Jewish Communal Affairs: April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015

Abstract

The demographic study of the American Jewish community conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2013 remained the subject of intense discussion as scholars reanalyzed the data to trace patterns of mixed marriage, late marriage, and attitudes toward Israel and Jewish peoplehood. Certain actions of the Israeli government—the bombardment of Gazan civilians in the summer war against Hamas, Prime Minister Netanyahu’s acceptance of an invitation to speak before a joint session of Congress, without President Obama’s knowledge, about the threat of a nuclear Iran, and Netanyahu’s pre-election statements that there would be no two-state solution on his watch and that Arab voters were being “bused in” to defeat him—drew the administration’s ire and that of many American Jews. On the religious front, the non-Orthodox denominations came increasingly to resemble each other as Conservative rabbis moved closer to endorsing officiation at mixed marriages.