Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 52, No. 19, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 7, 1998 Page: 2 of 24
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2 Features
TEXAS JEWISH POST, THURSDA Y, MA Y 7, 1998 - IN OUR 52ND YEAR!
FOCUS ON ISSUE
Population Study Taking Pulse Of American Jewry
By Debra Nussbaum Cohen
NEW YORK — Nearly a decade ago, the news rocked the Jewish
world: Slightly more than half of recently married Jews had wedded
non-Jews
That finding from the first comprehensive study of American
Jewry in two decades singlehandcdly prompted a sea change in the
course the Jewish community had long charted.
The Jewish establishment began to focus more on the internal
needs of the community than on overseas concerns, and a new term,
now entrenched in the communal lexicon, was coined: continuity.
The 1990 National Jewish Population Study painted a portrait of a
community that was rapidly assimilating and losing the particularis-
tic sense of what it means to be Jewish.
Now preparations for a new survey, the National Jewish Popula-
tion Study 2000, are under way to provide a deeper understanding of
how the American Jewish population is continuing to change.
“What we have from 1990 is a snapshot What we will have with
NJPS 2000 is a three-dimensional picture to give us a sense of the
depth and variety” of Jewish expen
ence in Amenca today, said Jo Ann
Abraham, spokeswoman for the
Council of Jewish Federations, the
organization undertaking the study.
The information gleaned from this
study — at an estimated cost of $3.6
million, collected from Jewish fed-
erations across the country and raised
from private donors — will likely be
used in a vanety of ways.
Among the issues to be studied arc the geographic shifts in the
Jewish population and the aging nature of the community — and the
results will be compared to those found a decade ago.
Data from the last study have been used by advocates for a range
of causes, from those fighting to make Jewish day schools more
affordable to those with a pro-Orthodox stance in the debate over
religious pluralism
Jewish federations use information from both national and local
population studies as they decide how to allocate the SI 6 billion they
raise collectively each year
The Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, for example, has
done two local population studies in recent years — one in 1987 and
one in 19% Information from the national study has given the
federation a basis for comparison to the larger Jewish population, said
llene Gertman. the federation's director of social planning and
research
Findings from the local study, for instance, helped shape the way
the entire Cleveland community addresses Jewish education
Equipped with the information that 91 percent of the Jewish
children between the ages of 6 and 17 were attending Hebrew school,
the community decided to pour educational resources into strength-
ening the quality of congregational schools, Gerlman said.
One of the key findings of Cleveland’s 19% study was that the
Jewish population was 81.000, larger than the previous estimate of
60,000.
The study also showed that the Cleveland federation and syna-
gogues weren’t reaching as many constituents as they thought
"It’s already driving a re-examination of our marketing efforts, the
media that we use We realize we have to reach people better," said
Stephen Hoffman, the federation's executive vice president.
The federation spent $200,000 on the study and for Hoffman, it
was “worth every penny we paid just to change our attitude. It’s
always good to be shaken out of any sense of complacency .**
Research is still being done to determine how the last national
Jewish population study was utilized
Some 130 in depth articles based on the 1990 findings were
published in academic and general Jewish journals, including three
book length monographs, according to Jim Schwartz, who as CJFs
director of research, is organizing the new study
The monographs include “Jews on the Move: Implications for
Jewish Identity"; "Gender Equality and American Jews"; and "Jew-
ish Choices: American Jewish Denominationalism
Organizers point to two new communal policy areas that emerged
as a result of the 1990 findings: a new emphasis on Jewish identity
issues and encouraging teen travel to Israel
“Every federation, every Jewish organization is talking about
Jewish identity and Jewish continuity," said Abraham. “Thai all came
out of the study "
But some feel the research was underutilized. Although 20 book-
length monographs had been slated, only three were published A
lack of funds precluded furiher work.
Some critics say the research from 1990 has been underutilized.
The analysis was “underfunded and the follow-up non-existent. The
data has been just thrown out there," said Gary Tobin, director of
Brandeis University’s Cohen Center for Modem Jewish Studies.
But Schwartz disagrees “There has never been a study of this
quality and output," he said. “Could more have been done? Yes,
with a better budget," he said, adding that three more monographs
are scheduled.
Next time around, he said, the budget
includes money for research grants to en-
courage scholars to do the analysis.
To those who question the need for anoth-
er study so soon. Schwartz said. “The com-
munity is changing too rapidly.
“We need hard data to address major is-
sues like Jewish education, outreach to inter-
married. the role of the synagogue, how we
relate to Israel and human service priorities.
“We. the Jewish community, need a current, accurate portrait for
policy and planning." he said. “Decisions made without data are
fraught with potential problems."
