A Single Problem

By Rob Eshman
Published on December 8, 2005

I have a perfect record in setting up my friends on dates: I have struck out every single time. I am 0 for 20, maybe worse. Only one relationship that I tried to initiate made it past the first date. That one lasted for four years and ended in tears, anguish and confusion. The only thing those two friends agreed on in the end is they would never accept my offer to set them up again with anyone, ever.

Hillel Readies Plan of Attraction

By Sue Fishkoff
Published on November 17, 2005

It was in the summer of 2004 that Hillel began work on a five-year plan to attract the two-thirds of Jewish college students who say they don't go to Hillel activities. That troubling statistic has been one of the most talked-about findings from the 2000-2001 National Jewish Population Survey (NJPS).

Say Hello Before They Say Goodbye

By Alan Fisher
Published on September 11, 2003

Jews for Jesus, Jews attending churches, low synagogue membership, astronomical rates of intermarriage -- as complex as these issues are, there is at least one remarkably simple and inexpensive solution to encouraging Jewish participation. It's called a warm greeting.

A friendly smile, a warm greeting, an invitation to lunch. If you think that is silly and simplistic, think again. As part of their course work, I require my students to interview two Jews. Because many of them -- all non-Jews, primarily from the South Bay -- lead very narrow lives, they do not know how to find Jews and turn to familiar institutions, one of which is church. Lo and behold -- as the most recent National Jewish Population Survey has finally shown -- they find Jews there.

Intermarriage:The Contest

By Julie Wiener
Published on May 8, 2003

Since the 1990 National Jewish Population Survey (NJPS) reported that 52 percent of Jews were marrying non-Jews, the American Jewish community has been split on how to respond. While many on the left have called for greater outreach and acceptance for interfaith families, others have urged the community to more aggressively promote "inmarriage."

World Briefs

By Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Published on January 30, 2003

The Israeli Embassy in London sent a letter of protest to The Independent after the newspaper ran a cartoon depicting Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon biting the flesh of a Palestinian baby.

Jews Must Draw in Interfaith Families

By Edmund Case
Published on January 23, 2003

According to the released portions of the 2000-2001 National Jewish Population Survey (NJPS), 1.5 million non-Jews live with Jews. Who are they? How do they relate to the Jewish community? How should the community respond to them?

Against the backdrop of a Jewish population that the NJPS describes as declining and graying, the decisions that interfaith couples make about the religious identity of their children are critical to the future vitality of the community. I believe that every attitude, every practice, every policy should be evaluated primarily by this standard: Will it increase the likelihood that the children of interfaith families will be raised as Jews?

The Genius of the Lost NJPS

By Roger Bennett
Published on December 26, 2002

New York, December 2102:
Historians argue as to the precise moment when the Golden Age of American Jewry we now take for granted truly began. But many point to the cancellation of the National Jewish Population Survey (NJPS), a century ago, in 2002 as a turning point -- an event still shrouded in mystery that became a catalyst for a series of changes even the wisest sage could not have predicted at the time.

Findings Reveal Demographic Shift

By Joe Berkofsky
Published on October 10, 2002

This is the American Jewish world, by the numbers, as revealed in the just-released National Jewish Population Survey 2000-2001 (NJPS):

Jewish Identity Crisis

By Julie Wiener
Published on November 8, 2001

A new study reporting decreased identification with Judaism and rising intermarriage rates is generating concern, but not shock, in the Jewish community.

Instead, many leaders see the new findings, released last week, as a continuation of trends reported in the 1990 National Jewish Population Survey. Rather than viewing the study as a call to radically change course, most see it as a signal to step up existing efforts to strengthen Jewish continuity.

Monsters

By Rob Eshman
Published on November 23, 2000

Ten years ago, intermarriage rose up as one of the great bogeymen of Jewish communal life. The National Jewish Population Survey, released in 1990, reported that some 52 percent of Jews marry outside their faith. You could hear the rending of garments from Maine to San Diego, as rabbis and Jewish leaders bemoaned American Judaism's imminent collapse. Intermarriage equals demise, we were told. Jewish communities formed committees - task forces, even - and programs on Jewish continuity multiplied like legal briefs in Tallahassee.

Jewish Research Calling

By Julie Wiener
Published on April 27, 2000

If you get a phone call in the next few months from a stranger with lots of questions, don't assume it's a telemarketer.