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Jewish Demographics

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Jewish Demographics

Elections & Demographics

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What we’re reading

2017

  • The 2017 Nishma Research Profile of American Modern Orthodox Jews, sponsored by the Micah Foundation and conducted by Nishma Research.  The study highlights the diversity of the modern Orthodox community and focuses on issues of particular concern to the community.  Study materials include a summary report with methodological description, verbatim responses to open-ended questions, a press release, the questionnaire and data files.

New data from Pew (January 12, 2017) | The World Facing Trump: Public Sees ISIS, Cyberattacks, North Korea as Top Threats

Partisan gap in Mideast sympathies is now wider than at any point since 1978Public sees an array of global threats, led by ISIS, cyberattacks and North Korea’s nuclear program

Democrats now about as likely to sympathize with Palestinians as Israel
Liberal Democrats now more likely to say they sympathize more with the Palestinians than with Israel
Partisan differences in views of a two-state solution in the Middle East
Views of Putin, Netanyahu and Merkel
Republicans view Benjamin Netanyahu more favorably than Democrats

Analysis by JCRC-NY
Analysis by JCRC-NY

2016

The Jewish Vote: Political Power and Identity in US Elections. Gil Troy,  University of Haifa and Ruderman Family Foundation, 2016.  As the 2016 Presidential elections near this November, a wave of predictions and generalizations left and right are creating quite the hype surrounding ‘The Jewish Vote’. American Jewry make up approximately 2% of the American electorate, insignificant to tip the scales one way or another. No other constituency this size has candidates scrambling to woo them over – so why the disproportionate frenzy surrounding the Jewish vote? See the report here.

Source: Jewish Population Study: 2011, UJA-Federation, Analysis by JCRC-NY
Source: Jewish Population Study: 2011, UJA-Federation, Analysis by JCRC-NY

Jewish Voters are Diverse, JCRC-NY, April 17, 2016. A look at NY’s Jewish voters and how they break down by ideology and denomination. Click here.

 

American and Israeli Jews: Twin Portraits From Peisraelessay_static_problem640pxw Research Center Surveys, September 27, 2016. Pew Research Center has surveyed Jewish adults in both places, and has found deep bonds between them. Nevertheless, their experiences and perspectives are very different. See the full report here.

Where the Public Stands on Religious Liberty vs. Nondiscrimination, September 28, 2016. Two-thirds say employers should provide birth control in insurance plans, but public is split over same-sex wedding services and use of public bathrooms by transgender people. The survey of more than 4,500 U.S. adults explores recent controversies that have pitted claims of religious liberty and traditional morality against civil rights and nondiscrimination policies. Americans are closely divided. Jews are less so. See the full report here.

Views of Israel and Palestinians. Pew’s “Views of Israel and Palestinians” series reported: “As has been the case for decades, the American public expresses more sympathy toward Israel than the Palestinians. Just over half of Americans (54%) say that in the dispute between the two they sympathize more with Israel, while 19% sympathize more with the Palestinians; 13% volunteer that they sympathize with neither side and 3% sympathize with both.” See the report here.

 

While the margin holds across all age categories, it decreases with age. Notably, a plurality of Sanders supporters show more sympathy with the Palestinians.

 

  • PR_2015-08-26_orthodox-jews-01
    Based on Pew’s national survey. UJA-Federation of NY’s study estimates that Orthodox Jews are 32% of the Jewish persons in the area and two-in-three of those are Haredi.

    2015: A Portrait of American Orthodox Jews | A Further Analysis of the 2013 Survey of U.S. Jews. American Jews as a whole are an aging population with low birthrates, but Orthodox Jews are much younger than other U.S. Jews, get married at a younger age and have larger families. This fast-growing community is more religiously committed than other Jews, and more socially and politically conservative, according to a new analysis by the Pew Research Center based on its 2013 Survey of U.S. Jews. The report looks at differences between Orthodox and other Jews, and differences within Orthodox Judaism between Haredi and Modern Orthodox Jews.In terms of size, the 2013 survey found that Orthodox Jews make up about 10% of the estimated 5.3 million Jewish American adults (ages 18 and older). While one survey cannot show growth in the size of a population, a variety of demographic measures in the survey suggest that Orthodox Jews likely are growing, in absolute number and as a percentage of the U.S. Jewish community.

  • 2015: The Future of World Religions: Population Growth Projections, 2010-2050.
    • The religious profile of the world is rapidly changing, driven primarily by differences in fertility rates and the size of youth populations among the world’s major religions, as well as by people switching faiths. Over the next four decades, Christians will remain the largest religious group, but Islam will grow faster than any other major religion. If current trends continue, by 2050 …
      • The number of Muslims will nearly equal the number of Christians around the world.
      • Atheists, agnostics and other people who do not affiliate with any religion – though increasing in countries such as the United States and France – will make up a declining share of the world’s total population.
      • The global Buddhist population will be about the same size it was in 2010, while the Hindu and Jewish populations will be larger than they are today.
      • In Europe, Muslims will make up 10% of the overall population.
      • India will retain a Hindu majority but also will have the largest Muslim population of any country in the world, surpassing Indonesia.
      • In the United States, Christians will decline from more than three-quarters of the population in 2010 to two-thirds in 2050, and Judaism will no longer be the largest non-Christian religion. Muslims will be more numerous in the U.S. than people who identify as Jewish on the basis of religion.
      • Four out of every 10 Christians in the world will live in sub-Saharan Africa.
  • 2015: Latest Trends in Religious Restrictions and Hostilities. Overall Decline in Social Hostilities in 2013, Though Harassment of Jews Worldwide Reached a Seven-Year High. Pew Research Center.
  • 2015: More View Netanyahu Favorably Than Unfavorably; Many Unaware of Israeli Leader. Little Change in Views of Level of U.S. Support for Israel. Pew Research Center

JCRC-NY Materials

The Berman Jewish DataBank @ The Jewish Federations of North America offers open access to hundreds of quantitative studies of North American Jewry.

Jewish Attitudes & Voter Behavior

  • Rock the Jewish Vote  by Dr. Ira Sheskin, 2012 | This study uses the 2000-2001 National Jewish Population Survey and more than 55 of the local Jewish community studies stored at the North American Jewish Data Bank to examine Jewish voting patterns.The presentation focuses on seven major areas: (1) Estimates of the Jewish population nationally and among the largest US States with maps of American Jews, the electoral college votes by state, and the “swing states.” ; and a listing of US Senators and Representatives who are Jewish; (2) Key demographic indicators; (3) Political Party identification; (4) Political Views; (5) Voter Registration data; (6) Political Activity; and, (7) White House Policies: Impact on Jewish Vote?
  • Chosen for What? Jewish Values in 2012 , Public Religion Research Institute

New York Demographics

Questions – Contact – Public Policy