The Jewish Communities of the Western United States


 

Publication Date: April 2008

Publisher: Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs

Author(s): Steven F. Windmueller

Research Area: Culture and religion

Keywords: Residential Patterns; Identity Formation; Community Development; Demography

Type: Report

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

The author profiles the twenty-five percent of the American Jewish population which lives in the Western United States. This population is separated from the rest of American Jewry, the author contends, by the following factors: the pioneering and independent spirit of the West; the special histories of these communities; distance from other centers of Jewish life; the impact of "wide open spaces" on building communities; the unique role of leaders, especially rabbis; and the West as an alternative lifestyle model.