Abstract
The Pew study offers important data for scholars and communal leaders to understand as they research and serve Jewish communities. But based on an analysis of diverse organizations’ responses to the study, this article argues that organizations and funders should not change their priorities because of the findings. Instead of using this random sample of Americans who are willing to tell a phone surveyor that they identify as Jews, organizations should study the local or niche constituencies in which they are interested. At the same time, organizations would benefit from changing their rhetoric based on the Pew findings, especially when they are trying to appeal to younger, less traditional Jews.
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Notes
- 1.
http://www.jewishla.org/blog/entry/Crisis-and-Opportunity-Reflections-on-the-Pew-Report/, http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2372830/jewish/Saying-Goodbye-to-Denominational-Labels.htm, http://blogs.forward.com/forward-thinking/195398/jews-for-jesus-use-peDOUBLEHYPHENn-ad/. The other items in this paragraph were from email blasts.
- 2.
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Benor, S.B. (2015). Rhetoric About the Diverse Jewish Community. In: Dashefsky, A., Sheskin, I. (eds) American Jewish Year Book 2014. American Jewish Year Book, vol 114. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-09623-0_3
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