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Yidishe tates forming Jewish families Experiences of intermarried Finnish Jewish men
Author(s): Czimbalmos, Mercédesz
Date: 2020
Topics: Main Topic: Identity and Community, Jewish Continuity, Intermarriage, Intermarriage: Children of Intermarried Couples, Interviews
Abstract: Jewish communities often do not endorse the idea of intermarriage, and Orthodox Judaism opposes the idea of marrying out. Intermarriage is often perceived as a threat that may jeopardise Jewish continuity as children of such a relationship may not identify as Jews. When a Jewish woman marries out, her children will in any case become Jewish by halakhah – the Jewish law – by which Judaism is inherited from mother to child – and thus usually faces less difficulties over acceptance in Jewish communities. Even though the Torah speaks of patrilineal descent, in post-biblical times, the policy was reversed in favour of the matrilineal principle, and children of Jewish men and non-Jewish women must therefore go through the conversion process if they wish to join a Jewish congregation according to most Jewish denominational requirements. The aim of this article is to analyse what happens when Jewish men, who belong to Finland’s Orthodox communities, marry out. Do they ensure Jewish continuity, and raise their children Jewish, and how do they act as Yidishe tates – Jewish fathers? If yes, how do they do so, and what problems do they face? These questions are answered through an analysis of thirteen semi-structured in-depth interviews conducted with male members of the Jewish Community of Helsinki and Turku in 2019–20.
‘Everyone does Jewish in their own way’ Vernacular practices of intermarried Finnish Jewish women
Author(s): Czimbalmos, Mercédesz Viktória
Date: 2020
Topics: Intermarriage, Jewish Women, Jewish Identity, Jewish Community, Main Topic: Identity and Community
Abstract: Shortly after the Civil Marriage Act took effect in 1917 and the constitutional right to freedom of religion was implemented by the Freedom of Religion Act in 1922, the number of intermarriages started to rise in the Finnish Jewish congregations, affecting both their customs, and the structure of their membership. Initially, intermarried members and their spouses faced rejection in their congregations; however, during the second half of the twenty-first century, the attitudes towards intermarriages and intermarried congregants have changed significantly. Today, a high number of intermarriages is one of the key defining characteristics of Finnish Jewish communities. This article will concentrate on the vernacular practices of intermarried women in the Jewish Community of Helsinki and Turku. The core material of this article consists of semi-structured ethnographic interviews conducted in 2019 and 2020 with members of the two Finnish Jewish communities. The women presented in this study often combine models from different traditions. Instead of abandoning Judaism altogether, they ‘do Judaism in their own way’ by creating and (re)-inventing traditions they find meaningful for themselves and for their families.
Jews in Europe at the turn of the Millennium: Population trends and estimates
Author(s): DellaPergola, Sergio; Staetsky, L. Daniel
Date: 2020
Topics: Demography, Main Topic: Demography and Migration, European Union, Aliyah, Emigration, Immigration, Israeli Expatriates, Intermarriage
Abstract: This detailed and thorough report is rapidly becoming the ‘must-read’ study on European Jews, taking the reader on an extraordinary journey through one thousand years of European Jewish history before arriving at the most comprehensive analysis of European Jewish demography today.

Written by leading Jewish demographers Professor Sergio DellaPergola and Dr Daniel Staetsky, the Chair and Director of JPR’s European Jewish Demography Unit respectively, it explores how the European Jewish population has ebbed and flowed over time. It begins as far back as the twelfth century, travelling through many years of population stability, until the tremendous growth of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, followed by the dramatic decline prompted by a combination of mass migration and the horrors of the Shoah. Extraordinarily, after all this time, the proportion of world Jewry living in Europe today is almost identical to the proportion living in Europe 900 years ago.

Using multiple definitions of Jewishness and a vast array of sources to determine the size of the contemporary population, the study proceeds to measure it in multiple ways, looking at the major blocs of the European Union and the European countries of the Former Soviet Union, as well as providing country-by-country analyses, ranging from major centres such as France, the UK, Germany and Hungary, to tiny territories such as Gibraltar, Monaco and even the Holy See.

