JTA: The Global News Service of the Jewish People

10/27/09 09:00 AM

let the little pimple sharansky ask his fellow billionaire russian oligarks to give him money and leave Jews in america alone!

10/28/09 12:14 AM

I strongly urge all Jewish readers of JTA to read Sharansky’s full article: it is a beautiful statement of shared Jewish identity between the Jews of Israel and those of the Diaspora.  Sharansky is an authentic hero of our generation, broadminded, idealistic, knowledgeable and dedicated, a model for us all.  That he is now the Chairman of the Jewish Agency is an honor to that agency, and gives some hope that it will again amount to something in world Jewish life.

Steve Ariza’s abusive and hateful post in response shows at the least that he is not pro-Jewish, and that he cannot help reacting emotively and very negatively even or perhaps especially to such a basic, proud and loving affirmation of Jewish identity.  Let that instruct us on how to view all his posts.

10/28/09 04:17 PM

The Jewish population in america in 1947 was over 6 million and growing. We were about 5% of the american population.
After 62 yrs of zionism and allowing the israeli govt to infiltrate jewish groups and take over jewish groups in america, we are about 4 million, and less than 1.7% of the american population.
zionism has destroyed cons/ref jewry!
the only thing these people know is israel, israel and more israel! they know nothing about Jewish teachings because zionism has replaced Judaism in their bar/bat mitzva factories which are now mostly empty.
evan suess or ari as he was formerly known attacks me but does not refute the premise of my post. That billionaire jewish oligarks in russia dont give a ruple to their own yet american jews are being destroyed by zionists to help russian jewry.
I say again let sharansky tell his fellow russians to stop having conteste to see who can build the biggest yacht in the world and start funding their own schools!!
If I am the only one saying sharansky is a fraud..Deal with it!!

10/29/09 02:42 AM

In an article entitled “Four Questions about American Jewish Demography,” in Jewish Political Studies Review, 20:1-2 (Spring 2008), Ira M. Sheskin describes

“the methodological difficulties involved in estimating Jewish populations. It is likely that somewhere between 5.2 million and 6.4 million Jews live in the United States, with the most probable range being 6.0-6.4 million. Whether the American Jewish population is increasing, decreasing, or remaining the same is not totally clear, though it will almost certainly decrease in the future. It appears that the number of Jews in the United States is currently higher than the number in Israel, though this also is very likely to change in the future.”

The usual figure given for the percentage of Jews in America at present is 2.5% In any case, the decline in numbers, if it has occurred at all (lower birth rates than formerly and than in Israel today, high intermarriage rates - not found in Israel - and lessened Jewish knowledge are the usual factors named), has nothing to do with Zionism but, quite the opposite, with lessened affiliation with all forms of Jewish life and involvement, which Zionist ideologies, groups and activities actually have very significantly countered.  Zionism has been an energizing factor in American Jewish life, as in Jewish life around the world.  It has saved Russian Jewry, for example, holding together those repressed “Jews of Silence” during the Soviet years, and leading to a rebirth of all forms of Jewish affiliation there since the fall of the Soviet Union.

The full article by Sheskin is on-line at http://www.jcpa.org/JCPA/Templates/showpage.asp?DBID=1&LNGID=1&TMID=84&FID=625

Scroll down to the Vol. 20 issue.  For Jews interested in Jewish life and affairs anywhere, by the way, this is a wonderful and highly informative website.

I am not and have never been known in any context as “ari.” There is nothing else to respond to in “steve ariza“‘s rant.

10/29/09 08:40 AM

you ari the mathmetician aka evan zuesse say Jews are 2.5% of the usa population. You say Jews number between 6-6.4 million souls in americaEstimates put the usa population at 300 million.
Perhaps ari/evan can do the math and see if 2.5% of 300 million equals 6-6.4 million.
the fact is that zionists have taken over all jewish orgs and have destroyed them.
zionism is a poisonous weed in the jewish garden.
israel con artists have come to america for the past 60+yrs conning Jews out of money and brainwashing Jews to waste their time defending israel even as israel destroys itself and world Jewry.
The solution for american Jews is to ignore israel and put our efforts into building up our own communities.