Jewish population shifting away from Greater Miami area

NEW YORK, June 29 (JTA) — The Jewish population of Greater Miami, one of the largest concentrations of Jews in the United States, is steadily declining, according to a recent study. The study found that the total Jewish population of Florida’s Dade County, an area commonly known as Greater Miami, has dropped 8 percent over the past three years to 152,500. The 1994 Jewish Demographic Study of Dade County found 166,000 Jews living in the area. The county’s Jewish population has been in decline since its peak in 1975 at 248,000. The continuing decline is mainly because of mortality and the relocation of residents from Dade to other South Florida counties, said Ira Sheskin, the University of Miami researcher who conducted the studies. Dade County has typically been about 50 percent elderly, as Greater Miami has long seen a “major influx of the retirement population,” Sheskin said in an interview. But the Jewish community has changed as more retired persons move into areas of Florida further up the coast such as South Palm Beach, which is “perhaps the fastest growing Jewish community” in Florida, Sheskin said. As a result of this population shift, several synagogues have closed in Dade County. However, despite the population decline, the community remains active. According to the study, 93 percent of all Jewish households participate in some form of Jewish activity. There are 64 synagogues, 14 Jewish day schools and three Jewish community centers in the county. The Jewish population of South Florida now totals roughly 645,000. Broward County and Palm Beach County have 283,000 and 209,000 Jews, respectively.