Press Release
MAJOR SURVEY OF EUROPEAN JEWISH LEADERS REVEALS
WIDESPREAD SUPPORT FOR MORE TOLERANT POLICIES ON
CONVERSION AND COMMUNAL MEMBERSHIP
March 16, 2009
The Joint Distribution Committee’s International Centre for Community Development (JDC-ICCD) announces the findings of its pan-European survey of top Jewish leaders and opinion-formers. Conducted by Gallup Europe between September 12 and November 6, 2008, the survey’s 251 respondents hailed from 31 countries and spanned the full diversity of the Jewish communal world.
Greater Tolerance Urged on Conversion, Intermarriage and Communal Membership
When asked about prevailing communal policy regarding Jewish status, fewer than three in 10 participants (27%) agreed that only those who were born to a Jewish mother or who have undergone an Orthodox conversion should be allowed to become a member of the community.
Even among respondents identifying themselves as Orthodox or Modern Orthodox, a substantial minority favored more liberal policies. More than four in 10 (43%) responded that everyone who has undergone conversion under the supervision of a rabbi from any denomination should be allowed to become a member of the community. A similar number (46%) of these respondents agreed that everyone with at least one Jewish parent should be allowed to become a member.
Finally, there was a remarkable tolerance towards intermarriage among the respondents. 85% of the respondents thought that it was not a good idea to strongly oppose intermarriage and bar intermarried Jews and their spouses from communal membership.
Lay Leadership and Change
The vast majority of leaders thought that change is necessary, and that they believe it will happen in the future. Almost half of the respondents (47%) considered the community’s lay leadership to be one of the most likely drivers of change for the future. When asked to rate the overall quality of their community’s lay leadership, respondents gave the highest ratings in terms of commitment, general education and professional success.
As for their predictions, four out of 10 participants expected that the overall quality of communal lay leadership would improve in the next five to 10 years. A slightly lower proportion – 36% – thought that there would be no change in the overall quality and 12% expected lower quality in the next five to 10 years.
A formal leadership development program was the most preferred approach to lay leadership development by far: three-quarters (77%) of the respondents selected this as one of the two most effective approaches. A formalized mentoring scheme was selected by 37% of respondents and onethird thought that a Jewish literacy program would be an effective approach to lay leadership development.
Young Leaders More Pessimistic
Pessimism about the future remained the same across Eastern and Western Europe, but differed in terms of age group. Participants under the age of 40 reported substantial differences of opinion in certain areas. They were more than three times as likely as those over 55 (29% vs. 8%) to describe the conditions for Jewish life in their country as unfavourable. By the same margin (15% v. 5%), they responded that it was not safe to live and practice as a Jew in their country.
Relationship Towards Israel
The relationship towards Israel among European Jewish leaders turned out to be a complex issue. Supporting the State of Israel was considered a very high priority by all participants, ranking the 3rd top priority at 54%. However, while commitment levels were high, almost half of the participants also declared themselves as being sometimes “ashamed” by the actions of the Israeli government. Three-quarters of the participating Jewish leaders and opinion leaders also agreed that events in Israel sometimes led to an increase of anti-Semitism in their country (34% strongly agreed and 44% rather agreed). Please note that this survey was carried out in Autumn 2008, prior to the Israel/Gaza conflict.
Education Named Top Priority
A shared belief in a growing lack of Jewish literacy led to support across all age groups for the strengthening of Jewish education by three-quarters (74%) of respondents, with comparable percentages choosing Jewish day schools (68%) and youth clubs and movements (70%) as the most important organisations. Supporting Jewish education in order to ameliorate the lack of Jewish literacy, along with assisting Jews in need and investing in leadership development, remained the top priorities for the next five to ten years.
Fading Away of Geographical Differences Among Youth
There were minimal differences of opinion between respondents based on geographic location in Eastern or Western Europe, especially among youth. In terms of issues such as future priorities, denominational tensions, finances, change, and leadership, opinions varied much more significantly according to age group than geographic location. This phenomenon reveals a gradual fading away of geographical differences among the younger generation.
