East Bay Jewish Community Study - Jewish Federation of the ...

• Most parents who want to give their children a Jewish education say they are already
doing so. There are a significant number of parents, particularly those in interfaith
families, who do not want to provide their children with a Jewish education.
• While some express concerns about cost, cost does not seem to inhibit participation for
a majority of parents who want to provide formal Jewish education. Not surprisingly,
lower income parents have a harder time affording a Jewish education for their children.
• Most agree that the activities provided for younger children are sufficient.
Israel and the East Bay
• Israel is a somewhat lower priority for Jewish residents of the East Bay than other
aspects of Jewish life. Four in ten say that standing up for the state of Israel is a very
important part of being Jewish. Nineteen percent say that traveling to Israel is very
important to being Jewish.
• Most say they follow the news about Israel regularly (70 percent weekly or monthly).
• Making Israel a priority is largely important to the affiliated Jewish world, not the
unaffiliated Jewish world.
• Jewish residents are more likely to give charitable donations to provide general support
for the Jewish community (35 percent) than to causes related to Israel (28 percent).
Reaching Out to Different Communities in the East Bay
• Few desire more involvement, but those that do tend to already be somewhat affiliated
and more strongly identified with the Jewish community. Some have belonged to a
synagogue in the past, but few belong now.
• This group is distinctive; people who want to be more involved are more recent
residents, female, younger, unmarried. They are less likely to have children and more
likely to prefer non-Jewish events with Jews.
• Broadly targeting young people alone does not necessarily make sense. If they have
children then they are affiliated; without children, it is difficult to identify groups of
younger residents that want to be more involved.
• Marginally affiliated Jews – or ―Jew-ish‖ Jews - are an important target of opportunity for
the East Bay Jewish community. This group is strongly identified and has participated in
Jewish life in the past; nearly half used to belong to a synagogue. They are most likely
to be Baby Boomers and empty nesters.
• Interfaith families and unaffiliated Jews pose a real challenge for outreach because they
do not come from overly Jewish backgrounds; there is a high degree of disengagement
in Jewish life among people from and in interfaith relationships.
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