Data Bank Publications

FAQs on American Jews: U.S. Jewish Population Estimates, by Arnold Dashefsky, Ira Sheskin and Ron Miller, 2007

FAQs on American Jews: U.S. Community Population Estimates is based upon comparative data initially compiled by Dr. Ira M. Sheskin in his Jewish community study reports. The tables are based on studies available at the Mandell L. Berman Institute - North American Jewish Data Bank. Drs. Dashefsky, Sheskin and Miller have revised these tables as needed for this online publication which will be updated as new Jewish community studies are completed. (Last Updated: 7/08)

FAQ Supplement: Please also see the FAQ supplement which provides a list of community studies / years that were used to compile the FAQ and the associated Principal Investigator(s).

Data Bank News Fall 2000: Summary of Papers from 1999 Conference

Data Bank News Fall 2000 (PDF), summarizes a conference organized by the Data Bank to review the state of knowledge and consider future directions for research. Several leading social scientists of contemporary Jewry were invited to prepare papers on "what we know and what we need to find out" in their respective areas of special interest in Jewish life. A summary of their presentations is included in this newsletter.

Family Research Series #1: Intermarriage, Divorce, and Remarriage Among American Jews 1982-87, 1989

Intermarriage, Divorce, and Remarriage Among American Jews 1982-87, was written by Barry A. Kosmin, Nava Lerer and Egon Mayer as a Family Research Series paper in August, 1989. The authors examined marital histories of 6,457 ever married, never widowed, Jewish adults from nine cities around the United States. They tried to deterimine the extent of intermarriage, divorce, and intermarriage upon remarriage, as well as their possible causal relationship with seven social-demographic factors.

Reprint Series #5: Contemporary American Jewry - The Political Economy of Gender in Jewish Federations, 1989

The Political Economy of Gender in Jewish Federations (PDF), written by Barry A. Kosmin and published in the Spring 1989 issue of Contemporary Jewry, provides a historical and political overview of the role of women in Jewish philanthropy in general and specifically in Jewish Federations.

Occasional Paper #4: Contemporary American Jewry: Implications for Planning, 1988

Contemporary American Jewry: Implications for Planning (PDF), presented by Barry A. Kosmin to the CJF Planners Institute in 1988. It provides an overview of the demography of the Jewish population in North America in the 1980s based on selected Jewish community studies. By comparing the results of the community studies, not only does the study provide observations about what is unique and different about American Jews, it also provides implications for trying to plan social services for this population.

Reprint Series #3: Counting Jewish Populations: Methods and Problems, 1987

Counting Jewish Population Methods and Problems (PDF) written by Barry A. Kosmin, Paul Rittenband, and Jeffery Scheckner was published in 1988 in the American Jewish Yearbook. It provides a detailed examination of the methodology and potential issues with the methodology used in counting the Jewish population of the United States.

Information Series #1: Older Adult Jewish Population of North America, 1987

The Older Adult Jewish Population of North America (PDF) written by Barry A. Kosmin and Jeffery Scheckner was published in August 1987 and provides an overview of the continental situation and trends of the aging Jewish population in terms of social and attitudinal changes in family size and geographical patterns in the US and Canada. It also suggests the implications for planning and service delivery for this population.

Occasional Papers #3: Building an Awareness of a Continental Jewish Community, 1987

Building Awareness of Continental Jewish Community (PDF) is based on presentations delivered to a forum at the CJF General Assembly on November 14, 1986. The first presentation is by Sidney Goldstein, CJF Board of Directors and Chairman, National Technical Advisory Committee on Population Studies, on Building an Awareness of a Continental Jewish Community and the Role and Work of the North American Jewish Data Bank in this goal. The second presentation is by Drs. Peter B. Friedman, Assistant executive Director, and Mark Alan Zober, Senior Research and Planning Associate of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago. It is entitled "Factors Influencing Synagogue Affiliation: A Multi-Community Analysis." The final part in this paper is a list of Jewish Population Studies Conducted since 1975 edited by Dr. Barry A. Kosmin.

Reprint Series #2: Giving To Jewish Philanthropic Causes, 1987

Giving to Jewish Philanthropic Causes: A Preliminary Reconnaissance (PDF) was written by Richard Silberstein, Jonathan Rabinowitz, Paul Ritterband and Barry Kosmin and reprinted by the North American Jewish Data Bank in 1987. It examines Jewish philanthropic giving in the United States in the context of federated Jewish campaigns.

Occasional Papers #1: Jewish Data Bank: Historical Perspective, 1986

The Jewish Data Bank: Historical Perspective (PDF) is a collection of three presentations delivered at the inauguration of the North American Jewish Data Bank on June 3, 1989. The opening remarks were delivered by Mandell L. Berman, the chairman of the Long-Range Planning Committee and the vice-president of the Council of Jewish Federations at that time, offering a vision for the Data Bank. The second presentation was by Barry Kosmin, the Director of Research for the Council of Jewish Federations as well as the Director of the North American Jewish Data Bank, offering historical background. The final presentation was by Paul Ritterband, professor of sociology at City College of New York and Senior Research Fellow at the North American Jewish Data Bank. He offers some reflections on Jewish Social Science in the United States.