Histadrut, the Israel Federation of Labor, found out today some of the answers to the question: “What’s in a name? ” In compiling its countrywide voters’ lists for the federation’s forthcoming national elections, Histadrut discovered that 22, 500 of its members are named Cohen.
The name Levy comes next, with 15, 000 listed Mizrach, a name meaning East, often favored by Middle Eastern and Levantine Jews, appears 10, 000 times, as does the East European name of Klein. The name Schwartz comes up 3, 500 times.
Since Histadrut’s voters’ list, comprising a total of 654, 000 members, is a cross-section of the Jewish population of the entire country, the ratio on an Israel-wide basis is believed to be the same–about 3.5 percent of the Jewish population, or a total approximating 63, 000 Cohens in Israel.
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