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What works? The impact of Jewish programmes and experiences on Jewish identity outcomes in the UK
Author(s): Graham, David; Bankier-Karp, Adina L.; Boyd, Jonathan
Date: 2025
Topics: Jewish Identity, Jewish Involvment, Jewish Community, Main Topic: Identity and Community, Jewish Education, Jewish Schools, Youth Movements, Educational Tours, Family and Household, Age and Generational Issues, Denominations
Abstract: This landmark study uses statistical modelling and data generated by the JPR 2022 National Jewish Identity Survey to examine the long-term impact of several early Jewish educational and family experiences on various Jewish identity outcomes. The study authors have sought to quantify the extent to which different programmes and experiences shape Jewishness in the long run. The report was funded by and prepared for the Jewish Leadership Council (JLC) as part of its ‘Forge the Future’ programme. Some of the key findings in this report: The type of Jewish upbringing people receive in their childhood home—especially Orthodox or Traditional upbringing—is the most important and enduring predictor of Jewish identity outcomes, and far more so than any single programme. In the long run, involvement in a Jewish youth movement is statistically more impactful than attending a Jewish school or a short-term Israel programme. Indeed, not only are peer-led experiences the most impactful, they are also the cheapest to run. The impact of educational programmes is slightly greater on those who were aged 18–39 than those who were aged 40–59 whereas the impact of upbringing is greater on the 40–59 year olds. This suggests that the impact of educational experiences in childhood ‘wears off’ over time, whereas Jewish upbringing is more enduring. Parents need to recognise their key role in fomenting Jewish identity outcomes through the home; the task cannot be outsourced, however good the programmes seem to be. But the amount of impact even upbringing has on Jewish identity outcomes is surprisingly limited. There are simply too many unknown and random variables that impact Jewish identity formation. Ultimately, none of the experiences we examined dramatically shift long-term Jewish identity trajectories; there are no silver bullets and no short cuts. It is far better therefore to conceptualise the task of Jewish identity development in terms of a Jewish ecosystem of interrelated learning opportunities.
Tongue Ties or Fragments Transformed: Making Sense of Similarities and Differences between the Five Largest English-Speaking Jewish Communities
Author(s): Bankier-Karp, Adina L.
Date: 2023
Topics: Jewish Community, Jewish Identity, Main Topic: Identity and Community
Abstract: The subjects of Jewish identity and Jewish communal vitality, and how they may be conceptualized and measured, are the topics of lively debate among scholars of contemporary Jewry (DellaPergola 2015, 2020; Kosmin 2022; Pew Research Center 2021; Phillips 2022). Complicating matters, there appears to be a disconnect between the broadly accepted claim that comparative analysis yields richer understanding of Jewish communities (Cooperman 2016; Weinfeld 2020) and the reality that the preponderance of that research focuses on discrete communities.

This paper examines the five largest English-speaking Jewish communities in the diaspora: the United States of America (US) (population 6,000,000), Canada (population 393,500), the United Kingdom (UK) (population 292,000), Australia (population 118,000), and South Africa (population 52,000) (DellaPergola 2022). A comparison of the five communities’ levels of Jewish engagement, and the identification of factors shaping these differences, are the main objectives of this paper. The paper first outlines conceptual and methodological issues involved in the study of contemporary Jewry; hierarchical linear modeling is proposed as the suitable statistical approach for this analysis, and ethnocultural and religious capital are promoted as suitable measures for studying Jewish engagement. Secondly, a contextualizing historical and sociodemographic overview of the five communities is presented, highlighting attributes which the communities have in common, and those which differentiate them. Statistical methods are then utilized to develop measures of Jewish capital, and to identify explanatory factors shaping the differences between these five communities in these measures of Jewish capital. To further the research agenda of communal and transnational research, this paper concludes by identifying questions that are unique to the individual communities studied, with a brief exploration of subjects that Jewish communities often neglect to examine and are encouraged to consider. This paper demonstrates the merits of comparative analysis and highlights practical and conceptual implications for future Jewish communal research.