AH challenge: 100 million Jews

[Orko]

What could be done to have at least 100,000,000 Jews spread wherver in the world, with atleast 30% of them being Ethnic Jews.

[marked56]

just one question to your challenge, WHY?
my answer,in 1888,alois hitler falls down a flight of huge stairs that just happen to end in a fiery pit of doom.ww1 still happens,ww2 and the holocaust do not.the rest is up to how active the jews loins are

[greg8263]

Jew-wank?

Ok, probably not a very constructive answer.

[Polish Eagle]

Originally Posted by marked56

just one question to your challenge, WHY?

Why not?

Well, the first step would be to spare them from the killings in Europe for centuries. This means everything from the Inquisition to the Cossacks must be removed somehow. I dunno, maybe the early Christians have a clause added to the Gospels, "And punish not the Jews, for they know not what they do, but they shall see when the Lord returns to earth." Maybe some sort of official Church condemnation of anti-semetism can help.

[Mr Qwerty]

Have Jews settle in large numbers in countries that will experience the Demographic Transition later. Higher birthrate+more generations=more Jews.

[Skokie]

Get Egypt, Persia, or Russia to go Jewish somehow, early in history. Industrialization can get you up to 100 million Jews.

[Mr Qwerty]

I had another thought-Ethiopia. There's always been a significant Jewish presence there (wasn't there a Jewish Ethiopian queen?). Enough intermarriage in Ethiopia over the centures could get you a long ways toward your goal.

[Orko]

hmmm... I think I shall now answer my own question:
I could have an independant state in the Levant to keep existing, perhaps make it larger and assimilate the local populations. Just not have a diaspora, have Russia(as well as Khazaria) go Jewish, Ethiopia and Axum can join too, and perhaps Islam not rising, thus have many Arabs become Jewish. Also, no Christian persecution(or better, no Christianity) could help, too.

[Imperator Mundi]

Here is an easier POD, at the Council of Jerusalem of the early Christian Church in 50 AD, Saint Paul changes his mind and argues that Christians converts should have to accept the Torah, the Jewish Law and Circumcision. Thus Christianity remains a sect of Judaism, and if it grows even a quarter as successfully as in OTL there would be significantly more than 100 million Jews today.

[NothingNow]

Originally Posted by Orko

What could be done to have at least 100,000,000 Jews spread wherver in the world, with atleast 30% of them being Ethnic Jews.

1) Have the Kazar khangate more thoroughly adopt Judaism, instead of keeping the oldways partially alive, and then They Conquer the Rus instead of the other way 'round. Overtime the Rus will assimilate and become Culturally and Relgiously Jewish if not Ethnically so. meanwhile the Ethnic jews intermarry with the Descendants of Converts, increasing the number of at Least Partially Ethnic Jews (often enough with Norse/Rus, Slavic and Turkic Ancestry as well. By the mid XIXth Century you're talking about a Kazar-Jewish state the size of the Russian Empire with a Similar Population. Which in 1866 had an estimated population exceeding 180 Million. Even if only Half are Jews, that's still 90 million Quasi-Ethnic Jews, with the remainder worldwide easily racking up another 10+Million, and Ashkenazim/Kazarim Jews would easily be one of the largest nation on Earth, save for the Han Chinese and the Japanese.

2) Have Ghengis Khan and the Mongol Horde convert to Judaism and well, Rape, Pillage and Convert everything in their path in classical Old Testament Style. Second criteria is easily Completed if a Large Portion of His Horde happens to be Ethnically Jewish.

3) Count Christians as Quasi-Jews, with only Kohanim being able to become Priests in any sect, while still being able to marry and have children.

[TheGingerninja41]

How about a world where Christianity and Judaism never split? I see that as the simplest.

[Iori]

What are you defining as Ethnic Jews?
Would the Ashkenazaic count, or do you mean like the original Levantine group(s)?


As for Jews as a whole, I can think of two different ways;

1. Have Judaism start being seen as equal to Christianity in the mid to late 1600's, eventually over the next 300-400 years, with less and less oppression the numbers will grow naturally.

2. Have Judaism be adopted in a part of India.

[Gerry10]

To my knowledge - please correct me if I am wrong, no harm intended - are missionary activities unknown in judaism, so I would start there, perhaps in opposition to the christian missionaries in the 1st and 2nd century.
Then you need to get rid or at least lessen Pauls influence on the early church as he made the Jews a patsy for the death of Jesus - and this is the beginning of 2000 years of trouble.
At the Council of Nicaea the Jews get a "protected" status as they are praying to the same God.
I also think that the Torah would be more to the likeing of some germanic tribes than the "flowerpower" philosophy of Jesus.

[Plumber]

If Jews had never been persecuted there would be around 300 million today. This isn't that hard, just persecute them less.

[Axeman]

Have the Ethiopians become Jewish and the Khazar Khanate survive, combined with no diaspora, and you are in luck.

[CaliBoy1990]

Originally Posted by NothingNow

1) Have the Kazar khangate more thoroughly adopt Judaism, instead of keeping the oldways partially alive, and then They Conquer the Rus instead of the other way 'round. Overtime the Rus will assimilate and become Culturally and Relgiously Jewish if not Ethnically so. meanwhile the Ethnic jews intermarry with the Descendants of Converts, increasing the number of at Least Partially Ethnic Jews (often enough with Norse/Rus, Slavic and Turkic Ancestry as well. By the mid XIXth Century you're talking about a Kazar-Jewish state the size of the Russian Empire with a Similar Population. Which in 1866 had an estimated population exceeding 180 Million. Even if only Half are Jews, that's still 90 million Quasi-Ethnic Jews, with the remainder worldwide easily racking up another 10+Million, and Ashkenazim/Kazarim Jews would easily be one of the largest nation on Earth, save for the Han Chinese and the Japanese.

2) Have Ghengis Khan and the Mongol Horde convert to Judaism and well, Rape, Pillage and Convert everything in their path in classical Old Testament Style. Second criteria is easily Completed if a Large Portion of His Horde happens to be Ethnically Jewish.

3) Count Christians as Quasi-Jews, with only Kohanim being able to become Priests in any sect, while still being able to marry and have children.

Why not Judaify the Vikings or Prussians instead of the 'Rus?

[The Kiat]

Have Mohammed preach a form of modified Judiasm instead of something new. Either that, or have the Prince of Moskva adopt the Jewish faith instead of Eastern Orthodoxy.

[Iori]

Originally Posted by The Kiat

Have Mohammed preach a form of modified Judiasm instead of something new.

He said 100 million, not 1.6 billion.

[Orioes]

Originally Posted by Iori

What are you defining as Ethnic Jews?
Would the Ashkenazaic count, or do you mean like the original Levantine group(s)?

I think you mean Khazar Vs Levantine as most Ashkenazim (and Sephardim for that matter) are of Levantine ancestry to one extent or another. It does bring up a good point. How are we defining Jew? Self identification? Ancestry? Some permutation of Halakha? Whether or not they eat pork while carving idols on Saturday?

[Tobit]

What about Jewish merchants like the Radhanites spreading Judaism into China or India. That way there might be a small segment of the population who are actually jewish, but even that would eventually amount to 100 million.