Jewish Agency head Salai Meridor has sounded a dire warning for world Jewry: \"The Jewish people will lose another six million Jews over the next 50 years as a result of assimilation,\" he announced at a special press conference today. He said that the more pessimistic evaluations speak of 12 million lost Jews, and that, \"in the 21st century, the Jewish People will decide whether their numbers in 2050 will be 12 million or 18 million.\" He and other experts called for extra help for families who wish to raise more than two children, and for action to strengthen Jewish identity.
Meridor announced the Agency\'s new demographic initiative that will report the real-time Jewish demographic situation anywhere in the world. The program will concentrate at first on the Jewish communities in the U.S., Israel, Russia, and Argentina. There are currently 13,300,000 Jews, of whom 5.5 million are in Israel. If the current trends continue, it was reported, Israel will house the majority of the world\'s Jews by the year 2030. Current studies show that 80% of Jewish men and 70% of Jewish women marry non-Jews, and that only ¼ of the world\'s Jews receive Jewish education.
Meridor announced the Agency\'s new demographic initiative that will report the real-time Jewish demographic situation anywhere in the world. The program will concentrate at first on the Jewish communities in the U.S., Israel, Russia, and Argentina. There are currently 13,300,000 Jews, of whom 5.5 million are in Israel. If the current trends continue, it was reported, Israel will house the majority of the world\'s Jews by the year 2030. Current studies show that 80% of Jewish men and 70% of Jewish women marry non-Jews, and that only ¼ of the world\'s Jews receive Jewish education.