The report also contains the most up-to-date analysis we have on the key mechanisms of demographic change in Europe, touching variously on patterns of migration in and out of Europe, fertility, intermarriage, conversion and age compositions. While the report itself is a fascinating and important read, the underlying data are essential tools for the JPR team to utilise as it supports Jewish organisations across the continent to plan for the future.
Małżeństwa mieszane w społeczności żydowskiej – aberracja czy norma społeczna?
Translated Title: Mixed Marriages in the Jewish Community: An Aberration or a Social Norm?
Author(s): Cukras-Stelągowska, Joanna
Date: 2016
Topics: Intermarriage, Jewish Continuity, Jewish Community, Jewish Identity, Main Topic: Identity and Community
Abstract: Celem niniejszego artykułu jest przybliżenie specyfiki małżeństw mieszanych w środowisku żydowskim. W opinii wielu liderów społeczności oraz przedstawicieli nauk społecznych w kontekście poszukiwania odpowiedzi na pytania o przemiany, wyzwania i zagrożenia, przed którymi staje obecnie społeczność żydowska, ten aspekt
należy uwzględnić w pierwszej kolejności. Analizie poddano kilka raportów badawczych dotyczących skutków wychowania w tego typu związkach w USA, Wielkiej Brytanii, Francji, Holandii i Niemczech. Odniesiono się również do społeczność Żydów polskich – głównych cech świadomości kulturowej rodziny żydowskiej: jej stosunku do
kapitału kulturowego w kontekście historii relacji polsko-żydowskich oraz takich kwestii, jak wychowanie w rodzinie mieszanej, luka międzypokoleniowa czy emigracja do Izraela.
Vanishing Diaspora? Jews in the Netherlands and Their Ties with Judaism: Facts and Expectations about Their Future
Author(s): de Vries, Marlene
Editor(s): Kaplan, Yosef; Michman, Dan
Date: 2017
Topics: Demography, Intermarriage, Main Topic: Demography and Migration
“Blacks Are Not Usually Labeled Jews” – Why Does a Colored Boy Go to a Jewish School?
Author(s): Vajda, Júlia; Kovács, Éva
Date: 2000
Topics: Holocaust Survivors: Children of, Intermarriage, Intermarriage: Children of Intermarried Couples, Jewish Schools, Jewish Identity, Main Topic: Education, Race, Racism, Interviews
Abstract: Emma was born in 1956. Her parents survived the Holocaust with the help of false documents and their Slavic appearance – goes the family legend. Emma was brought up by her parents, according to communist principles. She is already 17 when she first learns from her aunt that she is Jewish. She meets her husband, Ben, a Nigerian, in 1976, and they leave for Nigeria. A year later Emma returns alone, pregnant, and from then on, her relationship with Ben is almost completely cut off. In 1990, Emma sends her child to a Jewish school. The analysis of the narrative interview reveals that for Emma, the meaning of choosing a stranger from a different culture was to get rid of a stigma. The presence of the colored child born from the relationship comforts her – if she manages to hide the Jewishness of the child, this covers her Jewishness as well. Along with this, she seems to be trying to protect her son from her identity problem: the color of his skin gives clear evidence of who he is and where he comes from. A decade later, she changes her strategy: now she wants the hidden stigma to be revealed and seen. And once more she uses her son to achieve this: if her son attends a Jewish school, he becomes Jewish. And if he is Jewish, that means that she too is Jewish.
Big baggage on small shoulders? Children of Israeli/German interparentage in Germany
Author(s): Kranz, Dani; Hotam, Yotam; Shoshana, Avihu
Editor(s): Gasperoni, Michaël; Gourdon, Vincent; Grange, Cyril
Date: 2019
Topics: Main Topic: Other, Intermarriage, Intermarriage: Children of Intermarried Couples, Israeli Expatriates
Religious Intermarriage in England and Wales: Differences in Individual and Area Characteristics of Endogamous and Exogamous Couples
Author(s): Sapiro, Philip
Date: 2019
Topics: Demography, Main Topic: Demography and Migration, Censuses, Statistics, Intermarriage
Abstract: Religious intermarriage in England and Wales is an under-researched area, compared with ethnically divergent and immigrant/host intermarriage. More specifically, the aim of the study is to identify whether there are any statistically significant differences in personal or spatial characteristics between religiously endogamous and exogamous couples, and if so, to provide some explanation as to why. Use is made of the responses to the religion question in the 2001 and 2011 censuses and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) longitudinal study, so as to avoid bias inherent in trying to establish random survey samples of minor-religion members and their partners. Although the paper considers religious intermarriage generally, there is a focus on Jews as the only group which demonstrates a high level of stability of religion reporting and material levels of exogamy. Logistic regression indicates that Jewish population density, start decade of the partnership and whether the individuals are in work and live in an area with a large synagogue are statistically significant differentiators that have a material impact on levels of exogamy and endogamy. A strong link between exogamy and cohabitation (and delayed childbearing) is also established for this group. Some comparisons between Jews and religiously intermarried groups in general are also made, and the utility of the ONS longitudinal study for examination of small groups is established.
Why European Jewish Demography? A foundation paper
Author(s): Staetsky, L. Daniel; DellaPergola, Sergio
Date: 2019
Topics: Demography, Main Topic: Demography and Migration, Policy, Statistics, Intermarriage, Migration
Abstract: This paper is the first output of the new European Jewish Demography Unit, set up by JPR in January 2019 with the generous support of the Rothschild Foundation Hanadiv Europe, to undertake demographic research about Jewish populations across Europe.

Demography provides answers to questions such as how many Jews exist in the world? Or in Europe? Or in any particular country of Europe? And where will European Jewry go from here?

The objective of the Unit is to create demographic profiles of European Jewish populations at a country level, documenting their size, structure, composition, patterns of Jewish identity, factors of growth and decline and past and projected trajectories over time. The foundational paper demonstrates the practical sides and uses of demography, with the focus on its use by the Jewish community.

