30
Friday, September 6, 1985 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
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thereafter — 2.1 children per
woman, just about replacement
level.
"This has been the Jewish bir-
thrate since the 1920s," Silber-
man added with special satisfac-
tion; for his statistics have con-
sistently confirmed what he saw
happening among his four sons
and their friends.
To commentators like Gordis
who insist that "the situation is
desperate" and "precise figures
are not the issue" since "the
trend is indisputable," Silber-
man answers, "Precise figures
are precisely the issue: without
them we cannot know the
trend."
Silberman has uncovered
many more points to refute the
view that the situation is
"desperate." One is the surpris-
After all the calculations are
made, "the most probable out-
come is ...a modest increase in
the number of Jews," Silberman
concludes.
More Jews. Better Jews.
Fewer anti-Semites. Has
American Jewry climbed to such
heights that it is safe to say it's
now as vital a community as it
should be?
"No," Silberman conceded,
smiling. "Bin it's more vital
than it was, more vital than
could have been conceived, and
even more vital in some ways
than Israeli Judaism."
How so?
"Israel has done and can do an
enormous amount for us. What
we have tended not to talk about
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is what we can do for Israel.
Israel faces the same problems
Mg information that about 85 of viability of Judaism as we do.
percent of Jewish women who z The literature tends to argue
that the problem has been how
marry non-Jews continue to
to make the accommodation be-
identify in some significant — to
tween being Jewish and being
them and to Silberman — man-
American. That's a piece of it, a
ner as Jews, and to endow their
very large piece of it, as is the ac-
children with Jewish identity ac-
commodation between being
cording to their own lights. Since
Jewish and being modern. We
the trend is for Jewish women,
have far more experience than
more than men, to be marrying
the Israelis in working that mat-
non-Jews, this is especially
ter out. Because of their history,
significant. Also, it has been pre-
they tend to assume you're dati
viously assumed that such
(religious) or lo dati (not
women and their offspring were
religious). What we have
"lost" to the community. Silber-
demonstrated is that those are
man's sources do indicate some
not the options," Silberman said.
continuing affiliation and iden-
A Certain People is unlike any
tification of mixed couples with
other undertaking Silberman
or without conversion by a non-
has tackled: "Another reason it
Jewish spouse, although the
took so long was that I did 'not
critical factor on the Jewishness
have the emotional distance that
of progeny of intermarriage is
I have had in some of the other
conversion by the gentile
books. When I went off on a
partner.
tangent, I wasn't able to stop
Silberman also offers the in-
myself. I spent six months on a
teresting formulation that "If
chapter from which only a few
half the children of intermar-
pages were finally included. It
riages are raised as Jews, there
was important to me, but a coin-
will be no net reduction in the
plete detour in-the book."
number of Jews, no matter how
He settled certain questions
high the intermarriage rate is."
for himself by writing the book
His statistical argument is in
and he realizes that he has to a
triguing and bound to arouse
great extent "addressed" the
controversy.
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