For an executive summary of this survey, please click here:
http://www.jdc-iccd.org/leaderssurveyexecsummary.pdf
Further details: contact@jdc-iccd.org or at www.jdc-iccd.org
WIDESPREAD SUPPORT FOR MORE TOLERANT POLICIES ON
CONVERSION AND COMMUNAL MEMBERSHIP
March 16, 2009
The Joint Distribution Committee’s International Centre for Community Development (JDC-ICCD) announces the findings of its pan-European survey of top Jewish leaders and opinion-formers. Conducted by Gallup Europe between September 12 and November 6, 2008, the survey’s 251 respondents hailed from 31 countries and spanned the full diversity of the Jewish communal world.
Greater Tolerance Urged on Conversion, Intermarriage and Communal Membership
When asked about prevailing communal policy regarding Jewish status, fewer than three in 10 participants (27%) agreed that only those who were born to a Jewish mother or who have undergone an Orthodox conversion should be allowed to become a member of the community.
Even among respondents identifying themselves as Orthodox or Modern Orthodox, a substantial minority favored more liberal policies. More than four in 10 (43%) responded that everyone who has undergone conversion under the supervision of a rabbi from any denomination should be allowed to become a member of the community. A similar number (46%) of these respondents agreed that everyone with at least one Jewish parent should be allowed to become a member.
Finally, there was a remarkable tolerance towards intermarriage among the respondents. 85% of the respondents thought that it was not a good idea to strongly oppose intermarriage and bar intermarried Jews and their spouses from communal membership.
Lay Leadership and Change
The vast majority of leaders thought that change is necessary, and that they believe it will happen in the future. Almost half of the respondents (47%) considered the community’s lay leadership to be one of the most likely drivers of change for the future. When asked to rate the overall quality of their community’s lay leadership, respondents gave the highest ratings in terms of commitment, general education and professional success.
As for their predictions, four out of 10 participants expected that the overall quality of communal lay leadership would improve in the next five to 10 years. A slightly lower proportion – 36% – thought that there would be no change in the overall quality and 12% expected lower quality in the next five to 10 years.
A formal leadership development program was the most preferred approach to lay leadership development by far: three-quarters (77%) of the respondents selected this as one of the two most effective approaches. A formalized mentoring scheme was selected by 37% of respondents and onethird thought that a Jewish literacy program would be an effective approach to lay leadership development.
Young Leaders More Pessimistic
Pessimism about the future remained the same across Eastern and Western Europe, but differed in terms of age group. Participants under the age of 40 reported substantial differences of opinion in certain areas. They were more than three times as likely as those over 55 (29% vs. 8%) to describe the conditions for Jewish life in their country as unfavourable. By the same margin (15% v. 5%), they responded that it was not safe to live and practice as a Jew in their country.
Relationship Towards Israel
The relationship towards Israel among European Jewish leaders turned out to be a complex issue. Supporting the State of Israel was considered a very high priority by all participants, ranking the 3rd top priority at 54%. However, while commitment levels were high, almost half of the participants also declared themselves as being sometimes “ashamed” by the actions of the Israeli government. Three-quarters of the participating Jewish leaders and opinion leaders also agreed that events in Israel sometimes led to an increase of anti-Semitism in their country (34% strongly agreed and 44% rather agreed). Please note that this survey was carried out in Autumn 2008, prior to the Israel/Gaza conflict.
Education Named Top Priority
A shared belief in a growing lack of Jewish literacy led to support across all age groups for the strengthening of Jewish education by three-quarters (74%) of respondents, with comparable percentages choosing Jewish day schools (68%) and youth clubs and movements (70%) as the most important organisations. Supporting Jewish education in order to ameliorate the lack of Jewish literacy, along with assisting Jews in need and investing in leadership development, remained the top priorities for the next five to ten years.
Fading Away of Geographical Differences Among Youth
There were minimal differences of opinion between respondents based on geographic location in Eastern or Western Europe, especially among youth. In terms of issues such as future priorities, denominational tensions, finances, change, and leadership, opinions varied much more significantly according to age group than geographic location. This phenomenon reveals a gradual fading away of geographical differences among the younger generation.
For an executive summary of this survey, please click here:
http://www.jdc-iccd.org/leaderssurveyexecsummary.pdf
Further details: contact@jdc-iccd.org or at www.jdc-iccd.org
