"The book editors should be commended for their outstanding diligence in tracking down such diverse information, and it surely merits its description as the comprehensive 'annual record of American Jewish Civilization'. Summing Up: Essential. All readership levels." (D. Altschiller, Choice, Vol. 55 (1), September, 2017)
Chapter 1. Forum on the Pew Survey, A Portrait of American Orthodox Jews.- Chapter 2. The Jewish Family (Harriet Hartman).- Chapter 3. The Domestic Arena: April 1, 2015 – March 31, 2016 (Miriam Sanua Dalin).- Chapter 4. The International Arena: April 1, 2015 – March 31, 2016 (Mitchell Bard).- Chapter 5. Jewish Population in the United States, 2016 (Ira M. Sheskin and Arnold Dashefsky).- Chapter 6. Jewish Population of Canada, 2016 (Charles Shahar).- Chapter 7. World Jewish Population, 2016 (Sergio DellaPergola).- Chapter 8. Jewish Institutions.- Chapter 9. Jewish Press.- Chapter 10. Academic Resources.- Chapter 11. Transitions.
Arnold Dashefsky, Ph.D. served as the inaugural holder of the Doris and Simon Konover Chair of Judaic Studies and professor of sociology at the University of Connecticut in Storrs where he is now emeritus. He is the co-author or editor of ten books, including Americans Abroad, Charitable Choices, Ethnic Identification Among American Jews, among others, as well as numerous scholarly articles. A former associate head of the sociology department, he was the founding director of the Center for Judaic Studies and Contemporary Jewish Life, located in the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center at the University of Connecticut, and is the director emeritus and current senior academic consultant of the Berman Jewish DataBank
Ira M. Sheskin, Ph.D. is the director of the Jewish Demography Project of the Sue and Leonard Miller Center for Contemporary Judaic Studies at the University of Miami and professor and chair of geography at the same institution. He has completed 43 major Jewish community studies for Jewish Federations throughout the country and was a member of the National Technical Advisory Committee of the Jewish Federations of North America from 1988 to 2003, which completed both the 1990 and 2000-01 National Jewish Population Surveys. His publications include books entitled Survey Research for Geographers, How Jewish Communities Differ, and Comparisons of Jewish Communities: A Compendium of Tables and Bar Charts.
The American Jewish Year Book, now in its 116th year, is the annual record of the North American Jewish communities and provides insight into their major trends. Part I presents a forum on the Pew Survey, “A Portrait of American Orthodox Jews.”Part II begins with Chapter 13, "The Jewish Family." Chapter 14 examines “American Jews and the International Arena (April 1, 2015 – April 15, 2016), which focuses on US–Israel Relations. Chapters 15-17 analyze the demography and geography of the US, Canadian, and world Jewish populations. In Part III, Chapter 18 provides lists of Jewish institutions, including federations, community centers, social service agencies, national organizations, synagogues, Hillels, day schools, camps, museums, and Israeli consulates. In the final chapters, Chapter 19 presents national and local Jewish periodicals and broadcast media; Chapter 20 provides academic resources, including Jewish Studies programs, books, articles, websites, and research libraries; and Chapter 21 presents lists of major events in the past year, Jewish honorees, and obituaries.
An invaluable record of Jewish life, the American Jewish Year Book illuminates contemporary issues with insight and breadth. It is a window into a complex and ever-changing world.
Deborah Dash Moore, Frederick G. L. Huetwell Professor of History and Judaic Studies, and Director Emerita of the Frankel Center for Judaic Studies, University of Michigan
A century from now and more, the stately volumes of the American Jewish Year Book will stand as the authoritative record of Jewish life since 1900. For anyone interested in tracing the long-term evolution of Jewish social, political, religious, and cultural trends from an objective yet passionately Jewish perspective, there simply is no substitute.
Lawrence Grossman, American Jewish Year Book Editor (1999-2008) and Contributor (1988-2015)