Submitted by Uzi Silber, Dec 28, 2006 12:49

I'm one of those almost extinct ethnic Jews Halkin refers to. There are still a few of us left. If Halkin lived in the States he'd probably be considered one too. Ethnic Jews can also be called 'Second Avenue Deli Jews', after the famous (and recently closed) Kosher deli on the Lower East Side that was open on Sabbaths but not on Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur or Passover.

I've always been a big admirer of Halkin's if (but not) only for his prodigious and varied output, beginning with 'Letters to an American Jewish Friend' written three decades ago, and through his ongoing flood of articles in Commentary, the Forward, and of course in these pages. I feel great kinship with him.

Even in the relatively insular and Jewish Lower East Side, I witness catstrophic assimilation at work. in the eighties, the rate of assimilation was said to be 50%. Well, its much steeper than that in my neighborrhood. Indeed, any Jew who hasn't (in some combination) gone to an Orthodox Jewish school, been to Israel and/or isn't kosher at home, almost always (no hyperbole) intermarries. An informal playground count indicates that even in our oh-so very Jewish neighborhood, and exclusing the orthodox, intermarriage is running at about 90%.

I'm posting you article on my blog nyapikores.blogpsot.com

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