The paper is written in three parts. Part 1 describes what Jewish demography is, as a subject area, and its purpose and value, with specific reference to Jews in Europe. Part 2 explores some of the critiques of demography from the past and present and responds to these by outlining how the data should be used and have been used for highly constructive purposes. Part 3 outlines what the European Jewish Demography Unit will do, and the methods and approach it will take.
Wir Juden, die Juden – ich Jude? Das Jüdische aus der jüdisch/nichtjüdischen Doppelperspektive von ‚Vaterjuden‘
Author(s): Zeifert, Ruth
Editor(s): Sucker, Juliane; Wohl von Haselberg, Lea
Date: 2012
Topics: Main Topic: Identity and Community, Jewish Identity, Intermarriage
Warum Patrilineare Konfessionslos bleiben, obgleich sie sich jüdisch fühlen
Author(s): Zeifert, Ruth
Editor(s): Lewicki, Aleksandra; Möller, Melanie; Richter, Jonas; Rösch, Henriette
Date: 2012
Topics: Main Topic: Identity and Community, Intermarriage, Jewish Identity, Religious Observance and Practice
Nicht ganz koscher: Vaterjuden in Deutschland
Author(s): Zeifert, Ruth
Date: 2017
Topics: Main Topic: Other, Family and Household, Intermarriage, Parenthood
Abstract: Jüdisch ist, wer Kind einer jüdischen Mutter ist. Das Religionsgesetz, die Halacha, ist da eindeutig. Allein auf die Mutter kommt es an. Herkunft und Glauben des Vaters sind für den Status irrelevant. In den Jüdischen Gemeinden sind sie nicht registriert. Da der Status oftmals im Widerspruch zu Selbstbild und Fremdzuschreibungen steht, suchte Ruth Zeifert nach der Bedeutung der religiösen Regel und schließlich das Gespräch mit „Vaterjuden“. Sie lässt diese Menschen mit ihren Erfahrungen, Problemen, Wünschen und Hoffnungen zu Wort kommen und bietet ihnen ein Forum, ihre Lebenswirklichkeit auszudrücken. Letztendlich stellt sich die Frage, ob Vaterjuden Juden sind oder im Spannungsfeld differierender Selbst- und Fremdzuschreibungen „zwischen den Stühlen“ bleiben.
Choosing One or Being Both: The Identity Dilemmas of Russian-Jewish Mixed Ethnics Living in Russia and in Israel
Author(s): Remennick, Larissa
Date: 2018
Topics: Main Topic: Identity and Community, Jewish Identity, Intermarriage, Migration, Aliyah, Integration, Interviews
Abstract: A large share of Russian/Soviet Jews, especially among younger cohorts, are descendants of intermarriage. In this essay, I reflect on the implications of the built-in ambivalence of these mixed ethnics, comparing their identity qualms and social strategies in their native Russia and after migration to Israel. My analysis draws upon participant observation and interviews conducted in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and across Israel over the last 20 years. My theoretical anchors are recent discussions on the evolving nature of Jewish identity, formed at the intersection of religion, ethnicity, and culture, in the context of ongoing intermarriage and assimilation. The comparison between the (ex-)Soviet and Israeli context underscores the role of local social constructions of ethno-religious belonging, nationalism, and citizenship as synergistic forces in shaping social locations of mixed ethnics. It also sheds light on the tactics of adjustment and “passing” among individuals with ambivalent ethnic identities who experience rapid social transformation or migration.
Conversions au judaïsme et institutionnalité juive : une sociologie comparée du pluralisme religieux dans le judaïsme contemporain (Israël, France, Argentine, Etats-Unis)
Translated Title: Conversions to judaism and jewish institutionality: A compared sociology of religious pluralism in contemporary judaism (Israel, France, Argentina and United States)
Author(s): Tank-Storper, Sébastien
Date: 2003
Topics: Main Topic: Other, Jewish Organisations, Conversion, Intermarriage, Pluralism
Abstract: Environ 90% des demandes de conversion adressées aujourd'hui aux institutions juives émanent de conjoints non juifs de "couples mixtes" désirant homogénéiser religieusement leur famille. Cela pose un double problème aux institutions: tout d'abord, selon la Halakha, ne peut être accepté qu'un candidat qui ne désire pas se convertir pour obtenir un bénéfice de sa conversion. Ensuite, cela pose la question de la réponse institutionnelle à la transgression: l'exogamie étant interdite par le judaïsme, faut-il repousser les déviants en refusant de régulariser a posteriori leur situation en convertissant le conjoint ou au contraire opter pour plus de tolérance et les intégrer? Ce dossier permet ainsi d'interroger les modalités de construction de l'autorité rabbinique et des institutions dans un contexte où ces derniers peinent de plus en plus à imposer leurs normes à des fidèles revendiquant leur autonomie.
Trouble dans la judéité. Mariages mixtes, conversions et frontières de l'identité juive
Translated Title: Jewish Trouble. Mixed Marriages, Conversions and Boundaries of Jewish Identity
Author(s): Tank-Storper, Sébastien
Date: 2013
Topics: Main Topic: Identity and Community, Jewish Identity, Conversion, Intermarriage
Abstract: On interprète habituellement la méfiance du judaïsme vis-à-vis des conversions comme la surdétermination du principe de filiation dans la définition et la transmission de l’identité juive. Le propos de cet article est de montrer qu’au contraire les politiques de conversion restrictives se font au nom d’une politique de la sainteté qui conduit à lier l’appartenance au strict respect de la loi, reléguant la filiation au second plan. Inversement, les politiques plus inclusives seraient justifiées par la volonté de clarifier les frontières de l’identité dans un contexte d’augmentation du nombre des mariages mixtes et d’éloignement progressif de la pratique religieuse, quitte à négocier sur les principes religieux.
Дети Смешанных Браков: Особенности этнокультурного самосознания
Translated Title: Children of Mixed Marriage: Features of ethnocultural self-consciousness
Author(s): Румянцева, Полина
Date: 2001
Topics: Main Topic: Identity and Community, Intermarriage, Intermarriage: Children of Intermarried Couples
Britain and Australia, a World Apart, Together: An International Contextualization of Jewish Intermarriage Using Census Data
Author(s): Graham, David J.
Editor(s): DellaPergola, Sergio; Rebhun, Uzi
Date: 2018
Topics: Main Topic: Demography and Migration, Demography, Censuses, Intermarriage, Jewish Identity
Abstract: Census data are far superior in population coverage to survey data and, when relevant information is available, provide a tremendous opportunity for detailed demographic research into Jewish populations. This paper presents a comparative assessment of census data on Jewish intermarriage in England and Wales contrasting this with comparative data from Australia. In doing so, it presents a statistically robust contextualisation and description of intermarriage patterns and processes being experienced by these two Jewish populations. Despite the enormity of the geographical distance separating them, multiple parallels are observed. The analysis demonstrates the versatility of census data and its potential for broadening our understanding of subtopics of intermarriage such as the role cohabitation plays in patterns of homogamy and the transmission of Jewish identity to children being raised in intermarried homes. Finally, it demonstrates that despite striking similarities, there is clear evidence that Britain and Australia are set upon divergent paths with Britain moving towards higher prevalence of marital endogamy and Australia moving towards lower prevalence.
European Jewish identity: Mosaic or monolith? An empirical assessment of eight European countries
Author(s): Graham, David
Date: 2018
Topics: Main Topic: Identity and Community, Jewish Identity, Antisemitism, Intermarriage, Religious Observance and Practice, Jewish Perceptions of Antisemitism, Surveys
Abstract: JPR’s report, European Jewish identity: Mosaic or monolith? An empirical assessment of eight European countries, authored by Senior Research Fellow Dr David Graham, asks whether there is such a thing as a European Jewish identity, and, if so, what it looks like.

The question of whether there is a Jewish identity that is at once common to all European Jews but also peculiar to them, has intrigued scholars of contemporary Jewry since the fall of the Berlin Wall. This study contrasts the European picture with the two major centres of world Jewry, the United States and Israel, and examines the nature and content of Jewish identity across Europe, exploring the three core pillars of belief, belonging and behaviour around which Jewish identity is built.

This research was made possible by the advent of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) survey in 2012 examining Jewish people’s experiences and perceptions of antisemitism across nine EU Member States: Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Romania, Sweden and the UK. As well as gathering data about antisemitism, the study investigated various aspects of the Jewishness of respondents, in order to ascertain whether different types of Jews perceive and experience antisemitism differently. This study focuses on the data gathered about Jewishness, thereby enabling direct comparisons to be made for the first time across multiple European Jewish communities in a robust and comprehensive way.

The report concludes that there is no monolithic European identity, but it explores in detail the mosaic of Jewish identity in Europe, highlighting some key differences:
• In Belgium, where Jewish parents are most likely to send their children to Jewish schools, there is a unique polarisation between the observant and non-observant;
• In France, Jews exhibit the strongest feelings of being part of the Jewish People, and also have the strongest level of emotional attachment to Israel;
• Germany’s Jewish community has the largest proportion of foreign-born Jews, and, along with Hungary, is the youngest Jewish population;
• In Hungary the greatest relative weight in Jewish identity priorities is placed on 'Combating antisemitism,' and the weakest level of support for Israel is exhibited;
• In Italy, respondents are least likely to report being Jewish by birth or to have two Jewish parents;
• The Jews of Latvia are the oldest population and the most likely to be intermarried;
• The Jews of Sweden attach a very high level of importance to 'Combating antisemitism' despite being relatively unlikely to experience it, and they observe few Jewish practices;
• In the United Kingdom, Jews observe the most religious practices and appear to feel the least threatened by antisemitism. They are the most likely to be Jewish by birth and least likely to be intermarried.

