Coronavirus patient (illustrative)
Coronavirus patient (illustrative)REUTERS/Christian Hartmann

Globally, there are eight million Jews in the Diaspora, but the number of Jews who have died of coronavirus has already reached the thousands and continues to rise.

While there are no firm statistics on how many Jews have died, since governments do not count Jewish deaths separately from those of the general population, it is clear that the number of Jews who died of coronavirus is disproportionate to their representation in the population as a whole.

According to a JTA article printed in Israel Hayom, in England, at least 352 Jews have died, representing 1.7% of coronavirus deaths, while the Jewish population is just 0.3% of the English public. This may be due to any of several factors, including their over-representation in London, a hotbed of coronavirus.

In the tri-state area, which is home to the largest Jewish community in the Diaspora, over 700 Jews have died in New York City alone. And the number of Jews dying is currently four times higher than the usual, Chessed Shel Emes of Brooklyn said.

Italy, meanwhile has seen 27,000 coronavirus deaths, of them 12 Jews. Italy's Jewish population, on the other hand, numbers approximately 20,000 Jews, with the largest community in Rome, followed by Milan.

France, meanwhile has seen 23,000 coronavirus deaths. The country, home to the largest Jewish community in Europe, has a Jewish population of approximately 500,000. It is not clear how many Jews have died of coronavirus in France, but the Jewish area of the Thiais cemetery, which was expected to accommodate the dying for many years, has filled up in the past few weeks and is nearing maximum capacity.

Meanwhile, in Holland, 26 people died in a Jewish nursing home, out of a total of 120 residents. Jews represent approximately 40,000 of the country's population of 17 million. The country has seen 4,500 coronavirus deaths.

In Morocco, where just 1,500-2,000 Jews live among a population of 36 million, the Jewish community has lost 1% of its members - 15 people, after the virus spread at a wedding. In total, Morocco has seen 162 coronavirus deaths.

In Argentina, ten Jews have died of coronavirus, out of 200 coronavirus deaths in the country as a whole. Argentina is home to 200,000 Jews, and has a population of 40 million people.