Ira M. Sheskin

Jewish Population in the United States, 2012

This chapter provides estimates of the Jewish population for about 900 American Jewish communities as well as estimates for the country as a whole, states, regions and Metropolitan Statistical Areas. It documents a major shift of American Jewry over the past four decades from the Northeast to the West and the South, with little change in the Midwest. These changes are due to significant decreases in Jewish population in New York and Pennsylvania and significant increases in California, Florida, Georgia, and other southern and western states. Also, presented are major findings from a recent study in Richmond (VA), comparisons about Jewish communities on percentage Jewish and geographic concentration, and maps of Jews in Illinois and the Maryland/Delaware area.

Comparisons between local Jewish community studies and the 2000–01 national Jewish population survey

About 50 Jewish federations completed local community studies from 1985 to 2003. This paper provides guidance to researchers wishing to compare local community study results with one another and with results of the National Jewish Population Survey 2000–01. If these comparisons are to be properly interpreted, an understanding of the varying purposes and methodologies of local community studies and NJPS 2000–01 is necessary. This paper concludes that more can be learned by comparing local community study results with one another than with NJPS 2000–01 results.

Petroleum and Natural Gas

The geography of oil and gas has long been an important topic in economic geography. Interest in oil and gas grew in the 1970s and geograhers are investigating problems and issues in oil and gas distribution, production, transport and use. Regional geography forms an important segment of the literature.

Natural gas: a geographical perspective

The paper attempts to illustrate the utility of a linear programming model for predicting natural gas flows between producers and local distributors. The model is used to replicate past flow patterns. Natural gas flows are derived from estimate of 1980--1990 supply and demand, assuming that wholesalers will attempt to obtain natural gas from the least expensive available supplier in terms of wellhead price and transportation costs combined, and that Canada will permit exportation of surplus production. Estimations of 1990 flows are based on the assumption that the Federal government will allocate a supply of natural gas to satisfy an equal proportion of demand for each state. An attempt is made to identify possible locations for synthetic natural gas and liquefied natural gas facilities and new pipeline routes. 7 figures, 2 tables.

SPATIAL VARIATIONS IN ATTITUDES TOWARD EXPANDED PUBLIC TRANSIT SERVICE

Although recent budgetary considerations by the Federal govenment do not portend well for urban public transit, some transit systems are considering expansion into less densely-settled areas further from the Central Business District. Of some concern to planners has been their belief that suburban and rural dwellers may be much less inclined than urban dwellers to support expansion of transit service. This paper presents an analysis of a random-digit dialing/mail-out, mail-back survey conducted in Washtenaw County, Michigan which was designed specifically to examine differences in attitudes between urban and rural residents. Six mutually-exclusive spatial strata were established based upon population density. This paper tests for expected spatial differences in socioeconomic and demographic variables and then examines spatial variations in attitudes toward public transportation. The major conclusion is that the expected spatial variations in attitudes about transit service provision between the spatial strata do not arise. Most of the significant differences found are with respect to questions which relate to where transit is provided. Residents in rural (urban) areas support more strongly the provision of services to rural (urban) areas. Many residents, however, will support transit service that may not benefit them directly.

Global dispersion of jews: Determinants and consequences

Jews and geography have been inextricably related for millennia. We examine changes in the geographic distribution of Jews at different geographic scales, from worldwide to intra-urban. The chapter relies on data from surveys of the American Jewish population, the Israeli census, and other sources about issues of migration, demography, and religiosity. Being Jewish is both a religion and an ethnicity, which complicates enumeration efforts since there is no widely accepted definition of who is a Jew and who is not. We focus on the U.S. and Israel, which account for over 80 % of the world’s 14 million Jews. Mass migration of Jews to the U.S., the Holocaust, creation of the State of Israel, and mass migration from the Arab and Muslim world to Israel significantly changed the geographic distribution. Migration of Jews to the U.S. occurred during four periods: the Sephardic Migration (1654–1820); the German Migration (1820–1880); the Eastern European Migration (1880–1920s); and the Modern Period of Migration (1930s to the present). A major shift has occurred away from the Northeast to the South and West since WWII. The Jewish population of Israel is composed almost entirely of immigrants and their descendants. In 1951, after mass immigration following Israel’s independence, three-quarters were foreign-born and about half had lived in the country for 5 years or less. The share of Israeli-born in the Jewish population rose from 47 % in 1972 to 71 % in 2010 – after absorbing more than 1.3 million new immigrants. Jews remain a highly urbanized population; more than half live in five metropolitan areas: Tel Aviv, New York, Jerusalem, Los Angeles, and Haifa. U.S. Jews have remained a clustered population even as they suburbanized after WWII.

