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

Executive Summary
The Jewish Community of the East Bay is imbued with a rich array of institutional resources and
diverse offerings unique to the Bay Area. Jewish residents see the community as warm and
welcoming and do not feel they lack for opportunities to participate in spiritual life, educational
programs or cultural activities and events. Few find the geographic dispersion an obstacle to
involvement and while most express concerns about the cost of participation in Jewish life,
many find ways to afford a formal education for their children if they desire it.
The issue facing the Jewish community of the East Bay is not a paucity of resources, but rather
a diverse Jewish population that is balancing connections to multiple communities and
integrating multiple identities - including religious and ethnic identities - into their lives. The
reality for the Jewish community is that the majority of its Jewish residents do not come from
"traditional" Jewish backgrounds that include the predictable rhythms of Jewish life ranging from
formal education to synagogue membership. Many of the Jewish households in the community
– and the issue will be more acute as new generations emerge – are not steeped in the
vernacular, rituals, and customs of Judaism. Moreover, many Jewish residents who are not
currently affiliated do not want to be part of the traditional institutions in the Jewish community.
While this situation poses a real challenge to the Jewish community, it also presents an
opportunity. There are Jewish residents both inside and outside the organized community who
want something different; they are looking for experiences that allow them to integrate Jewish
values, culture, and traditions into their lives, but in a different manner than the generations that
came before them. The approach is not "build it and they will come," but rather beginning to
meet Jewish residents where they are, understanding the role they want Judaism to play in their
lives, and determining if the community can meet that need.
More specifically, there is an opportunity for the Jewish Community of the East Bay to provide
value to its members and to the Jewish population at large. Many Jewish residents, who have
both formal and informal connections to Judaism and the community, want an experience
focused on values, culture, and history, and events that provide social interaction with other
Jews, but is not too ―Jewish‖ in nature and activity and programming that is more affordable.
Above all, social action and social justice are important priorities that drive interest and
involvement in the Jewish community, even among the least affiliated.
Outreach will also require careful consideration of targets of opportunities. Many Jewish
communities focus on interfaith families, unaffiliated Jews, or younger Jews. No doubt, all these
groups are central to the future of the Jewish community and will be part of any plan to revitalize
and rebuild community. But it is equally important to note that the Jewish residents most
interested in becoming more involved already have a strong emotional connection to being
Jewish and even some level of affiliation. In short, it is important not to ignore the community’s
own members and supporters who want to be part of this larger project.
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