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The Attachment of European Jews to Israel: The British Perspective

Author(s): Lerman, Antony; Kosmin, Barry; Goldberg, Jacqueline

Date: 1997

Topics: Attitudes to Israel, Israel-Diaspora Relations, Main Topic: Identity and Community

Abstract: The attachment of Diaspora Jews to Israel can no longer be taken for granted. In recent years, there has been a radical shift from a community-wide consensus concerning attachment to Israel, which was probably as secular as it was religious, to a more narrowly based attachment linked to religiosity and to personal experience. At the same time, there is declining support for Israel-oriented charities. In the future, Israel will increasingly appeal more to Traditional and Orthodox Jews than to other members of the Jewish community, and Zionism as an ideology will become increasingly irrelevant. In Journal of Jewish Communal Service, v.74 no.2, Winter 1997.

The Future of Jewish Schooling in the United Kingdom: A Strategic Assessment of a Faith-Based Provision of Primary and Secondary School Education

Author(s): Valins, Oliver; Kosmin, Barry; Goldberg, Jacqueline

Date: 2001

Topics: Jewish Schools, Schools: Seconday / High Schools, Schools: Primary / Elementary, Religious Education, Education, Jewish Education, Parenthood, Main Topic: Education

Abstract: Jewish day schools are flourishing. While the UK Jewish population has shrunk by over 25 per cent since the 1950s, the number of children attending Jewish day schools has grown by 500 per cent. However, at the same time, Jewish day schooling is at a crossroads. It faces new challenges in adapting to the fast-changing social, political and educational environment of the twenty-first century.
This report examines key performance data, including national examination results and OFSTED inspection reports. It also includes data from in-depth interviews with education providers and parents throughout Britain.

The book analyses the strengths and weaknesses of full-time Jewish day schooling from a policy perspective. It attempts to answer key policy questions. Do Jewish day schools - as an example of faith-based schooling - work? To what extent do they meet the needs of pupils, parents, sponsors, Jewish communities and the wider society?

Patterns of charitable giving among British Jews

Author(s): Goldberg, Jacqueline; Kosmin, Barry

Date: 1998

Topics: Charity / Tzedakah, Surveys, Fundraising and Philanthropy, Main Topic: Other

Abstract: This report documents for the first time the giving patterns of British Jews and their support for a wide range of both Jewish and other charities.

The report establishes a strong relationship between religious outlook and giving patterns. It is therefore likely that, in the long run, any further secularization of the Jewish community will have a negative effect on donations to both Jewish and other charities.

The attachment of British Jews to Israel

Author(s): Kosmin, Barry; Lerman, Antony; Goldberg, Jacqueline

Date: 1997

Topics: Surveys, Attitudes to Israel, Israel Attachment, Main Topic: Identity and Community

Abstract: The findings in this report are based on a 1995 postal survey of a sample of 2,194 British Jews.

Overall it was found that 43 per cent of the sample felt a strong attachment to Israel, 38 per cent were moderately attached, 16 per cent expressed no special attachment, while 3 per cent had negative feelings towards Israel.

When respondents selected one of the following ways of self-identification, 18 per cent replied that they felt 'more British than Jewish', 54 per cent that they felt 'equally British and Jewish' and 26 per cent that they felt 'more Jewish than British'. Only 2 per cent were unsure.

Statistically significant differences are found by sex (women are more strongly attached than men), age (older age groups are more strongly attached than the young) and region.The findings also demonstrated a strikingly clear pattern of strengthening attachment to Israel as the degree of commitment to traditional Judaism rises.

The findings point to the significance of experiencing Israel for younger people. The young have a psychological and emotional deficit that has to be compensated for by visiting Israel.

The social attitudes of unmarried young Jews in contemporary Britain

Author(s): Goldberg, Jacqueline; Kosmin, Barry

Date: 1997

Topics: Jewish Continuity, Singles, Marriage, Main Topic: Identity and Community

Abstract: The period between the completion of education and the settling down into married life was regarded by earlier generations as the 'single years'.

Today most British Jews are privileged members of the middle classes and attend institutions of higher education until about the age of 22. They are less likely than earlier generations to marry, and if they do it is generally at a later age, often in their thirties. Alternative lifestyles, including cohabitation and same-sex relationships, are also much more common nowadays. For most contemporary British Jews the 'single years' are the late twenties or early thirties; by the age of 40 the majority are married. These new patterns require new responses.

Social Identity in British and South African Jewry

Author(s): Goldberg, Jacqueline

Editor(s): Gitelman, Zvi; Kosmin, Barry; Kovács, András

Date: 2003

Topics: Comparative Studies, Jewish Identity, Main Topic: Identity and Community