Jewish communities throughout the world have undergone major transformations in the decades since 1945. These changes include population shifts in the aftermath of the Holocaust, the establishment of the State of Israel, the end of most Jewish communities in North Africa and the Middle East outside of Israel, major waves of emigration from the former Soviet Union, and the ascendancy of North America as a powerful center of Jewish demography, culture, and institutions. During the last sixty-five years, Jews have also responded to a broad range of social, cultural, and technological innovations as they have become increasingly integrated into the societies in which they reside. In addition to their conspicuous educational and occupational achievements, Jews have experienced new forms of acculturation, family patterns, and religious practice. These processes have raised questions about the future of Jews as an ethnic and religious minority in an open pluralistic society where individualism and freedom to choose and shape one's own identity are salient features. This chapter explores these themes and discusses the challenges that are likely to face Jewish communities in North America (the United States and Canada), Europe, Latin America, and Israel in the course of the twenty-first century.

THE DECADES TO THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

In forecasting the future, Jewish communal leaders and scholars have constructed three portrayals of the Jewish past and present.