Some of the community’s most influential demographers and
sociologists are voicing concerns that given the outcome of the last
survey, people will only be interested in the new intermarriage rate.
“My fear is (hat we'll do ’the intermarriage quiz show' again and
leave it at that,” said Tobin, who is not involved in the CJF study.
“The focus on intermarriage has been really unfortunate. You can
tell everyone is waiting to see what the new number is going to be ”
Sidney Goldstein, co-chair of the research advisory committee
for the study, disagrees “The intermarriage question will remain a
strong one, though it’s not necessarily the most important."
“Understanding more fully now what happens to the children of
intermarriage, who intermarries, what factors explain intermarriage
and conversion will be more important" for the upcoming survey,
said Goldstein, a professor of population studies and sociology at
Brown University.
The CJF committee is in the process of asking various constituen-
cies _ |ay leaders, federation professionals, researchers and others
— what questions they would like to see asked in the upcoming
survey.
It is also convening subcommittees of experts in each of three key
areas: Jewish identity and continuity; Jewish philanthropy and volun-
teerism; and Jewish professionals.
Although nothing is set in stone, some new areas likely to be
explored, according to Egon Mayer, a member of the survey’s
national technical advisory committee:
• how many American Jews are gay or lesbian;
• the number and location of Jews from the former Soviet Union,
which will require using multilingual interviewers; and
• young Jews’ feelings of connection to the Holocaust and to the
State of Israel.
Goldstein believes that the new study should be “much more
innovative in getting at the meaning of differences of Jewish identity.
“Should we continue to measure it in standard ways, like asking
about lighting Shabbat candles and going to shul? Or are there other
things, like interacting with other Jews, that better characterize
people's Jewish behavior today, and finding out if that’s really
enough to really ensure continuity and survival7"
While some hope that the survey will explore new ground, many
of the questions will be the same as a decade ago t6 ensure “research
continuity." the ability to establish trends and comparisons, say
those involved.
Schwartz said every question that is asked — whether it is about
one’s connection to Israel or family structure — will be useful to a
broad spectrum of organizations and individuals.
For his part, Mayer believes that the 2000 survey will try “to
satisfy every constituency that might have an interest in the infor-
mation. which means that no constituency will gel all the informa-
tion it wants.
"That’s both the beauty and the beast of this,” he said.
Debra Nussbaum Cohen is a TJP/JTA correspondent.
Getting Down To The Nitty-Gritty As
Population Study 2000 Shapes Up
By Debra Nussbaum Cohen
NEW YORK — Just how does one go about taking the pulse of
the American Jewish community7
Organizers of the National Jewish Population Study 2000 are
intensely involved in putting the pieces together as they seek to
update the findings of a similar study from 1990 and also explore
new areas.
With an estimated budget of $3.6 million, demographer Jim
Schwartz is heading the effort for the Council of Jewish Federa-
tions He and several committees are in the process of figuring out
the questions to be asked, the people to be involved and what to do
with the data once it is collected
One of the goals is to raise the size of the sample — from the
2.414 respondents in 1990 to 5.000 completed interviews this lime
around — to get as accurate a portrait of U S. Jews as possible
Just which Jews around the country will be selected to be
involved will be determined as part of a scientifically selected
sampling
Initial research for the new study will be conducted as part of
what is known as an omnibus shared-cost survey run by a large
market research firm
That means that Americans reached through random-digit dial-
ing who are answering questions on everything from the type of dog
food they buy to the kind of car they drive will also be asked: “Are
you JewishT and “Was anyone in your household bom Jewish?”
Those who answer yes to either question will be contacted again
by professional interviewers, who will screen them between April
1. 1999. and April I, 2000, according to CJF’s schedule.
Respondents who pass that level of questioning will be contacted
again, for the real interview itself, which will likely take 20 to 25
minutes, and is slated to happen between Apnl I and July I. 2000.
That interview will plumb a range of aspects of the respondents'
Jewish identity with questions that are still under discussion. But
they are sure to include an assessment of whether they are Jewish
by birth or conversion, single or married, married to a Jew or a non-
Jew and in what faith, if any, their children are being raised.
Once the information is gathered, it is scheduled to be tabulated
between July I and Oct I. 2000
A highlight report is slated to be written between October 2000
and March 2001. and issued on April I, 2001.
The CJF is planning an academic conference on the survey for
Oct. 1,2001, and is scheduling the publication of monographs and
scholarly analyses of the data through January 2003.
Debra Nussbaum Cohen is a TJP/JTA corresondent.
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Wisch, J. A. & Wisch, Rene. Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 52, No. 19, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 7, 1998, newspaper, May 7, 1998; Fort Worth, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth755040/m1/2/?q=architectural+drawings: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .