The Jewish population of the United States today is probably closer to 4,500,000 than the 5,000,000 often estimated, it was stated here today in a report of a survey of Jewish population statistics made public by the American Jewish Committee. The study by Ben B. Seligman and Harvey Swados of the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds is based on a survey of the Jewish population in 700 communities in the United States reporting more than 100 Jewish residents.
The report points out that “there has never been a nation-wide census of American Jews,” and appeals for a “common national effort” to amass and survey data concerning the Jewish population. It indicates that the thirteen largest Jewish committees in this country make up 75 percent of the Jewish population. The thirteen are listed as follows: Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Newark, Philadelphia, Pittsburg, St. Louis and San Francisco.
The object of the survey, according to the report, was to “survey local censuses, counts or studies that have been made in the past decade, with the prospect of determining the approximate validity of current population estimates, of discovering the extent to which scientific methods are being utilized in local community studies, of learning whether there is a common basis for further demographic research on Jewish population, and of collecting suggestive data that might aid in marking out a program of national population and demographic research.” Member agencies of the C.J.F.W.F., files of that organization and of the United Jewish Appeal and surveys of the Jewish Welfare Board were used in the study.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
