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

Reaching out to Different Communities
in the East Bay
There are opportunities to reach out to different groups of Jewish residents in the East Bay.
There are individuals who desire more involvement, even if they are looking for something a
little different from what is already offered. Many are looking for community with Jews that is not
centered on faith or religion, and even an experience that does not involve Judaism at all.
These residents are not hostile to Judaism; indeed, many are very strongly identified and
belonged to organizations in the past. Other groups, such as unaffiliated Jews and intermarried
families – ones who have no interest in involvement in Jewish life – are tough targets for
outreach.
Specifically:
• 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, and 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.
Overall, 21 percent of Jewish residents say they want to be more involved with the Jewish
community, and this group is already moderately participatory. They are likely to feel that they
are somewhat involved in the community (30 percent), to say that being Jewish is very
important to them (54 percent), and that they have belonged to a synagogue in the past (29
percent).
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