According to report author, Dr David Graham: “This report represents far more than the culmination of an empirical assessment of Jewish identity. Never before has it been possible to examine Jewish identity across Europe in anything approaching a coherent and systematic way. Prior to the FRA’s survey, it was almost inconceivable that an analysis of this kind could be carried out at all. The formidable obstacles of cost, language, political and logistical complexity seemed to present impenetrable barriers to the realisation of any such dream. Yet this is exactly what has been achieved, a report made possible through an FRA initiative into furthering understanding of Jewish peoples' experience of antisemitism. It reveals a European Jewry that is more mosaic than monolith, an array of Jewish communities, each exhibiting unique Jewish personas, yet united by geography and a common cultural heritage."
"Lost Jews," "Chimeras," or "the Hope of the Nation"? Jews, Russia, Mixed Marriages, and Historical Memory Revisited
Author(s): Nosenko-Shteyn, Elena
Date: 2009
Topics: Main Topic: Identity and Community, Jewish Identity, Assimilation, Intermarriage
Abstract: Elena Nosenko-Shteyn focuses on the problem of Jewish assimilation through the lens of complex, qualitative survey research with people of mixed ethnic heritage in Russia. She has divided her 112 interlocutors into four basic groups: those already fully "Russian" in their self-image and values; those "cosmopolitan" or "international" enough to accept Jewish roots without prioritizing them; those who have "dual" or "transitional" identities that are often situational or fluid; and those who are "new Jewish," ready to embrace with renewed vigor the religion and customs of their ancestors.
Mixed Marriage and Post-Soviet Aliyah
Author(s): Tolts, Mark
Date: 2005
Topics: Main Topic: Demography and Migration, Intermarriage, Demography, Aliyah
Abstract: This paper is a study of the incidence of mixed marriage in the Former Soviet Union (FSU) and the role of demographic peculiarities of the Jewish marriage market in the spread of mixed marriage. Special attention was paid to the offspring of mixed couples and their ethnic affiliation. The relatively high proportion of non-Jews in the migration movement to Israel (aliyah) from the FSU as a consequence of mixed marriage was also examined.
Jews in couples: Marriage, intermarriage, cohabitation and divorce in Britain
Author(s): Graham, David
Date: 2016
Topics: Intermarriage, Divorce, Marriage, Main Topic: Demography and Migration
Abstract: Much of the debate about intermarriage in the UK has been based on American Jewish statistics, and an assumption that the situation either mirrors reality in Britain, or foretells the probable and almost inevitable future of the UK Jewish community.

This 2016 report is the first dedicated study of the topic in Britain. It estimates that the intermarriage rate in Britain in 2016 stands at 26%, which is dramatically lower than the equivalent figure of 58% for the United States. Nevertheless, it finds that, whereas more or less all children of in-married Jewish couples are raised as Jews, this is the case for only a third of the children of intermarried couples. It also demonstrates that intermarried Jews exhibit far weaker levels of Jewish practice than in-married Jews on all measures investigated.
Ein ziemlich jüdisches Leben: Säkulare Identitäten im Spannungsfeld interreligiöser Beziehungen
Author(s): Dreyfus, Madeleine
Date: 2016
Topics: Intermarriage, Jewish Identity, Secularity, Main Topic: Identity and Community
Abstract: Dieses Buch gibt Einblick in die Komplexität heutiger jüdischer Zugehörigkeiten. Die Autorin fächert dafür zunächst die religionsgesetzlichen, historischen sowie sozial- und kulturwissenschaftlichen Grundlagen auf. Im Mittelpunkt stehen sodann Auszüge aus Gesprächen mit in der deutschsprachigen Schweiz lebenden Personen, die aus „gemischten“ Beziehungen stammen oder in solchen leben und ihr Jüdischsein an die nächste Generation weitergeben wollen. Fragen zum Übertritt kommen ebenso zur Sprache wie Nachwirkungen der Shoah und das Verhältnis zur Religiosität, die allerdings für das Zugehörigkeitsgefühl keine Rolle zu spielen scheint. Es gelingt der Autorin, die alltagspraktische Lebensrealität der Interviewpartner auf überzeugende Weise mit theoretischen Erkenntnissen zu verbinden.
Interchanged identities: The role of a Jewish school in a mixed marriage
Author(s): Kovács, Éva; Vajda, Júlia
Date: 2002
Topics: Jewish Schools, Intermarriage, Interviews, Main Topic: Education
Abstract: Research was conducted at two Jewish schools founded in Budapest in 1989, using the method of narrative biographical interviews and hermeneutic case analysis. Many children of mixed marriages or non-Jewish families attend these schools. Using the case analysis of a family in which the father is from a Jewish survivor family and the mother has an anti-Semitic background, the mixed marriage pattern “interchanged identities” is examined. The couple tried to rid themselves of their families' pasts, the husband by refusing his Jewishness and the wife by defying her anti-Semitic father and her identification with him. The unconscious mechanisms, shame, and guilty feelings lying behind their efforts are discussed.
J’ai Peur D’oublier L’accent De Mon Père… Quel Judaisme Transmettre Dans Les Couples Mixtes?
Author(s): Mathieu, Séverine
Editor(s): Bordes-Benayoun, Chantal
Date: 2015
Topics: Intermarriage, Parenthood, Jewish Continuity, Main Topic: Identity and Community
La « techouva » identitaire des descendants de couples mixtes
Translated Title: The 'Teshuva' identity of the descendants of mixed couples
Author(s): Allouche-Benayoun, Joëlle
Editor(s): Gross, Martine; Mathieu, Séverine; Nizard, Sophie
Date: 2011
Topics: Intermarriage, Intermarriage: Children of Intermarried Couples, Main Topic: Identity and Community, Jewish Identity
Abstract: Premières lignes:

L’identité juive est progressivement sortie depuis la Révolution française du modèle confessionnel, et s’est sécularisée : elle ne se résume plus désormais à ses manifestations religieuses, mais s’exprime tout autant à travers ses expressions culturelles ou politiques. Le judaïsme aujourd’hui peut être vécu comme un héritage religieux à transmettre, comme un héritage culturel ou familial. Lorsque l’on...