American Jewish Demography: Implications for US-Israel Relations

I. Introduction II. The Strategic Landscape 1. US Management of Middle East War and Peace: Between Defensive Realism and Offensive Liberalism Benny Miller 2. US-Israel Relations in the post-Cold War Era: The View from Jerusalem Efraim Inbar III. Domestic Sources 3. The Public Dimension of US-Israel Relations: A Comparative Analysis Eytan Gilboa 4. AIPAC and US Middle East Policy Mitchell Bard 5. American Jewish Demography: Implications for US-Israel Relations Ira Sheskin 6. American Christian Support for Israel Paul Charles Merkley IV. Foreign Policy Issues 7. A War for Israel? Israel and the War in Iraq Dov Waxman 8. The US and the Arab-Israeli Peace Process: Conflict Management vs. Conflict Resolution Jonathan Rynhold 9. Between President, Congress, and the Courts: Americas Non-recognition of Jerusalem Shlomo Slonim V. Multi-Lateral Dimensions 10. Transatlantic Relations and the Middle East: Beyond Policy Disagreements? Emanuele Ottolenghi 11. India, Israel, and the US Factor Cherian Samuel 12. Turkey, Israel, and American Hegemony Amikam Nachmani VI. Looking Ahead 13. The Future of US-Israel Relations P. Edward Haley

Jewish identity in the sunbelt: the jewish population of orlando, florida

This paper presents important results from a population survey of Orlando and compares its geographic, demographic, religious and philanthropic profile with the results of other Florida communities and with those of NJPS. Orlando appears to mirror the national picture relatively well, but is very different from the other Florida communities. In part, the differences from the other Florida communities are attributable to the fact that the population of Orlando is significantly younger.

United States Jewish Population, 2016

This chapter examines the size, geographic distribution, and selected characteristics of the Jewish population of the US. Section 15.1 addresses the procedures employed to estimate the Jewish population of more than 900 local Jewish communities and parts thereof. Section 15.2 presents the major changes in local Jewish population estimates since last year’s Year Book. Section 15.3 examines population estimates for the country as a whole, each state, the four US Census Regions, the nine US Census Divisions, the 21 largest US Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), the 20 largest Combined Statistical Areas (CSAs), and the 51 Jewish Federation service areas with 20,000 or more Jews. Section 15.4 examines changes in the size and geographic distribution of the Jewish population at national, state, and regional scales from 1971–2016. Section 15.5 presents a description of local Jewish community studies and lists communities currently involved in such studies or planning such studies. Section 15.6 relates to chapters in the current volume, specifically Part I on Orthodox Jews, by presenting comparisons of Jewish communities on the percentage of households who are Orthodox, and to Chap. 13 on Jewish families, by presenting comparisons of Jewish communities on the percentage of single person households and households with children. Section 15.7 presents an atlas of local American Jewish communities, including a national map of Jews by county and 14 regional and state maps of Jewish communities.

Jewish Population in the United States, 2014

This chapter examines the size, geographic distribution, and selected characteristics of the Jewish population of the US. Part I addresses the procedures employed to estimate the Jewish population of over 900 local Jewish communities and parts thereof. Part II presents the major changes in local Jewish population estimates since last year’s Year Book. Part III examines population estimates for the country as a whole, each state, the four US Census Regions, the nine US Census Divisions, the 20 largest US Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), and the 51 Jewish Federation service areas with 20,000 or more Jews. Part IV examines changes in the size and geographic distribution of the Jewish population at national, state, and regional scales from 1971 to 2014. Part V presents a description of local Jewish community studies and a listing of studies currently in progress. Part VI relates to Chap. 2 on gender by presenting comparisons of Jewish communities on synagogue attendance and levels of emotional attachment to Israel by age and sex. Part VII presents an atlas of local American Jewish communities, including a national map of Jews by county and 14 regional and state maps of Jewish communities.