American Jews

Ethnic group American Jews , also known as Jewish Americans , are American citizens or resident aliens of the Jewish faith and/or Jewish ethnicity . The Jewish community in the United States is composed predominantly of Ashkenazi Jews who emigrated from Central and Eastern Europe , and their U.S.-born descendants. A minority from all Jewish ethnic divisions are also represented, including Sephardi Jews , Mizrahi Jews , and a number of converts. The American Jewish community manifests a wide range of Jewish cultural traditions , as well as encompassing the full spectrum of Jewish religious observance . Depending on religious definitions and varying population data, the United States is home to the largest or second largest (after Israel ) Jewish community in the world. The population of American adherents of Judaism was estimated to be approximately 5,128,000 (1.7%) of the total population in 2007 (301,621,000) ; including those who identify themselves culturally as Jewish (but not necessarily religiously), this population was estimated at 6,489,000 (2.2%) as of 2008. As a contrast, Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics estimated the Israeli Jewish population was 5,664,000 in 2009 (75.4% of the total population). The Jewish population includes Jews who define themselves as Jewish by religion as well as those who define themselves as Jewish in cultural terms. Data on Jewish population are based primarily on a compilation of individual estimates made by local Jewish federations (as reported in the American Jewish Yearbook).

Ethnic group Total population 5,425,000 - 8,300,000 (1.7% - 2.6% of the U.S. population) Derived from 2012 U.S. Census Bureau Estimate Regions with significant populations New York City metropolitan area , Miami metropolitan area , Los Angeles metropolitan area , Philadelphia metropolitan area , Cincinnati metropolitan area , Houston metropolitan area , Chicago metropolitan area , Cleveland Metropolitan Area Baltimore Metropolitan Area and other major metropolitan areas throughout the country Languages American English ( predominant ) Hebrew Yiddish Religion Judaism · Atheism American Jews , also known as Jewish Americans , are American citizens of the Jewish faith or Jewish ethnicity . The Jewish community in the United States is composed predominantly of Ashkenazi Jews and their U.S.-born descendants, making about 90% of the American Jewish population. Minority Jewish ethnic divisions are also represented, including Sephardic Jews , Mizrahi Jews , and a smaller percentage of converts to Judaism . The American Jewish community manifests a wide range of Jewish cultural traditions , as well as encompassing the full spectrum of Jewish religious observance . Depending on religious definitions and varying population data, the United States is home to the largest or second largest (after Israel ) Jewish community in the world. In 2012, the American Jewish population was estimated at between 5.5 and 8 million, depending on the definition of the term . This constitutes between 1.7% to 2.6% of the total US population. Ethnicity in Contemporary America: A Geographical Appraisal . [The 1990 National Jewish Population Survey] showed that only 5% of American Jews consider being Jewish solely in terms of being a member of a religious group. Thus, the vast majority of American Jews view themselves as members of an ethnic group and/or a cultural group, and/or a nationality. : External link in |chapterurl= ( help ) ; Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored ( |chapter-url= suggested) ( help ) "More Ashkenazi Jews Have Gene Defect that Raises Inherited Breast Cancer Risk" .

Ethnic group Ethnic group American Jews , or Jewish Americans , are Americans who are Jews , whether by religion , ethnicity , culture , or nationality . Today the Jewish community in the United States consists primarily of Ashkenazi Jews , who descend from diaspora Jewish populations of Central and Eastern Europe and comprise about 90–95% of the American Jewish population. During the colonial era, prior to the mass immigration of Ashkenazim, Spanish and Portuguese Jews represented the bulk of America's then-small Jewish population, and while their descendants are a minority today, they, along with an array of other Jewish communities, represent the remainder of American Jews, including other more recent Sephardic Jews , Mizrahi Jews , various other ethnically Jewish communities , as well as a smaller number of converts to Judaism . The American Jewish community manifests a wide range of Jewish cultural traditions , encompassing the full spectrum of Jewish religious observance . Depending on religious definitions and varying population data, the United States has the largest or second largest Jewish community in the world, after Israel . In 2012, the American Jewish population was estimated at between 5.5 million and 8 million, depending on the definition of the term , which constitutes between 1.7% and 2.6% of the total U.S. population. Census Bureau estimate "Global Jewish Population Reaches 14.8 million" . Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies : 10 . The number of U.S. dual citizens in Israel has been estimated at close to 300,000, while the number of French dual citizens is about 100,000. Ethnicity in Contemporary America: A Geographical Appraisal . [The 1990 National Jewish Population Survey] showed that only five percent of American Jews consider being Jewish solely in terms of being a member of a religious group. Thus, the vast majority of American Jews view themselves as members of an ethnic group and/or a cultural group, and/or a nationality. : External link in |chapterurl= ( help ) ; Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored ( |chapter-url= suggested) ( help ) "More Ashkenazi Jews Have Gene Defect that Raises Inherited Breast Cancer Risk" .

