Accentuating the Positive

Accentuating the Positive American Judaism: A History By Jonathan D. Sarna Yale. 490 pp. $35.00.

AMERICAN JEWRY is currently marking the 350th anniversary of its communal presence in this country. In 1654, 23 Jews seeking to escape the extended arm of the Inquisition arrived in New Amsterdam

from the Brazilian port city of Recife. Ousted with the rest of their brethren when the Portuguese conquered Brazil, the 23 were granted permission by the Dutch to establish an enclave in North America. The festivities include a host of exhibits, public programs, academic conferences, and publications focusing on the various remarkable achievements of what became the United States' largest non-Christian religious minority.

Yet even as they celebrate their proud past, American Jews have reason for grave concerns about their uncertain future. For the first time in their history, their numbers are steadily declining, the Jewish population having diminished by slightly over 5 per cent between 1990 and 2000. Simultaneously, the rate of Jewish intermarriage with Gentiles has continued to soar and is at present approaching 60 per cent, while conversions to Judaism have been dropping for the past half-century. Furthermore, the nationwide birthrate of American Jewish families is today just below zero population growth. Some sociologists speak of American Jews seeming to perform a slow disappearing act.