Plan de l'article:

Écrire, filmer, créer. L’identité juive au cinéma et dans la littérature
Témoigner
Côté père : le nom et la religion catholique
Côté mère : étrange étrangère, autre et si proche
La troisième génération
Être juif hic et nunc : religion, Shoah, Israël
Conclusions
Identités plurielles : couples mixtes et transmission du judaïsme
Translated Title: Plural Identities Mixed Couples and Transmission of Judaism
Author(s): Mathieu, Séverine
Date: 2010
Topics: Intermarriage, Jewish Identity, Main Topic: Identity and Community
Abstract: Quand on sait qu’aujourd’hui en France la moitié des mariages contractés par des personnes juives sont des mariages mixtes, la question « qu’est-ce qu’être juif? » revêt toute son importance. Que transmet-on lorsque l’on se sent juif, que l’on n’est pas pratiquant, que l’on partage sa vie et que l’on élève des enfants avec un conjoint non juif? L’enquête sociologique menée par l’auteure montre que les deux conjoints souhaitent transmettre un judaïsme qui ne soit pas uniquement religieux (voire non religieux), souvent qualifié de « culturel ». Il s’agit de réinventer des espaces, symboliques ou réels, pour donner corps à une identité plurielle et transmettre un judaïsme sécularisé. Ce désir de revendiquer une identité juive est intimement lié, on s’en doute, à la Shoah.
La transmission du judaïsme dans les couples mixtes
Translated Title: Transmission of Judaism in mixed couples
Author(s): Mathieu, Séverine
Date: 2009
Topics: Intermarriage, Family and Household, Jewish Continuity, Main Topic: Identity and Community
Abstract: Que transmet-on lorsque l'on est juif, que l'on ne pratique pas, que l'on partage sa vie et que l'on élève des enfants avec un conjoint non juif ? Comment ce dernier perçoit-il et vit-il le judaïsme de l'autre ? Circoncire ou ne pas circoncire ? Quelle cuisine prépare-t-on ? Autant de questions auxquelles le présent ouvrage, dans un langage simple et synthétique, s'attache à apporter des pistes de réponses. Les résultats de l'enquête sociologique menée par l'auteur montrent que les deux conjoints, juif et non juif, homme ou femme, souhaitent transmettre un judaïsme qui ne soit pas seulement une religion. Ce faisant, ces personnes mettent en oeuvre des « opérations de bricolage » individuelles, en réinventant des espaces, symboliques ou réels, pour donner corps à leur identité et à leur mémoire : elles transmettent ainsi un judaïsme qu'elles pourront qualifier de « culturel ». Souvent, ce désir de revendiquer une identité juive est intimement lié à la Shoah. Cet ouvrage, très accessible, ouvrira le lecteur à l'évolution du judaïsme et, au-delà, aux débats contemporains sur la transmission, la mémoire et la notion d'identité.
Juifs d'un côté: portraits de descendants de mariages entre juifs et chrétiens
Translated Title: Jews on one side: Portraits of the descendants of Jewish-Christian marriages
Author(s): Grandsard, Catherine
Date: 2005
Topics: Intermarriage, Interviews, Main Topic: Identity and Community
Abstract: En France, un juif sur deux qui se marie épouse une personne non juive, le plus souvent issue d'une famille de tradition chrétienne. Comment annoncer le mariage aux parents ? Comment organiser la cérémonie ? Que faire à la naissance des enfants ? Quels rituels choisir ? Quelles fêtes observer ? Comment gérer un éventuel divorce ? Autant de questions qui se posent aux familles concernées. Les instances communautaires juives débattent elles aussi des réponses à apporter à cette situation. Faut-il faire preuve d'une absolue fermeté ou d'une plus grande tolérance envers ces unions ? Quel accueil réserver au conjoint non juif ? Quelle attitude adopter à l'égard des enfants ? L'enjeu du débat est le devenir, voire l'existence même, des communautés juives de par le monde. Catherine Grandsard a enquêté auprès d'hommes et de femmes issus de tels mariages et nous relate les solutions trouvées par chacun. Les récits personnels, comme celui d'Isabelle qui retrouve le tallit (châle de prière) de son grand-père d'avant son départ de Turquie, de Claire dont le père commande la fabrication d'un Sefer Torah pour honorer la mémoire de son propre père, s'entremêlent à de courts rappels historiques et à la description de rituels juifs et chrétiens.
Approximate Answers to Baffling Problems: Issues of Identity in Mixed Jewish-Christian Families in France
Author(s): Grandsard, Catherine
Editor(s): Wohl von Haselberg, Lea
Date: 2015
Topics: Intermarriage, Jewish Identity, Main Topic: Identity and Community
‚Mischehe‘ und Übertritt. Elemente jüdischer Identitätskonstruktionen am Beispiel der deutschen Schweiz
Translated Title: Mixed marriage and crossing. Elements of Jewish identity constructions on the example of German-speaking Switzerland
Author(s): Dreyfus, Madeleine
Editor(s): Wohl von Haselberg, Lea
Date: 2015
Topics: Intermarriage, Jewish Identity, Main Topic: Identity and Community
Beyond Ethnicity. The Role of the Mixed-Origin Family for Jewish Identity: A Polish Case Study
Author(s): Wójcik, Adrian; Bilewicz, Michal
Editor(s): Wohl von Haselberg, Lea
Date: 2015
Topics: Intermarriage, Ethnicity, Jewish Identity, Family and Household, Main Topic: Identity and Community
Hybride jüdische Identitäten: Gemischte Familien und patrilineare Juden
Translated Title: Hybrid Jewish identities: Mixed families and patrilineal Jews
Editor(s): Wohl von Haselberg, Lea
Date: 2015
Topics: Intermarriage, Main Topic: Identity and Community, Family and Household, Intermarriage: Children of Intermarried Couples
Abstract: Viele Jüdinnen und Juden lieben nichtjüdische Partner_innen, leben und haben Kinder mit ihnen. Die Vorstellung von ‚Juden‘ und ‚Nichtjuden‘ als klar unterscheidbaren Gruppen ist überholt. ‚Gemischte‘ Familien und Partnerschaften sind stattdessen Teil der zeitgenössischen Lebensrealität im deutschsprachigen Raum und darüber hinaus.

