Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mary Cluney who wrote (41823)	5/2/2004 1:10:26 PM
From: Nadine Carroll	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793597

Hi Mary, Let me answer your questions. I'm citing figures from memory, so they will be ballpark, but enough for your purposes. Israel has 6 million citizens, of whom 5 million are Jewish, the rest Arab (Muslim and Christian), Druze, other Christians, various other minorities (such as Thai or Rumanian workers brought in to replace the Palestinian work force unavailable since 2000). The world has about 16 million Jews. Before WWII it was about 18 million, so we still haven't replaced the 6 million lost in the Holcaust. Yes, Jews don't seek converts but people can convert if they convince a Rabbi they're serious. I don't know figures for orthodox vs reformed etc. For religous practices, you will get very different answers in America, where Jews tend to divide themselves Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, assimiilated, and Israel, where the divide is Orthodox vs. secular (about 85% of Israeli Jews are secular). Particular in Israel, the term "Jew" refers to an ethnicity as much as a religion. The term "non-religious Jew" makes perfect sense to Jews. In America, there is a lot of intermarriage, so the Jewish community, currently about 6 million, will probabably be smaller and more religious in a generation, as the less religious assimilate completely. I'm not sure what you are asking about Hebrew. Modern Hebrew is the daily language of Israel. Hebrew is taught as part of a Jewish religious education everywhere, but if your religious education stopped at 13 (bar mitzvah age) you probably don't know much.