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Study finds Maine has highest intermarriage rate in U.S.
By Anthony Weiss, The Forward
Tags: intermarriage, Maine, Jewish

In Portland, Maine, even the editor of the local Jewish newspaper was born to intermarried parents, and when she got around to marrying, it was not to a Jew.

Given her own experience, Elizabeth Margolis-Pineo, editor of The Voice, was not surprised by a new demographic study that found Portland and its environs to have the highest intermarriage rate in the country.

According to the study, which was funded in part by an intermarried couple, 61% of couples in married Jewish households are interfaith. This is the highest rate of any North American Jewish community measured in the past 15 years.
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"There are kids in the [Jewish] preschool named 'Piscapo' and 'Isajar,'" Margolis-Pineo said. "Unless you're an idiot, you realize that there's a lot of intermarriage."

The study was conducted by Ira Sheskin, the director of the Jewish Demography Project at the University of Miami.

The new figures place Portland ahead of both Seattle and San Francisco, which previously had shared the highest measured intermarriage rate, at 55%, according to information from the North American Jewish Data Bank.

The national intermarriage rate was 48% in the 2000-2001 National Jewish Population Survey. By comparison, Boston - the closest major Jewish population center to Portland - has an intermarriage rate of 46%. New York and Los Angeles have rates of 22% and 23%, respectively.

Given the relatively low level of Jewish affiliation in Portland, and the small size of the community - it numbers only 8,350 Jews - one of the most remarkable facts is that an expensive demographic survey took place at all.

The study was made possible, in part, by the chairman and former CEO of L.L. Bean, Leon Gorman, grandson of the iconic company's founder. Gorman is not Jewish, but his wife, Lisa, is.


