Articles

Americans in general find themselves living in distinctive political communities, and so do America’s Jews. These political divides today are seen as deep, reflective of two fundamentally different views about how America should be in the world. These generic divisions find for example “Rust Belt Americans” in disagreement with the views of “Liberal Universalists.” By every standard, class-economics-religion-geography and culture, these groupings of Americans hold profoundly different perspectives about what it means to “be an American.”

Growing up “Southern” is not only dealing with a geographical place but also a cultural mindset. In the 1950’s Virginia remained a centerpiece of the South’s resistance in giving up its 19th century way of life. This would be the world in which I would grow up, shaping my childhood experiences and memories. Some may need to be reminded that Richmond Virginia was the capital of the Confederacy. You can take away the legal and historical trappings of the past, but it is more complicated to separate the artifacts of racism and social mores that defined “the old South” and that would continue for nearly six decades into the 20th century to seep into the lifestyle of this Commonwealth.

For more than one hundred years, the American Jewish community was managing its war against anti-Semitism employing a set of accepted community relations tactics. In this article, we are examining ten of the core assumptions that defined the community’s understanding of anti-Semitic behavior with the intent on pushing back against these now out of date value propositions. Anti-Semitism is driven by the un-educated and uninformed. For most of the past one hundred years, the community relations establishment held to the position that in order to “defeat” anti-Semitism, educational initiatives would need to be employed to offset misunderstandings and prejudicial judgments about Jews and Judaism.

I recently had the opportunity to participate in my first “Limmud England” (this year’s theme: “Made by You,” December 24-28th, Birmingham). Thousands of participants, including many regulars and countless first-timers, were treated to a Jewish learning feast that represents a unique and transformative experience within the Jewish world. Established in 1980, the Limmud organization has seen its brand expand and its operations continue to flourish across the Jewish world. This year, participants from 38 countries would be exposed to some 600 presenters at this flagship event on the Limmud calendar.

As the President’s tax proposals received final approval, what are the implications for the nonprofit sector and more directly, the Jewish community? Michael Thatcher, chief executive of Charity Navigator, noted in a recent interview that the change in the standard deduction is “the biggest cause of concern.” However, nonprofit executives remain uncertain as to new legislation’s impact on fundraising. According to the Tax Policy Center, more than 46 million households would be expected to itemize in 2018 under existing tax laws, but these numbers could drop to under 20 million with the new tax provisions.

As the Reform Movement holds its 74th Biennial in Boston and as the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism convenes this week in Atlanta, it affords an opportunity to examine the state of non-Orthodox Judaism on this continent. These gatherings take place in the shadow of some significant and disturbing data on the state of religion in America. The fall-off in membership, the aging of mainline religious supporters, and the corresponding rise in religious “nones” represent some of the striking indicators of this religious free-fall among younger Jewish constituencies, posing challenges for our respective liberal movements.

Elsewhere on these pages, a discussion has been taking place around the state of the Jewish community relations field. In April of this year, I had occasion to offer one analysis and more recently, Doug Kahn and David Bernstein provided a paper sharing some of their insights about trends in connection with this discipline. In this article I am seeking to identify key demographic and social factors over the coming decades that will be significant to the work of JCRC’s and our national agencies. In a very abbreviated form, I am introducing several of these trends:

One year ago (November 8th, 2016) American voters elected Donald Trump as their 45th President. For a significant number of Jewish Americans this was a traumatic moment, one that many had not anticipated. In response to last year’s election, Jews who had opposed the Trump candidacy report greater involvement on behalf of various political causes. In turn, the President’s Jewish supporters have galvanized around him, defending his actions and promoting his ideas. Regardless of one’s political preference last year, Jews have joined their fellow citizens as active news junkies as Americans have intensified their connection to “the news.”

This coming week, as federation leaders gather in LA from across North America for the 86th GA (General Assembly), it represents another opportunity to revisit the case for federations. Beyond such stories as the one that appeared on these pages some days ago, it is essential to take a deeper look at the evolution and impact of the 148 federations on Jewish life. We are reminded that the origins of the “federated” model date back to the late 19th century where the ideas of progressivism promoted a growing alliance of business interests with philanthropic endeavors.

Traveling around the country, certainly one hears an array of concerns. The audiences that I encounter are generally older, usually synagogue, center or federation-based; these are the questions that they are asking: Why are my grandkids not interested in being Jewish? What can we do to make certain that our kids and grandkids remain committed to Judaism? With the population changes underway, what will America and our community look like? What is happening to our Jewish institutions?