 in Sweden, 21,000 in Switzerland, 30,000 in Turkey and 7,000 in Yugoslavia.
Thjire are an estimated 155,000 Jews in Brazil, 50,000in Uruguay, 40,000 in Mexico, 30,000 in Chile, 15,000 in Venezuela, 12,000 in Colombia and 5,300 in Peru.
In Asia, Iran is listed with 80,000 Jews and India with 12,000.
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SOCIALISTS
(Continued from Page 1)
Organization of African Unity was unable, at the African summit meeting in Kampala, to win endorsement of a resolution calling
for Israel's expulsion from the U.N.
In a related development, Cambodia called for the expulsion of Israel from the U.N. according to radio Phnom Penh, monitored in Paris.
NEIREW U. IN JOINT PROGRAM WITH VATICAN
JERUSALEM » Catholic students of Bible from 16 countries are taking a year's course at the Hebrew University in a cooperative program with the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, the first time the University has had a study program in cooperation with an institution of higher learning of the Vatican.
— DEATHS 1975 -
TOBA SHERMAN July 30
MARY OMANSKY July 31
JACK KOLBERG August 5
SAM ZUBATOFF August 5
GERTRUDE WEINROBE August 9
As another Bulletin communit'^ ttr-vice feature. Deaths will be pub> lished weekly at they are registered.—THE PUBLISHER.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR ... page 4
Endorsed Appeals
Israel Bond Drtve ...Aug. 15 • Nov. 15
Social Calendar
Golden, Age Dinner... Aug. 20
Bond Rally ..................Aug. 25
Medical Aid to Israel Brunch...................Aug. 27
Shalom Hadassah Tea.....................
Aug. 28
Endorsotions ore puUishcd os o Bulletin community service. Erron or omissions con be corrected only by Jewish Community Fund ft Coun* ell. Ph. 261-Biei—THE PUBLISHER.
Rememfcer Ihe Subbalh
Sabbath begins. Light candles '*^^?Srm''i
Friday, August 15, 8:09 ' wfe^mT'
Sedra Ki Tetse, Deuteronomy Rosh Hashona___________Sept. 6
Sabbatfc ends, Havdalah SSi'lSSi"*-------^ i?
August 16, »M IZ^.
Friday, August % 7:56 "SSSf^SlJlt Zligl: «
Sedra Ki Tavo, Deuteronomy Simchat Torah............Sept. 28
Sabbath ends, Havdalah ^ Chodesh
Aimist 2^ «•«;« Marcheshvan------------Oct. 6
August 23, 8.56 jjogh Chodesh
All holidays begin the preceding Kislev ........................NoV. 5
eve at sundown. Chanuka........................NOV. 29
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Thursday, Aug. 14,1975
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