NO JEWS IN IRELAND?

Irish census form omits box for Jews
Ireland's Jewish community is expressing dismay after learning that the country's upcoming census will not include a distinct category for Jews in the section concerning religious identity.
The forms to be used in the census, to take place on April 23, include a question that asks, "What is your religion?," which is followed by seven boxes that respondents may check to indicate their reply. These include Roman Catholic, Methodist and Muslim, but not Jewish. Instead, those wishing to identify themselves as Jews will have to register their religion as part of the "other" category.

In a telephone interview from Dublin, Brian King, a statistician and spokesman for the Irish Central Statistics Office (CSO), told The Jerusalem Post that, "The CSO doesn't mean to cause offense or confusion among the Jewish community." King cited practical reasons for not including a separate "tick box" for Jews, including the community's small size and that other religious groups are not listed either due to space considerations.

Ireland's Jewish community numbers just 1,790, according to the 2002 census, or less than 1 percent of the population. Previous census forms included a separate category for Jews, but it was dropped in 2002. "The reason it isn't there is solely due to the frequency," King said. "We are constrained by space, but people still have the option to write down their religion in the box."