Re: American Jews focus of two recent studies (Oct. 25.)

Posted

Across many measures of Jewish engagement and behavior, the study shows substantial gaps between Jews by religion and Jews with no religion, between in-married and inter-married Jews, and across the Jewish religious denominations. There’s a growing consensus among those of us who study American Jews that these gaps have widened over time.

I don’t think the community is in danger of assimilating itself away. I think the composition of the community is changing over time. There are segments of the community that remain strongly and highly engaged in Jewish life, and others that are much less so. What I think is happening is a growing polarization between these groups.

The study has revitalized the long-standing debate between in-reach and outreach strategies, that is, between supporting those who have already demonstrated a commitment to Jewish life and community, and reaching out to those who are less engaged with the community. For better or worse, we have a very de-centralized community. There’s no one approach or strategy that is going to work for or appeal to every community and every Jewish organization. Each community and organization will need to decide for itself how best to respond to the study’s findings.

Dr. Laurence Kotler-Berkowitz

Editor’s note: Dr. Laurence Kotler-Berkowitz, a Providence resident, is Senior Director of Research and Analysis and Director of the Berman Jewish DataBank, both at The Jewish Federations of North America. He was an advisor to the Pew Research Center on the study.