Bangladesh, June 5 -- New York City is the largest urban area in the US. It has the biggest economy and is the nation's financial and cultural center. It also contains the largest single Jewish population in the world outside Israel. All those things are about to change. The twin impacts of the economic collapse created by the coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing urban insurrections will intensify existing trends. People and power are moving out of New York at increasing rates. What are the implications for the US, the world order, and the global Jewish community?

City dwellers tend to share a unique conceit that their city and lifestyle will last forever. The slightest knowledge of history should put that to rest. But the sheer speed of...