Der nicht unumstrittene Begriff des Hybriden, ursprünglich aus Botanik und Biologie entlehnt und im 19. Jahrhundert in die Rassenlehre übernommen, wo er negativ besetzt wurde, findet seit einigen Jahren in diversen Bereichen der Geistes-, Kultur- und Sozialwissenschaften wieder Verwendung. Dort richtet sich das Interesse auf Begegnungen, Vermischungen, Übergänge, Übersetzungen und Neuschöpfungen. Daraus entstehen Fragen nach Inklusion und Exklusion, welche Formen ‚Vermischungen‘ oder ‚Hybridisierungen‘ in konkreten Kontexten annehmen und in welchen kulturellen Praktiken und Identitätskonstruktionen sich diese äußern. Solche Fragen stellen sich auch für zeitgenössische jüdische Lebensentwürfe: Versteht man Identitäten als reflexive Prozesse des Selbstverstehens, des Entwickelns von sich immer in Veränderung befindlichen Selbstbildern und als eine Beziehung, zeigt sich, wie bedeutsam der Kontakt mit anderen und das Erfahren von Fremdwahrnehmung durch andere ist. Widersprüchliche Definitionen von Jüdischsein führen hier zu Herausforderungen für gemischte Familien. Die Komplexität resultiert u.a. aus den verschiedenen Ebenen zeitgenössischer jüdischer Identität, wie der kulturellen, der religiösen und nach der Shoah der historischen Ebene der Familien- und Verfolgungsgeschichte.

Der Band Hybride jüdische Identitäten versammelt die Vorträge der gleichnamigen internationalen Tagung, die im November 2012 am Erziehungswissenschaftlichen Institut der Universität Zürich stattgefunden hat. Die Autor_innen bringen nicht nur Perspektiven unterschiedlicher wissenschaftlicher Disziplinen, wie der Psychologie, der Soziologie, der Kultur- und Literaturwissenschaft sowie der Psychoanalyse zusammen, sondern untersuchen auch unterschiedliche nationale Zusammenhänge und Spezifika. Der Sammelband bündelt damit erstmalig Forschungen zu gemischt jüdisch-nichtjüdischen Familien und deren Selbstverständnissen und Erfahrungen.

Inhalt:

Lea Wohl von Haselberg: Einleitung 7
Micha Brumlik: Matrilinearität im Judentum. Ein religionshistorischer Essay19
Elisabeth Beck-Gernsheim: Juden, Nichtjuden und die dazwischen. Im Dschungel der Orientierungsversuche 35
Christina von Braun: Virtuelle Genealogien 49
Christa Wohl: Patrilineare in Deutschland: Jüdisch oder nicht? Eine psychologische Untersuchung 65
Birgitta Scherhans: Jüdisch-christliche ‚Mischehen‘ in Deutschland nach 1945 83
Madeleine Dreyfus: ‚Mischehe‘ und Übertritt. Elemente jüdischer Identitätskonstruktionen am Beispiel der deutschen Schweiz 103
Catherine Grandsard: Approximate Answers to Baffling Problems. Issues of Identity in Mixed Jewish-Christian Families in France 121
Adrian Wójcik/Michał Bilewicz: Beyond Ethnicity. The Role of the Mixed-Origin Family for Jewish Identity: A Polish Case Study 133
Pearl Beck: The Relationship between Intermarriage and Jewish Identity in the United States. An Examination of Overall Trends and Specific Research Findings 147
Joela Jacobs: Die Frage nach dem Bindestrich. Deutsch-jüdische Identitäten und Literatur 169
The Family Factor in Jewish-Gentile Intermarriage: A Sibling Analysis of The Netherlands
Author(s): Kalmijn, Matthijs; Liefbroer, Aart C.; van Poppel, Frans; van Solinge, Hanna
Date: 2006
Topics: Intermarriage, Demography, Family and Household, Statistics, Main Topic: Demography and Migration
Abstract: The tendency of members of many ethno-religious groups to marry within their group has been considered evidence for the persistent role of ascription in modern society. What is the role of the family of origin in this process? To answer this question, we study the marriage choices of Jews in the Netherlands, using a unique dataset and a novel analytical approach (i.e., multilevel analyses of sibling-data). Our models show that almost a third of the variation in Jewish endogamy can be attributed to a common family factor. Measured indicators of family background point to two underlying mechanisms: the intergenerational transmission of ethnic identities and the intergenerational provision of endogamous meeting and mating opportunities. Together, these mechanisms explain 75 percent of the total family influence.
Cosmopolitan but Slightly Worried: Survey of Young Italian Jews
Author(s): Meghnagi, Saul; Sonnino, Melissa; Techiouba, Ariel
Date: 2012
Topics: Immigration, Intermarriage, Jewish Identity, Young Adults / Emerging Adulthood, Youth, Surveys, Main Topic: Identity and Community
Abstract: This applied research contributes to the field of emerging adulthood studies. 144 young adults aged 18-35 coming from communities all over Italy were surveyed through an online questionnaire. Participants presented different levels of religious observance. 45% of young Italian Jews cited culture as the most important definition of Judaism, over family bonds (28%), religion (21%) and emotional ties (6%). Interestingly, 46% of participants declared being at least as religious as their parents and 32% even more religious. Young Italian Jews are divided over the issue of life partners and mixed marriages. Young Italian Jews are proud of Israel. The great majority of respondents (92%) did not view moving to Israel as a necessary condition for the future of Judaism. It was above all in the small communities where youngsters reported immigrants being hostile towards Jews (43%).
Identity à la Carte: Research on Jewish identities, participation and affiliation in five Eastern European countries
Author(s): Kovács, András; Ildiko, Barna; DellaPergola, Sergio; Kosmin, Barry
Date: 2011
Topics: Affiliation and Belonging, Antisemitism, Intermarriage, Israel Attachment, Jewish Literacy, Surveys, Jewish Identity, Religious Observance and Practice, Main Topic: Identity and Community
Abstract:

This report describes the process and results of a research study on Jewish identity and community participation in Central and Eastern Europe. In particular, it identifies trends among Jewish adults in Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Romania. This two-year and wide-reaching study, examined views on religious observance, Jewish identity, anti-Semitism, Israel, Jewish knowledge, and organizational affiliation among 1,270 Jews, ages 18-60.
Post-Soviet Jewry on the Cusp of Its Third Decade - Part 1
Author(s): Gidwitz, Betsy
Date: 2011
Topics: Affiliation and Belonging, Antisemitism, Demography, Intermarriage, Main Topic: Identity and Community
Abstract:

Demographically, post-Soviet Jewry has seen an overall decline resulting from assimilation, intermarriage, low fertility, high mortality, and emigration of younger age cohorts. Some  demographers believe that less than 500,000 Jews remain in the post-Soviet states. An intermarriage rate that some view as exceeding 80 percent creates complex situations for those Jewish groups that prefer to confine their programs to halachically Jewish individuals.

