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American Jews

American Jews are a diverse group of people, with varying cultural and ethnic self-identification, degrees of religious adherence, and observances of Jewish holidays and customs. Despite the myriad ways in which one can be a Jew, however, there remains a common history, ethnocultural heritage, and, for many, a religious practice that unites this unique group. This entry introduces contemporary issues salient to understanding American Jews, including (a) the diversity of Jewish heritage and denominations, (b) Jewish identity, (c) psychological Stressors for Jews, and (d) counseling issues with American Jewish clients.

Recent estimates of the number of American Jews range between 5 and 6 million, representing a substantial proportion of the estimated 12 to 17 million Jews worldwide. However, given the U.S. population has been estimated at nearly 300 million, Jews are clearly a numerical minority. Because more than one third of American Jews live in large urban centers concentrated in the Northeast and the East Coast (e.g., New York), as well as in California and Chicago, there may be a mis-perception concerning the actual number of American Jews. This might be especially noticeable in the three U.S. cities with the largest Jewish populations: New York, Miami, and Los Angeles.

Definitional Terms

Bicultural

The experience of American Jews might be best described as bicultural. That is, given that one's cultural self-identification is context specific, American Jews are likely to see themselves as both Jewish and American; this dual identification provides them with two different lenses from which to view the world. In addition, there are many ways to be Jewish. All at once, Judaism is a culture, a religion, an ethnicity, and a set of traditions that is embedded in Jewish people's expectations, belief systems, and family dynamics. As a result, Jews do not fit easily, if accurately at all, into the current demographic taxonomies; this may have contributed to the previous lack of attention to Jewish issues in counseling.

American Jews versus Jewish Americans

The semantic categorization of racial and ethnic groups is often a matter of critical relevance for group members. American Jew has emerged within both the Jewish community and social science literature as the preferable term for individuals who identify as both Jews and citizens of the United States in that the term emphasizes the primacy of being Jewish through use of American as a descriptor of Jew. Furthermore, the term serves to acknowledge the nomadic heritage of Jews as a Diaspora people and the needs of Jews from many nations to flee those countries when oppression and antisemitism reached dangerous levels. Despite this trend, within-group differences certainly exist, and individuals whose nationality takes precedence over their Jewish heritage may be most comfortable with the use of the term Jewish American.

Diversity of Jewish Heritage

There is tremendous within-group variability among American Jews. For example, there are three main lineages for American Jews (i.e., Ashkenazim, Sephardim, and Mizrachim). The Ashkenazim are Jews who trace their family history to Eastern Europe, and they are the largest group (numerically) among American Jews. The Sephardim are Jews who trace their family history to the Iberian Peninsula (i.e., Spain and Portugal). Finally, the Mizrachim are Jews who trace their family history to Northern Africa and/or Western Asia. In addition to these three main lineages, there are also communities of Jews who have lived in China, India, and Ethiopia for centuries.

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