A Geographical Approach to an Analysis of the Distancing Hypothesis

This paper reacts to the Sasson–Kadushin–Saxe and Cohen–Kelman papers on distancing of American Jews from Israel. I argue that the problem with both of these papers is that they utilize data from a consumer panel. These data are clearly not a random sample of American Jews. I further argue that data from local Jewish community studies have much to say about the issue, revealing that distancing is occurring to different degrees in different American Jewish communities

Attachment of American Jews to Israel: Perspectives from Local Jewish Community Studies

This paper: (1) examines two “distancing hypotheses” concerning the extent to which distancing from Israel has or has not been occurring in American Jewish society; and, (2) describes and explains geographic variations in levels of attachment to Israel. Distancing Hypothesis I states that younger Jews are less attached to Israel than are older Jews. Distancing Hypothesis II states that the overall attachment of American Jews to Israel has been decreasing over time. Evidence on the distancing hypothesis from national studies of American Jews is briefly reviewed to show that researchers have been unable to agree on a conclusion. Evidence from as many as 37 local Jewish community studies shows support for Distancing Hypothesis I, but the strength of this support varies among communities. Evidence from local community studies, however, does not support Distancing Hypothesis II and sometimes shows the reverse. An implication is that some of the Jewish continuity programming, such as Birthright Israel, may be impacting American Jews. Level of attachment to Israel, whether measured by visits to Israel, willingness to send one’s teenagers to Israel, emotional attachment to Israel, or the extent to which respondents indicate that Israel motivates their donations to Jewish organizations, varies significantly by community. These geographic variations by community can be explained, in part, by community variations in the percentage of married couples who are intermarried, percentage Just Jewish, percentage Orthodox, percentage age 18–34, percentage elderly, and the year each study was conducted

Good Practices in Local Jewish Community Studies

Survey research is both an art and a science. Once the issues to be addressed by a local Jewish community study are defined, one has to deal with questions of sampling, selecting a survey mechanism, designing a questionnaire, producing reports, and presenting results. This paper deals with various aspects of these four major components of conducting a local Jewish community study. Note that the title of this paper refers to “good practices” and not “best practices.” This is mainly a reflection of the fact that all local Jewish community studies are conducted within an environment of limited financial resources. Best practices would require a much larger budget than Jewish federations can muster for such projects. This paper argues for three things: (1) the importance of using a random digit dialing telephone survey to produce a probability sample that can be used to represent the entire Jewish population and to estimate the size of the Jewish population, (2) the importance, while meeting the specific needs of the community commissioning a given study, of maintaining comparability with other studies, and (3) the need to produce reports that communicate all the results to the community

Uses of Local Jewish Community Study Data for Addressing National Concerns

This paper argues that local Jewish community studies have much to contribute, not only at the local level, but also to the national discussion of American Jewry. Local communities have invested significant resources executing local Jewish community studies because the results contribute much to the understanding of, and planning for, individual communities. In an era when no national study has been completed for more than a decade, researchers should make more use of the significant number of extant local Jewish community studies. Examples are provided of the utilization of local Jewish community study data in the examination of national issues

The Dixie diaspora the "loss" of the small Southern Jewish community

Southeastern Geographer. Athens, GA Dixie Diaspora; an Anthology of Southern Jewish History. Edited by Mark K. Bauman. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 200