ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. Most people think that America's Jewish population consists entirely of middle and upper-middle income people. There are several reasons why the existence of the Jewish poor has been virtually unknown until recently. The basic reason is that no comprehensive private or public study of the income of the American Jewish population has yet been made. The problems of the poor elderly Jews who reside in the inner city go beyond what are traditionally perceived as the problems of the aged poor—low income, poor health, abominable housing accommodations and loneliness. In addition, these people frequently find themselves living in a religiously hostile environment. The authors recognized at the outset that the problem of poor Jews and non-Jews cannot be solved by private philanthropy alone.