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  • Rosner's blog: The emerging consensus on intermarriage: the trial has begun
  • Rosner's blog: Can children of intermarriage ever be accepted by the Jewish community?
  • Haaretz.com TV: Intermarriage intrigue
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      1.   Time to ring the alarm bells 05:27  |  Naftali Lavie 11/12/07
      2.   Israel It`s Own Worst Enemy! 06:15  |  tbart 11/12/07
      3.   Intermarriage 07:35  |  Brian 11/12/07
      4.   Marriage 08:11  |  Nephtaly 11/12/07
      5.   German dictator banned intermarriage-was he right? 08:30  |  Israel_is_Done 11/12/07
      6.   Isajar 08:50  |  Dani Reiss 11/12/07
      7.   Ridiculous story 09:03  |  Ex-Mainer 11/12/07
      8.   A positive development for all. 09:48  |  Nick Ferriman 11/12/07
      9.   Former Senator William Cohen 09:57  |  Johnny Weintraub 11/12/07
      10.   intermarriage in Maine 10:09  |  j 11/12/07
      11.   x-mainer 10:14  |  j 11/12/07
      12.   Why marry out? 11:00  |  Alicia 11/12/07
      13.   Interesting, revealing remark from "J" # 8 11:02  |  Clickfool 11/12/07
      14.   to merry a Jew is like to merry a sister 11:23  |  Chaim 11/12/07
      15.   to # 12 Chaim of Oregon 11:48  |  Steve the Pals. 11/12/07
      16.   Same Place Morality Requires Prophylactics for 11-yr olds 12:22  |  Paqid (16) Yirmeyahu 11/12/07
      17.   Apparently, these kids are being sent to the Jewish pre school 12:26  |  Yaakov Sullivan 11/12/07
      18.   to the zionists!! 12:42  |  ROB OF MELBOURNE AUS 11/12/07
      19.   Secular Jews intermarry as Haredim are fruitful and multiply 13:00  |  Sim 11/12/07
      20.   Reply to no.5 - Yes he was in this respect. 13:03  |  Israel_is_coming 11/12/07
      21.   # 14 Chaim, I agree 13:08  |  Sara 11/12/07
      22.   to keep track of the intermariages is racism !!! 13:21  |  mehmet 11/12/07
      23.   To #8, Nick Ferriman. 13:34  |  Ariel 11/12/07
      24.   Mehmet and Yaacov/Fear of Annihilation 14:01  |  Dorothy 11/12/07
      25.   Multiculturalism is GREAT! 14:06  |  POP 11/12/07
      26.   #22 Mehmet: nothing to do with genetics nor with blood 14:12  |  Alicia 11/12/07
      27.   #23-Ariel 14:34  |  Theodor 11/12/07
      28.   Southern Maine Intermarriage Rate 14:54  |  Dr. Ira Sheskin 11/12/07
      29.   billy Cohen 15:19  |  j 11/12/07
      30.   On merrying # 14 15:34  |  Clickfool 11/12/07
      31.   Jews 15:34  |  JK 11/12/07
      32.   For JK # 31 16:05  |  Clickfool 11/12/07
      33.   #31 Nope 16:20  |  Common sense 11/12/07
      34.   Secularism. Religious multiply, seculiarists shrink 16:45  |  David 11/12/07
      35.   Unless you`re an idiot, you realize that ... 17:14  |  Boris 11/12/07
      36.   #17, Yaakov Sullivan, nothing wrong with gentiles, dont marry 17:31  |  David 11/12/07
      37.   Hilarious!! 17:43  |  jewdatingchilean 11/12/07
      38.   Nice job a study like that. Includes even a little travelling. 17:49  |  S 11/12/07
      39.   Shocking 18:51  |  Salviati 11/12/07
      40.   As you sow, so shall you reap. 19:42  |  common sense 11/12/07
      41.   Senator Cohen 20:30  |  Leah 11/12/07
      42.   Intermarriage - A symptom, not the problem 21:38  |  ET 11/12/07
      43.   Intermarriage FOR the survival of Judaism 23:15  |  Mattianu 11/12/07
      44.   Jews in Maine 00:38  |  Mark T 12/12/07
      45.   Why Not 03:13  |  Dave 12/12/07
      46.   As an American I find this offensive 03:15  |  Dan 12/12/07
      47.   #13 13:30  |  Moshe 12/12/07
      48.   Support for Study 13:44  |  Ira Sheskin 12/12/07
      49.   intermarriage 14:45  |  RS 12/12/07
      50.   #49 RS - How to Isolate Yourself 17:16  |  Phil 12/12/07
      51.   #49 Torah and The Dinosaurs 17:17  |  Phil 12/12/07
      52.   Nothing to do with "blood" 17:24  |  ck 12/12/07
      53.   #49 Hydrocarbons 17:24  |  Phil 12/12/07
      54.   re 19 & 51 I agree 18:55  |  Devin 12/12/07
      55.   #50 & 51 00:10  |  Moshe 13/12/07
      56.   #53 00:16  |  Moshe 13/12/07
      57.   #46 00:33  |  Moshe 13/12/07
      58.   Parts of Maine don`t have very many Jews 01:31  |  John 13/12/07
      59.   Intermarriage is destroying Judaism! 05:24  |  anti-intermarriage 13/12/07
      60.   Mattianu; Intermarriage is decreasing the number of Jews! 05:33  |  anti-intermarriage 13/12/07
      61.   All the ignorant Gentiles should just shut up!. 05:39  |  anti-intermarriage 13/12/07
      62.   Senator Cohen Baloney 07:04  |  John 13/12/07
      63.   Does Jew = Momma or Pappa...and other arguments from the grave... 10:48  |  John 13/12/07
      64.   Say... a person wants to convert to become a secular Jew? 11:03  |  John 13/12/07
      65.   blockers 12:19  |  ROB OF MELBOURNE AUS 13/12/07
      66.   I can give two examples........ 13:00  |  John 13/12/07
      67.   To Anti-Intermariage 15:34  |  M 13/12/07
      68.   If it was good enough for Moses... 15:40  |  Mattianu 13/12/07
      69.   Dan #46 16:38  |  Mark T 13/12/07
      70.   Response to #68--Matianu 21:13  |  Dave 13/12/07
      71.   mixed marriage 00:16  |  MAX BERNSTEIN 14/12/07
      72.   #68 00:47  |  Moshe 14/12/07
      73.   mehmet #22 01:37  |  Oleg 14/12/07
      74.   To #70 a rebuttal 05:41  |  M 14/12/07
      75.   Ira Sheskin 06:06  |  Dan 14/12/07
      76.   M...thats right..men MAKE MISTAKES 10:38  |  John 14/12/07
      77.   Deut. 7 is an example..... 11:10  |  John 14/12/07
      78.   Correction on my post 12:23  |  John 14/12/07
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