E/CN.4/1999/58/Add.1 page 15 rights organizations and of the religions, was an opportunity to develop strategies for preventing intolerance and discrimination based on religion (we may mention among other things the publication entitled “Preventing Youth Hate Crime: A Manual for Schools and Communities”). In the field of prevention, the role and activities of the Commission on Human Relations and Hate Crimes, such as programmes for increasing the awareness of children, parents and teachers, are essential. Finally, in society, the Special Rapporteur was very conscious of the role of the interdenominational dialogue and its impact, such as the interdenominational prayers during the Gulf war. He also wishes to stress the exemplary performance of the Interreligious Council of Southern California, which, through its various intercommunity and interdenominational activities and its many initiatives in society and with the different parties involved - public, political and media - is trying to promote mutual understanding and dialogue and to prevent intolerance and discrimination. 2. Situation of Jews 41. The Jewish community is characterized by its diversity. It includes, on the one hand, people who identity with it on a religious or cultural or ethnic basis and, on the other, the three main branches of Judaism in the United States - orthodox, conservative and “reform”. Although it only accounts for 3 per cent of the population of the United States (having been present throughout the country's history, but with substantial European immigration at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century), in terms of numbers it represents the greatest Jewish presence in the world, and is even larger than the Jewish community in Israel. This is a religion and a community which have made an essential contribution to the different spheres of American life. 42. Representatives of the Jewish community have stated that they have benefited from a privileged - indeed unique - situation in the United States, due in particular to a degree of religious liberty which is without equal in the world. They attributed this situation to the constitutional protections (“non-establishment” and free-exercise clauses) which were also responsible for the “thriving religious life within the Jewish community”. It should be noted that while there is strong support and appreciation for the constitutional provisions, there is a diversity of opinion within the Jewish community as to what the “non-establishment” clause requires. It was also pointed out that American Jews suffered from prejudice, discrimination and intolerance until the 1950s but since then the protection of Jews has improved significantly. 43. Exceptions, however, exist. It was noted that in the Attorney-General’s January 1998 report on hate crimes statistics in the United States, of 8,734 crimes classified as “hate crimes” reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1,400 were “religion-motivated”. Of those more than 1,100, nearly 80 per cent, were anti-Jewish. It was pointed out that while these incidents demonstrate that there are some individuals who continue to manifest intolerance against Jews (most often manifested in crimes against their property, cemeteries, etc.), the statistics also reveal the heightened awareness of these incidents by citizens and law enforcement agencies and the extent to which the Federal Government, by requiring local and state agencies to report such crimes, has exercised leadership in helping to eliminate such