Published: 5 April 2018
Last updated: 4 March 2024
A statistic like this will cause alarm to community leaders and funders who fear that the community is diminishing in size and robustness. David Graham, one of the authors of Gen 17, noted that the results show an Australian Jewish community that is gradually secularising, shifting away from Traditional/Orthodox positions towards more progressive and secular streams.
In the past week many communal commentators have been issuing their solutions about how to stem the tide of intermarriage. Rabbi James Kennard, the Principal of Mount Scopus College in Melbourne, published his thoughts in this week’s Australian Jewish News, emphasising that engagement with Jewish observance is the key to ensuring our community’s future.
“Let us give more support and funding to existing and new programs, that engage with young Jews and give them more appreciation for Jewish life, learning and observance,” he wrote.
Indeed, the more religious you are, the stronger your Jewish identity will be, and the more likely you are to marry someone Jewish. However, a strong Jewish identity is not easy to create in our post-modern world.
In an era of individualism, secularism, and materialism, identity and faith are far more complex than ever before. Strict adherence to religious dogma is waning. For example: in Gen 17 the four statements that were deemed the least important to people’s Jewish identity were: Believing in God, Prayer, Observing Halacha, and Studying Jewish religious texts.
There are many outreach organisations in Australia (such as Chabad, Ohr Sameyach and Aish) who are trying to encourage more young Jews to become halachically observant. But the vast majority of Jewish Australians are simply not seeking to begin keeping kosher and studying religious texts.
Another solution to the rise in assimilation has been to send as many young people to Israel as possible. It is quite astounding that a community that lives on the “edge of the diaspora” has 69% identifying as Zionist and 92% having visited Israel (Gen17). Huge investment has been made in Birthright, Y2i, Masa and a plethora of other Israel programs. The thinking behind this is that a strong connection to Israel will result in a strengthened Jewish identity, and possibly even Aliyah.
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Communal strategists have been using the two pillars of religious observance and connection to Israel as the silver bullets that will reverse the upward trend in intermarriage rates. While effective, the reality is that the vast majority of our community is not becoming more religious, nor are they going to live in Israel.
For every member of our community to meaningfully connect with their Jewishness, the range of engagement solutions needs to be broadened.
The next generation have grown up in a vastly different world to that of their grandparents and even parents. They have not experienced violent anti-Semitism or lived in a world without Israel. Contrary to popular opinion around the Shabbos table, this generation is not commitment-averse. They just need a compelling reason to commit.
Guilt is not a good enough reason. Judaism based on guilt is not sustainable and inspiring. What is sustainable are initiatives that let these young adults locate the kind of meaning that leads to authentic, committed and long-term engagement. The more niche programs, the more opportunities to connect, build community and deepen Jewish identity.
Supporting social justice causes was rated more important to one’s Jewish identity (75%) than marrying another Jew and supporting Israel financially.
Many of these entry points will not be your standard synagogue event or communal fundraiser. They will be activities related to sport, mindfulness, the creative arts, food, social justice and travel. Gen Y Jews are much more universal in their world view and tend to shun some of the more traditional institutions and charities.
For example, according to Gen17, when it comes to charitable giving, the older the respondent, the more likely they will prioritise Israel‐related causes; the younger they are, the more likely they are to prioritise overseas aid. This is a clear example of the shifting paradigms between the generations.
Interestingly, supporting social justice causes was rated more important to one’s Jewish identity (75%) than marrying another Jew and supporting Israel financially.
Over the last decade Stand Up, along with other Australian groups including Jews for Social Action, Jews for Refugees and JECO, has created social justice programs that resonate deeply with the next generation of Jewish community members. These programs are inspired by Jewish values, and have a clear Jewish ethos and culture, but they are focused on our role as global citizens.
Many of our volunteers and program participants have observed how their Jewish identity has been ignited during their volunteer journey at Stand Up. More energy needs to be focussed on the creation of alternative expressions of Jewishness outside the mainstream communal buildings, in activities that are personally rewarding, and in service of others.
Remembering the Holocaust was rated as the most important identifier of Jewish identity, and third was combatting anti-Semitism. This is not a big surprise considering that our community was built by holocaust survivors, and the threat of antisemitism is still with us today. However, no people can survive merely by defining themselves as a target of hostility.
Judaism has not flourished for millennia because of pogroms, genocides and boycotts. It has flourished because of deeply-held traditions, strong values, great food and a willingness to adapt to new surroundings.
Indeed, what matters is not what Jews fear or remember but what we affirm, not what our ancestors died for, but what we and our children might want to live for. We can use the Gen17 data to build the community and the world we want to live in.
Photo: Stand Up Yorta Yorta prorgram (Stand Up website)
