Galut - The Diaspora in Contemporary Jewish Life

The Diaspora in Contemporary Jewish Life

As of 2010 the largest numbers of Jews live in Israel (5,703,700), United States (5,275,000), France (483,500), Canada (375,000), the United Kingdom (292,000), Russia (205,000), Argentina (182,300), and Germany (119,000). These numbers reflect the "core" Jewish population, defined as being "not inclusive of non-Jewish members of Jewish households, persons of Jewish ancestry who profess another monotheistic religion, other non-Jews of Jewish ancestry, and other non-Jews who may be interested in Jewish matters." Significant Jewish populations also remain in Middle Eastern and North African countries outside of Israel, particularly Iran, Turkey, Morocco, Tunisia, and Yemen. In general, these populations are shrinking due to low growth rates and high rates of emigration (particularly since the 1960s).

The Jewish Autonomous Oblast continues to be an Autonomous Oblast of Russia. The Chief Rabbi of Birobidzhan, Mordechai Scheiner, says there are 4,000 Jews in the capital city. Governor Nikolay Mikhaylovich Volkov has stated that he intends to, "support every valuable initiative maintained by our local Jewish organizations." The Birobidzhan Synagogue opened in 2004 on the 70th anniversary of the region's founding in 1934. An estimated 75,000 Jews live in the vast Siberia region.

Metropolitan areas with the largest Jewish populations are listed below, though one source at jewishtemples.org, states that "It is difficult to come up with exact population figures on a country by country basis, let alone city by city around the world. Figures for Russia and other CIS countries are but educated guesses." The source cited here, the 2010 World Jewish Population Survey, also notes that "Unlike our estimates of Jewish populations in individual countries, the data reported here on urban Jewish populations do not fully adjust for possible double counting due to multiple residences. The differences in the United States may be quite significant, in the range of tens of thousands, involving both major and minor metropolitan areas."

1. Gush Dan (Tel Aviv and surroundings) – Israel – 2,979,900.
2. New York – U.S. – 2,007,850.
3. Jerusalem – 705,000.
4. Los Angeles – U.S. – 684,950.
5. Haifa – Israel – 671,400.
6. Miami – U.S. – 485,850.
7. Be'er Sheva – Israel – 367,600.
8. San Francisco – U.S. – 345,700.
9. Paris – France – 284,000.
10. Chicago – U.S. – 270,500.
11. Philadelphia – U.S. – 263,800.
12. Boston – U.S. – 229,100.
13. Washington, DC – U.S. – 215,600
14. London – United Kingdom – 195,000.
15. Toronto – Canada – 180,000.
16. Atlanta – U.S. – 119,800.
17. Moscow – Russia – 95,000.
18. San Diego – U.S. – 89,000.
19. Phoenix – U.S. – 82,900.
20. Cleveland – U.S. – 81,500.
21. Montreal – Canada – 80,000.