There are more Jews in the United States than widely thought — 20 percent more.

Thats the major finding in a new study conducted by the Steinhardt Social Research Institute at Brandeis University, which says that there are now 6.5 million Jews in America, 1 million more than the last time a major count was attempted.

Research: Leonard Saxe is a leading Jewish demographer.

Courtesy of Leonard Saxe

Research: Leonard Saxe is a leading Jewish demographer.

Open gallery view A Jewish man voting in the 2008 U.S. elections in N.Y. Credit: AP

The findings are a rebuke to the most recent National Jewish Population Survey, conducted in 2000-2001, which indicated a negative trend line for the Jewish population, with a loss of nearly 300,000 Jews during the previous decade.



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