Another study, more proof: Younger American Jews are alienated from Israel

1.

There's no reason to be surprised by the new study (Steven Cohen of Hebrew Union College's Jewish Institute of Religion, and Ari Kelman, sociologist at the University of California, Davis) revealing that young North American Jews aren't as attached to Israel as one would have want them to be. Previous studies showed this pattern consistently, including other studies sponsored by the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies.

Take a look at this study, by pollster Frank Luntz:

Older Jews who grew up with the establishment of the state of Israel and the Six Day War witnessed a remarkable record of achievement. The reality of young Jews is informed by Rabin's assassination and the second intifada. The impact of this is immediately evident in their use of the word "they" rather than "us" when they talk about Israel. The Jewish state is tangible and emotional for most Jewish organizations but is an abstraction for many younger Jews.

2.

Still, the new study brings to the fore the extent to which young Jews (not Orthodox though, which might be misleading as it doesn't show the one group that's totally different) are alienated from the Jewish State. One example: less than half of such Jews who are 35 and under believe that Israel's destruction would constitute a personal tragedy for them, And more: only small part of them believe that caring about Israel was an important part of their Judaism (40% of older Jews were rated in the study as highly attached to Israel, just 20% of younger Jews fit this category). Many of them (more than half) just don't feel comfortable with the whole idea of a Jewish state.

3.

An AJC study concluded last year that "Israel appears to much less important in positively affecting Jewish identity, except for those, like the Birthright participants who have actually traveled to Israel, or the Orthodox young adults, for whom Israel has powerful positive resonance".

What does it mean for the future? Two things: that the most successful Jewish program is working and should be supported even more, and that the fastest growing sector of the Jewish population is still very much into Israel.

This is not to say, of course, that the bad news about the rest of the population isn?t troubling.

4.

Traveling around New England this week, I met someone that was the most alarmist so far on this issue (and he wasn?t even aware of the new study). He cares deeply about Israel and warned me that the dwindling support of American Jews can have immediate political implications. The legislators will see that the Jews don't care, and they will not care. How long do you think - he asked - the Jewish organizations will be able to pretend that the Jews are really behind them. Eventually, people will see through this.

This might be true except for one encouraging fact. Americans in general also support Israel (some sectors even more than young Jews).

5.

And one should wonder: what would be the conclusion of a similar study about the attachment of young Jewish Israelis to their American brethren?