Abstract: Several reasons have been advanced to explain why well-educated, middle-class and often highly anglicized Manchester Jews continue to associate with other Jews. The forces that pull Jews towards each other are complex, but mostly have to do with a shared history, background, location and attitudes to life. These are powerful forces: they can embrace even the most secular of Jews. However, many of these 'associational' Jews may well be Jews whose links with the more formally organized community are somewhat tenuous and whose Jewishness is based on emotion more than belief or practice.
Will this situation continue? In general terms, most respondents thought it would. For a variety of reasons individual associations might grow or dwindle, but the overall impression is that informal recreational associations will continue to be important in Manchester's Jewish social life in the foreseeable future. Unquestionably, for many, belonging to Jewish associations is very important. For some, membership in a voluntary association has resulted in or cemented lifelong friendships. A significant number of Jews will continue to associate freely with other Jews in recreational settings. These associations provide unthreatening and non-judgemental places for Jews to meet, whatever their religious denomination or designation. Accordingly, they play a critical and underrated role in maintaining community cohesion.
Abstract: The financial resources of the UK Jewish voluntary sector is the first publication to report the findings of JPR's research programme, Long-term Planning for British Jewry.
Building on the Jewish Community Information database of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, JPR compiled a comprehensive database of organizations across the community to act as the foundation for all the organizational aspects of the Long-term Planning project. It emerged that the UK Jewish voluntary sector comprises just under 2,000 financially independent organizations. In order for the community to maintain this number of organizations, the income of the Jewish voluntary sector from all its funding streams has to be substantial. These financial resources, however, have never been systematically addressed.
JPR commissioned an international expert in the voluntary sector, Professor Peter Halfpenny, Director of the Centre for Applied Social Research at the University of Manchester, to carry out this complex accountancy project. Its objectives were to provide a multi-dimensional analysis of the income and expenditure of the Jewish voluntary sector from all its funding streams and to make comparisons with similar data about the UK voluntary sector as a whole.
This report establishes the parameters of the financial resources currently available within the Jewish voluntary sector. It demonstrates that the sector has a significant and complex economy. Moreover, British Jews invest proportionately more in these voluntary organizations than does the UK population as a whole.
