Jewish Teen Literally Vanishes During Latest Pew Research Study
Lucy and David: The missing link in the evolutionary story, and Lucy (left) the artist’s reconstruction of a young australopithecus. Image by Anya Ulinich
Sixteen-year-old Justin Cohen disappeared during a follow-up interview to the 2013 landmark Pew Research Center’s survey of American Jews.
Pew researcher Stephen Ipsell, who conducted the interview, said this is the first time a subject has dematerialized in the middle of a 45-minute session.
“I noticed some fading around the edges around 10 minutes in when I asked about synagogue attendance, and then his legs started to go when he mentioned that he had never gone to Jewish summer camp, and then when I asked if he felt Jewish religiously, culturally, other, or neither, he just kind of shrugged, said ‘Eh,’ and then — poof! Gone.”
Ipsell said that Cohen’s disappearance, while the most dramatic, was not the sole episode of material transformation during the study.
“Well, I had one fellow who turned into a Buddhist monk before my eyes, and another girl suddenly started speaking Chinese, and then in one really tragic case, a college student started talking about Ron Paul and just couldn’t stop. He was still babbling when I left.”
A message from our editor-in-chief Jodi Rudoren
We're building on 127 years of independent journalism to help you develop deeper connections to what it means to be Jewish today.
With so much at stake for the Jewish people right now — war, rising antisemitism, a high-stakes U.S. presidential election — American Jews depend on the Forward's perspective, integrity and courage.
— Jodi Rudoren, Editor-in-Chief