Jewish identity among Jews in Russia and Ukraine is most likely to be expressed as a sense of Jewish heritage, in particular, a common cultural or intellectual heritage, rather than a sense of common spirituality or sharply focused religious practice. Post-Soviet Jews also tend to believe that Jews should be familiar with modern Israel, but not necessarily feel obligated to live in Israel.
Jewish identity in Finland
Author(s): Franklin-Rahkonen, Sharon
Date: 1991
Topics: Jewish Identity, Jewish History, Jewish Continuity, Assimilation, Intermarriage, Main Topic: Identity and Community
Abstract: This paper examines the past 100 years of Jewish History in Finland and discusses the threats to Jewish continuity due to assimilation and intermarriage
Jews and Non-Jews Living Together After the Transition in Hungary
Author(s): Vajda, Júlia; Kovács, Éva
Editor(s): Breckner, Roswitha; Kalekin-Fishman, Devorah; Miethe, Ingrid
Date: 2000
Topics: Oral History and Biography, Interviews, Family and Household, Intermarriage, Assimilation, Jewish Identity, Jewish Revival, Main Topic: Other, Secularity
La mémoire restaurée : la cuisine dans les couples mixtes juifs et non-juifs
Translated Title: The restored memory: food in Jewish mixed couples and non-Jews
Author(s): Mathieu, Séverine
Editor(s): Kanafani-Zahar, Aïda; Mathieu, Séverine; Nizard, Sophie
Date: 2008
Topics: Food, Kashrut, Intermarriage, Main Topic: Other
Особенности этнического самосознания и "Образа Я" старшеклассников из русско-еврейских семей
Translated Title: The Ethnic Identity and Self-Concept of High School Students from Russian-Jewish Families
Author(s): Румянцева, Полина Витальевна
Date: 2002
Topics: Intermarriage, Youth, Schools: Seconday / High Schools, Ethnicity, Jewish Identity, Main Topic: Identity and Community
Abstract: Extended abstract can be found via the link below
Формирование этнической самоидентификации у потомков русско-еврейских браков в современной России Научная библиотека диссертаций и авторефератов
Translated Title: Formation of Ethnic Identity among Descendants of Russian-Jewish Marriages in Contemporary Russia
Author(s): Штейн, Елена Эдуардовна
Date: 2005
Topics: Intermarriage, Ethnicity, Jewish Identity, Main Topic: Identity and Community
Abstract: Extended abstract can be found via the link below
Jewish Identities in Postcommunist Russia and Ukraine: An Uncertain Ethnicity
Author(s): Gitelman, Zvi
Date: 2012
Topics: Jewish Identity, Demography, Surveys, Intermarriage, Emigration, Main Topic: Identity and Community
Abstract: Before the USSR collapsed, ethnic identities were imposed by the state. This book analyzes how and why Jews decided what being Jewish meant to them after the state dissolved and describes the historical evolution of Jewish identities. Surveys of more than 6,000 Jews in the early and late 1990s reveal that Russian and Ukrainian Jews have a deep sense of their Jewishness but are uncertain what it means. They see little connection between Judaism and being Jewish. Their attitudes toward Judaism, intermarriage and Jewish nationhood differ dramatically from those of Jews elsewhere. Many think Jews can believe in Christianity and do not condemn marrying non-Jews. This complicates their connections with other Jews, resettlement in Israel, the United States and Germany, and the rebuilding of public Jewish life in Russia and Ukraine. Post-Communist Jews, especially the young, are transforming religious-based practices into ethnic traditions and increasingly manifesting their Jewishness in public.
. «Быть или чувствовать?» Основные аспекты формирования еврейской самоидентификации у потомков смешанных браков в современной России
Translated Title: "To Be or to Feel?" The Main Aspects of the Forming of the Jewish Identity among Mixed Marriage Descendants in Contemporary Russia
Author(s): Носенко, Элана
Date: 2004
Topics: Surveys, Intermarriage, Main Topic: Identity and Community, Intermarriage: Children of Intermarried Couples
Abstract: Книга посвящена изучению формирования еврейской самоидентификации у потомков смешанных семей в современной России и построена на материале опросов, проводившихся автором в Москве и Петербурге. Автор выделяет несколько типов этнической самоидентификации у людей частично еврейского происхождения и анализирует различные факторы, в той или иной мере влияющие на ее становление.
Национальное самосознание российских евреев. Материалы социологического исследования 1997 - 1998 гг. (статья третья)
Translated Title: National Self-Consciousness of the Russian Jews: Materials of the sociological research 1997-1998 (Third Article)
Author(s): Гительман, Цви; Червяков, Владимир; Шапиро, Валерий
Date: 2001
Topics: Assimilation, Intermarriage, Jewish Identity, Surveys, Demography, National Identity, Ethnicity, Main Topic: Identity and Community
Abstract: Представляем читателям заключительную статью из серии
публикаций, основанных на материалах этносоциологического
исследования, впервые проведенного в 1992–1993 гг. в Москве,
Санкт-Петербурге и Екатеринбурге, повторенного в тех же
городах в 1997–1998 гг. и посвященного разнообразным аспектам
формирования национальной идентичности российских евреев.
Оба раза с помощью формализованного интервью были опрошены
по 1300 респондентов в возрасте 16 лет и старше по репрезентативной для каждого из трех городов выборке. В первых двух статьях серии (см. «Диаспоры», 2000, № 3; 2001, № 1) подробно описаны концепция, методология, инструментарий проекта,
а также рассмотрены его эмпирические результаты, касающиеся
структуры этнической идентичности, роли иудаизма и традиций
в жизни современного еврейства, влияния семьи и ближайшего
социального окружения на национальную самоидентификацию,
освоения культурного наследия, участия в еврейском организованном движении, политических настрений еврейского населения.
Национальное самосознание российских евреев. Материалы социологического исследования 1997–1998 гг. (статья вторая)
Translated Title: Ethnic Self Consciousness of the Russian Jews. Results of Sociological Survey Conducted in 1997–1998 (second article)
Author(s): Гительман, Цви; Червяков, Владимир; Шапиро, Валерий
Date: 2001
Topics: Assimilation, Intermarriage, Jewish Identity, Surveys, Demography, National Identity, Ethnicity, Main Topic: Identity and Community
Abstract: Представляем читателям вторую статью из серии публикаций, основанных на материалах этносоциологического исследования, впервые проведенного в 1992–1993 гг. в Москве, Санкт-Петербурге и Екатеринбурге, повторенного в тех же городах в 1997–1998 гг. и посвященного разнообразным аспектам формирования национальной идентичности российских евреев. Оба раза с помощью формализованного интервью были опрошены по 1300 респондентов в возрасте 16 лет и старше по репрезентативной для каждого из трех городов выборке. В первой статье серии (см. «Диаспоры», 2000, № 3) подробно описаны концепция, методология, инструментарий проекта, а также рассмотрены его эмпирические результаты, касающиеся, в частности, структуры идентичности, роли иудаизма и традиций в жизни современ
ного еврейс ва, влияния семьи и ближайшего социального окружения на национальную самоидентификацию.
Национальное самосознание российских евреев. Материалы социологического исследования 1997—1998 гг
Translated Title: Ethnic Consciousness of the Russian Jews. Results of Sociological Survey Conducted in 1997—1998
Author(s): Гительман, Цви; Червяков, Владимир; Шапиро, Валерий
Date: 2000
Topics: Assimilation, Intermarriage, Jewish Identity, Surveys, Demography, National Identity, Ethnicity, Main Topic: Identity and Community
Abstract: Предлагаемая статья начинает серию публикаций, в основу
которых легли материалы этносоциологического исследования,
проведенного в трех городах России в 1997–1998 гг. и посвященного разнообразным аспектам формирования национальной идентичности российских евреев. Редакция журнла выражает благодарность авторам проекта за предоставленную возможность стать первым российским научным изданием, знакомящим читателей с результатами этой работы.
Report From Lithuania
Author(s): Nikiforova, Basia
Date: 1999
Topics: Jewish Women, Assimilation, Intermarriage, Family and Household, Main Topic: Identity and Community
Abstract:

