How many Jews in the US?

Answer 1

It depends on the year.

Historically, Jews have always been a part of the US Military and served with distinction on both sides of the Civil War and in every other major conflict. In each conflict where Jews fought, they enlisted in a percentage greater than their overall percentage in the US citizenry.

Answer 2

Throughout American history, Jews have played an important role in the military, dating back to Colonial times. In 1654 Asher Levy, one of the original 23 Jewish settlers of New Amsterdam, demanded the right to stand guard at the stockade. Jews had been previously excluded from the voluntary home guard service, and were forced to pay a compensatory fee for their lack of service. After two years of filing petitions with the colonial court, Levy and his Jewish comrades were permitted to serve.

It is important to note that there is no census for religion in the U.S. military; thus, almost no statistics exist for the number of Jews in uniform. Furthermore, based on the Jewish casualties in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is estimated that 30-40% of Jews in the military do not specify their religion. Some Jews anticipate deployment and feel concerned about being identified by the enemy as a Jew. Other Jews simply don't feel the need to express their faith on paper. Undoubtedly some of them fear prejudices and preconceptions.

Some known statistics regarding the number of Jews in the U.S. Military are as follows: during World War II, American Jews comprised approximately 3.3% of the U.S. population, while 4.23% of the U.S. Military were Jewish.

During World War 2, President Roosevelt praised the fighting abilities and service of Jewish men and women. General Douglas MacArthur in one of his speeches said, "I am proud to join in saluting the memory of fallen American heroes of the Jewish faith."

Despite there being no official list of Jewish U.S. service members, one fact remains: the Jewish representation in the military equals at least the Jewish representation in the American population, if not more.