LONDON, June 28 (JTA) — Britain appears to be facing its own Jewish continuity crisis. A new demographic study shows that Britain’s Jewish population has dropped to less than 300,000 for the first time this century, and if current trends continue, the number of Jews is expected to fall to less than 200,000 within the next 25 years. The study, conducted by the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the community’s umbrella organization, is slated for publication in July. It shows there are now some 285,000 Jews in Britain, down from 308,000 a decade ago. The largest erosion is caused by assimilation, with Jewish couples recording lower birth rates and the level of intermarriage now estimated to be running at some 44 percent. Emigration to Israel accounts for the loss of some 800 a year, while an equal number of British Jews are believed to be emigrating to the United States each year.
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