Emily Weiner - demography

Why did Jews move to cities and which cities became large Jewish centers?

Within the 18-1900’s, many Jews moved to city areas resulting from urbanization. Some of the main cities, which became populated with Jews include: London, Amsterdam, Vienna, Salonica and Paris. Jews were choosing to move to cities that could provide them with such opportunities like better education and more job opportunities. New York City also became a large urban Jewish center around 1917. The major idea to remember in regards to the Jews moving to large cities is, “Metropolitanization.”

How and why did the Jewish population increase so rapidly in the 19th century?

Around the 1800’s, the Jewish population started at about 2.7 million people. As time progressed, around 1910 the population drastically increased to about 12 million people. One major factor as to why there was such a major increase in the Jewish population was due to Jews having a longer life expectancy. Along with that, the infant mortality rate was extremely low as well which means that there was a higher birth rate as well. For Jewish people, they had better access to the many medical options as well as keeping up with good hygiene and/or cleanliness. Also, the consumption of alcohol was non-existent which lead to much healthier lives as well.