JARRAD SAFFREN | STAFF WRITER
I n pandemic-era Philadelphia,
gun violence is a catastrophic and
ongoing problem.

Two years ago, the city suffered
through 499 homicides, outpacing the
number from any 12-month period in
the 2010s. Last year, the city endured
562 homicides, breaking the record
of 503 set in 1990. And in 2022,
Philadelphia is on pace to surpass that
ignominious mark once again.

A serious Philadelphia County issue
impacts all city residents, regardless of
demographic group, so this one affects
Jewish Philadelphians as well.

A 2019 population survey conducted
by the Jewish Federation of Greater
Philadelphia found that Jews live in
significant numbers in almost every
6 section of the city. More than 10,000
Jews reside in Northeast Philadelphia,
Northwest Philadelphia, North
Philadelphia and West Philadelphia,
while more than 30,000 Jews live
in Center City. South/Southwest
Philadelphia is the only region with
fewer than 10,000 Jewish residents,
counting just over 4,000.

The City of Philadelphia tracks homi-
cide victims by race, age and sex, but
not religion. And the Jewish Federation
focuses its population study on regions,
not neighborhoods. Both factors make
it hard to find out how many local Jews
were victimized by gun violence.

But it is possible to examine whether
shootings and homicides are happen-
ing in Jewish-populated regions. All
Philadelphia Police Department num-
bers include the last two years.

Luckily for the Jewish community,
MARCH 24, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
gun violence is having the least impact
in Center City, where the most Jews
live. Philadelphia’s hub experienced 13
shootings and two homicides between
2020 and ’21, according to police data.

“What we know about Jewish house-
holds in Center City is that they tend
to be younger families that I’m sure are
vigilant in deciding where they’re going
to raise young children,” said Lindsay
Weicher, the Jewish Federation’s data
strategist. “I wouldn’t be surprised if
these households were to say, we’re
choosing to live in Center City because
it’s safer.”
And it is much safer than other
regions in the city.

Northeast Philadelphia, the sec-
ond-most populous Jewish area with
more than 19,000 residents, experi-
enced 85 shootings and 30 homicides
over the past two years.

Northwest Philadelphia, the third-
most populated Jewish region with
more than 13,000 people, suffered
through 199 shootings and 40 homi-
cides in 2020 and ’21. West and North
Philadelphia, both with more than
12,000 Jewish residents, endured more
violence than the other regions; West
Philadelphia experienced 229 shoot-
ings and 50 homicides and North
Philadelphia suffered through 915 and
223, respectively.

South/Southwest Philadelphia also
saw violence, with 84 combined shoot-
ings and 22 combined homicides over
the past two years.

“We know there are Jewish households
in all neighborhoods,” Weicher said. “So
any kind of issues affecting a particu-
lar community or neighborhood, Jewish
communities will not be excluded from
dealing with those issues.”
jirkaejc / iStock / Getty Images Plus
Gun Violence in City
Impacts Jewish Areas
jirkaejc / iStock / Getty Images Plus
Courtesy of Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia via Getty Images
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