The State of the Jews

Two weeks ago, I commented on how mainstream media misunderstood the Masa brouhaha, thinking that it signified an anti-Israel push by Diaspora Jews. These organizations failed to notice that Masa’s ad campaign was based on what Masa’s Israeli officials genuinely believed were American concerns. They believed their ad campaign involved educating Israelis about American Jewish issues.

It was, I said, a sign of the gap of understanding between the two communities.

Now, Prof. Jack Wertheimer, an important scholar of Jewish identity and community, opines on why Masa was more right than wrong:

In an opinion piece titled “Time for Straight-Talk About Assimilation,” he writes:

While the ad may have been clumsy in its execution, its central point is essentially correct: Large numbers of Jews around the world are disconnected from any Jewish communal activities.

Is there any reason to doubt that the Jewish people is suffering an erosion of its engaged membership? … When we add up all the activities of synagogues, federations, service programs, national organizations, cultural providers, educational institutions and the myriad start-ups, it is clear that vast populations of American Jews are steering clear of organized Jewish life.

Wertheimer also takes issue with the complaint that the concern over intermarriage is mere prejudice:

So why, then, if there is a large kernel of truth to its claims, did the Masa ad elicit such a sharp reaction? In large part, it is because it was inferred that the 50% assimilation figure the ad cited refers to intermarriage rates, which in the United States reached that level in the late 1990s. Critics contend that the ad — though it does not actually mention the word “intermarriage” — gives offense to the children of Jews who intermarry, by implying that they are somehow “lost.” Many children of intermarriage, these critics note, are raised as Jews and go on to identify strongly with the Jewish people. This is, of course, true — but only up to a point. Unfortunately, this optimistic reading describes only a minority of intermarried families. The majority of intermarried families raise their children in a faith other than Judaism or in two faiths or no faith at all; not surprisingly, when they reach adulthood, most of those offspring do not identify as Jews.

In the end, he writes, “this hesitance to grapple seriously with the issue of intermarriage is part of a broader phenomenon: Speaking of threats to Jewish survival has become passé.”

I’m glad Prof. Wertheimer wrote what many in the American Jewish community have surely been thinking. It’s a shame it has not reached a very wide audience, based on the circumstantial evidence of Google search results.

In case you’re now looking for the ad:

Related posts:

1. 'Birthright has follow-up, even if it's hard to see'
2. On marriage and racism
3. CNN, Guardian fail to understand Masa fiasco
4. Will Goldstone go to Afghanistan?
5. Masa: Clueless, but not alone