The author explains the situation of the Lithuanian Jewish community, situating it in its historical and geopolitical context. The tiny remaining community (5,500) constitutes 0.2% of the population of Lithuania, has a 41% rate of intermarriage, and 56% of their children are born into families of mixed-origin. Only 42% of them identify themselves as Jewish. To what extent Jews might disappear in Lithuania and how quickly that could occur depends on the current and future Jewish identity of children from mixed marriages, and the focus of the author's research is the role of Jewish women in the promotion of children's Jewish identity in the mixed family.
Contemporary Trends in Family Formation among the Jews in Russia
Author(s): Tolts, Mark
Date: 2006
Topics: Demography, Main Topic: Demography and Migration, Marriage, Intermarriage, Birth, Family and Household, Censuses
Abstract:

This article examines the severe age-sex imbalance and the increasing incidence of mixed marriage on the basis of the results of the 2002 Russian census. The changing marriage pattern and fertility among the Jews are discussed as reflected in the data of this census and a special processing of the birth certificates of 2002. Contemporary trends in family formation as well as the mass emigration led to changes in the “enlarged” Jewish population, and for their assessment new estimates of its size and structure are prepared.
Jews in Finland - A Study of Jewish Education and Identity
Translated Title: בית הספר היהודי בפינלנד – מחקר סוציולוגי
Author(s): Kahan, Semy
Date: 2007
Topics: Assimilation, Intermarriage, Jewish Schools, Jewish Education, Main Topic: Education
Abstract: The second half of the 20th century has been a period of increasing assimilation for the Jews at the same time as they have gained the acceptance of their environment in nearly all countries. One of the most striking expressions of this has been a rapidly rising tendency toward mixed marriages. This tendency has created a serious concern about the future of the Jewish people and a growing debate both regarding the following questions: Is it worth to reach out to the mixed-marriage families in order to try and prevent them from growing further apart from Judaism? Would it be preferable to concentrate on people who have not yet taken the step over the mixed marriage-line and try to prevent this phenomenon, or is it best to work simultaneously in both directions? Another debated question is how to effectively use the teaching of Judaism to the young generation as a prophylactic for assimilation. The growing assimilation has lead to greater investment in this area with an increasing amount of Jewish schools and other forms of Jewish instruction, and researchers have estimated the efficiency of Jewish education.

The Finnish Jews are also touched by the tendencies and problems mentioned above. As to mixed marriages, their frequency is among the highest in the world, but despite this, a very high percentage of the children in the Jewish community in Helsinki receive Jewish instruction within the framework of a primary and a secondary school of 9 classes and a preschool starting from 4 years of age. The community gives a very high priority to the school and invests important economical and human resources for this purpose. The school has about 100 pupils. Their profile has in the last years become significantly more heterogenic as several families have joined the community, especially from Israel, but also from Russia and a few other countries. This has lead to changes in the study program of the school and a more systematic evaluation of the program. The governors of the school have expressed their interest for conducting a study, which among other things would give a better understanding about the Jewish identity of the students, compared with the background of their homes’ Jewishness, as well as other questions connected to the Jewish objectives of the school.

This research intends to give an idea about The students and their parents regarding the following aspects: Jewish identity and way of life; Attitudes towards and expectations of the Jewish education in the school; Relations to the non-Jewish surroundings (friends, Jewish self-esteem, the attitudes of the surrounding world); Contacts with the non-Jewish parent’s family; Attitude towards Israel; Influence of the home in parallel with the school education; Motivation of parents in choosing the Jewish school for the children; Attitude of parents towards their children’s friends; Motivation of parents to participate in a study program of Jewish topics; Comparison of the data between Finnish-Jewish families and families which have immigrated into Finland. The population of the study will include pupils of the 5th, 6th, 8th and 9th classes and their parents, as well as the pupils of 12th class and their parents. .
An enduring bond? Jews in the Netherlands and their ties with Judaism
Author(s): de Vries, Marlene
Date: 2006
Topics: Surveys, Interviews, Jewish Identity, Jewish Continuity, Intermarriage, Main Topic: Identity and Community
Abstract: This article is based on two recent studies of Jews in the Netherlands: a randomised survey of 1,036 people and a qualitative study of 30 non-religious, postwar-born Jews. Those with two Jewish parents and a Jewish upbringing were the most likely to exhibit a strong bond with Judaism, especially if they had a Jewish partner. The varied ties that secular, postwar-born Jews felt to Judaism have been deeply influenced by individualism and fragmentation in life. Judaism has become less self-evident for them compared to their parents and grandparents, and has increasingly become a matter of choice, comparable with developments in other ethnic and religious groups. At the same time their bond includes elements that are less uncommitted. Their various ties have different potentials for continuity. Attachments most resembling traditional forms, expressed in observance of Jewish holidays and anchored to social units wider than the family, have the greatest likelihood of continuity. More individualistic forms of Jewish ties, often restricted to personal sentiments and family idiosyncrasies, are the least likely to survive. Rising anti-Semitism and endangerment of Israel may strengthen existing ties.