Today the Jewish community in the United States consists primarily of Ashkenazi Jews , who descend from diaspora Jewish populations of Central and Eastern Europe and compose about 90–95% of the American Jewish population. During the colonial era, prior to the mass immigration of Ashkenazi Jews, Sephardic Jews who arrived via Portugal represented the bulk of America's then-small Jewish population, and while their descendants are a minority nowadays, they represent the remainder of those original American Jews along with an array of other Jewish communities, including more recent Sephardi Jews , Mizrahi Jews , Beta Israel-Ethiopian Jews , various other Jewish ethnic groups , as well as a smaller number of converts to Judaism . The American Jewish community manifests a wide range of Jewish cultural traditions , encompassing the full spectrum of Jewish religious observance . Depending on religious definitions and varying population data, the United States has the largest or second largest Jewish community in the world, after Israel . As of 2020, the core American Jewish population is estimated at 7.6 million people, accounting for 2.4% of the total US population. This includes 4.9 million adults who identify their religion as Jewish, 1.2 million Jewish adults who identify with no religion, and 1.6 million Jewish children. It is estimated that up to 15,000,000 Americans are part of the "enlarged" American Jewish population, accounting for 4.5% of the total US population, consisting of those who have at least one Jewish grandparent and would be eligible for Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return . "New Brandeis study estimates 7.6 million Jews living in U.S." Jewish Journal. The number of U.S. dual citizens in Israel has been estimated at close to 300,000, while the number of French dual citizens is about 100,000. Ethnicity in Contemporary America: A Geographical Appraisal . [The 1990 National Jewish Population Survey] showed that only five percent of American Jews consider being Jewish solely in terms of being a member of a religious group. Thus, the vast majority of American Jews view themselves as members of an ethnic group and/or a cultural group, and/or a nationality.

According to a 2020 poll conducted by Pew Research , approximately two thirds of American Jews identify as Ashkenazi , 3% identify as Sephardic , and 1% identify as Mizrahi . An additional 6% identify as some combination of the three categories, and 25% do not identify as any particular category. During the colonial era, Sephardic Jews who arrived via Portugal and via Brazil ( Dutch Brazil ) – see Congregation Shearith Israel – represented the bulk of America's then small Jewish population. While their descendants are a minority nowadays, they represent the remainder of those original American Jews along with an array of other Jewish communities, including more recent Sephardi Jews, Mizrahi Jews, Beta Israel-Ethiopian Jews , various other Jewish ethnic groups , as well as a smaller number of gerim (converts). The American Jewish community manifests a wide range of Jewish cultural traditions, encompassing the full spectrum of Jewish religious observance . Depending on religious definitions and varying population data, the United States has the largest or second largest Jewish community in the world, after Israel . As of 2020, the American Jewish population is estimated at 7.5 million people, accounting for 2.4% of the total US population. This includes 4.2 million adults who identify their religion as Jewish, 1.5 million Jewish adults who identify with no religion, and 1.8 million Jewish children. It is estimated that up to 15 million Americans are part of the "enlarged" American Jewish population, accounting for 4.5% of the total US population, consisting of those who have at least one Jewish grandparent and would be eligible for Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return . The size of the U.S. The number of U.S. dual citizens in Israel has been estimated at close to 300,000, while the number of French dual citizens is about 100,000. Ethnicity in Contemporary America: A Geographical Appraisal . [The 1990 National Jewish Population Survey] showed that only five percent of American Jews consider being Jewish solely in terms of being a member of a religious group. Thus, the vast majority of American Jews view themselves as members of an ethnic group and/or a cultural group, and/or a nationality.