Census decision to exclude Jewish category a pity, say religious leaders

SOME members of the Jewish community in this country have expressed dismay that next week’s census will not include a category box for Jews in the section on religious beliefs.

One of the questions on the census form is ‘What is your religion?’ and includes a number of boxes to be ticked, including Roman Catholic, Methodist and Muslim. Jewish people will have to identify themselves in the ‘other’ category.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO), which is running the April 23 census, has said it has no wish to cause offence and the religion was not included in a box category as the numbers are low.

CSO spokesman Brian King said a number of other smaller religious groups weren’t named either, due to space constraints.

In an article in Britain’s Jewish Telegraph, Jewish Representative Council of Ireland vice-chairman Carl Nelkin said it was a “pity” and “unhelpful” that a category wasn’t included.

He said not having a distinct Jewish category meant people may be less inclined to fill in “Jewish” in the other box and that this could lead to an undercount.

There are about 700 Jewish families, or 1,790 Jewish people, in Ireland, the majority based in Dublin, Belfast and Cork. The numbers in Cork have declined due to immigration and the synagogue no longer has regular services.

Irish Chief Rabbi Ya’acov Pearlman told the Jerusalem Post: “It would be nice to have a box to be ticked off for Jewish people and to be recognised that we are a community here.” However, he added the absence of a specific box was understandable as the Jewish community is so small.

He said he was certain there was no anti-Semitic intent behind the move.

Jews have lived in Ireland for hundreds of years, with a large number arriving between 1880 and 1910, when about 2,000 Jews came from Eastern Europe and settled in Belfast, Cork, Derry, Drogheda, Dublin, Limerick, Lurgan, and Waterford. The Jewish population in Ireland peaked at 5,500 in the late 1940s.