The Silent Holocaust: The Losses of the Jewish People

Nearly 2500 years have passed since Gedaliah son of Ahikam was assassinated by Ishmael son of Nethaniah. Nearly 2500 years have passed since the last Jews left the Land of Israel, leaving it desolate. Yet, even today, when the Land of Israel is open to the Jewish people, most Jews do not live in the Holy Land but are scattered across the globe.

According to the most recent data, about 13.3 million Jews live worldwide in roughly 100 different countries, but only 41% reside in Israel. The most distressing fact is that among Jews living abroad, there are very high and steadily increasing rates of assimilation, which have been rising since the early 20th century.

The Losses of the Jewish People

So exactly how many Jews are assimilating worldwide? Far more than one might assume. According to data recently published by the Knesset's research department, the former Soviet Union leads in assimilation rates, with over 75% of Jews marrying non-Jews. In the U.S., the numbers are also very high – about 55% of Jews marry non-Jews. In France and England, the assimilation rate is more than 40%, in Canada about 35%, in Australia about 25%, and in Mexico less than 15%.

A special document issued by the Knesset's research department also explained this disturbing phenomenon: assimilation has always been identified as a one-way process of the absorption of Jews into secular society. Two basic conditions underlie this phenomenon: first, a social reality where a Jewish minority lives among an overwhelming majority of non-Jews, and second, a system of factors encouraging integration in economic, social, political, legal, and cultural domains.

When it comes to Jewish assimilation in the diaspora, the trigger is usually cultural assimilation, meaning that Jews living in various countries conclude that it will be easier for them to succeed if they are not affiliated with the Jewish religion. However, conversion among Jews to Christianity or Islam is rare, as due to the secularization of Western society, assimilation does not require religious conversion for cultural and social acceptance.

Unfortunately, the phenomenon continues to claim countless casualties, so much so that over the last 200 years, intermarriage in the diaspora has increased by 200%. As a result, in 2007, the Jewish population in Israel stood at about 5.3 million, and in the U.S. at 5.2 million. Forecasting for 2020 suggested that there would be 6.2 million Jews in Israel, while in the U.S., the number would remain at 5.2 million.

When will the last Jew die in the U.S.? This is not a facetious question; it is addressed with all seriousness, and according to statistical data, it is expected to occur in approximately 300 years, as a direct result of numerous Jews marrying non-Jews.

Intermarriage constitutes the beginning of religious assimilation, as even if Jews living in exile intend to maintain a Jewish identity, their children, in most cases, do not grow up Jewish, resulting in a significant loss of Jewish souls.

Assimilation in Israel

Until recent years, assimilation was mainly a phenomenon seen in Jewish communities abroad, but recently it has become prevalent in Israel as well. Hundreds of thousands of immigrants from the former Soviet Union who arrived under the Law of Return but are not Jewish according to halacha now reside in Israel. About 20% of them are married to Jews, leading to statistics previously unknown in the country's first decades: currently, about 5% of all families in Israel are interfaith, with percentages rising steadily.

Another factor affecting assimilation in Israel is a phenomenon that has always existed but intensified in recent years: numerous Jewish girls are marrying minority men. This troubling trend causes them to move to Arab villages and sometimes establish families and raise their children there. Their children marry Muslims, resulting in the family's detachment from the Jewish people.

The worst aspect is that unlike the case with Jews in the diaspora, the girls assimilating in Israel sometimes do not do so willingly. They are unaware they are entering relationships with minority men, and by the time they realize, it is often too late, after they have converted to Islam and are trapped in the villages.

Today, there is an immensely beneficial effort by various organizations and dedicated emissaries attempting to bring back these lost souls, both in Israel and abroad. However, it appears that no existing activity is sufficient to stop the snowball rolling down a slope, causing innumerable losses that the Jewish people cannot afford. Forever.

Shavuot – Department for Prevention of Assimilation, for queries and reports: Tel' 073-2221333 or 052-9551591. Email kalina@htv.co.il