In late October, I flew to Philadelphia because my employer, InterfaithFamily, had decided to host an Interfaith Opportunity Summit there. Honestly, I didn’t really know what to expect from the summit. I’d never been to a summit before. And attending this one wasn’t just a professional duty; for me — the daughter of an intermarried…
Every so often there’s a brief event, a flash of light in a darkened public square, that helps illuminate the mysterious insider-yet-outsider status of the Jew in American society — and the even greater mystery of how the half-Jew fits into Jewish life. The triggering event can be something as large as volunteering to serve…
Twenty-five years after studies noted unprecedentedly high rates of interfaith marriage for American Jews, noted scholar Steven M. Cohen wrote an article asking how Jews were doing in protecting Jewish continuity in light of intermarriage. His answer, in short, was “Not well.” Dr. Cohen argues interfaith marriage is bad for Jews because it results in…
NEW YORK — Nearly one quarter of intermarried couples were wed exclusively by a Jewish clergy member, a new study has found. The study on rabbinic officiation in intermarriages published this week by Brandeis University found that a majority of intermarriages including a Jewish spouse were conducted by a nonreligious officiant. Twenty-four percent were conducted by a…
It is gratifying to see Steven M. Cohen, a prominent critic of intermarriage, say that “Efforts to welcome, engage and educate the already-intermarried are admirable and necessary.” (Which of our Grandchildren Will Be Jewish in This Age of Intermarriage, October 24) The twenty-five years of programming Steven describes, which he says still leave disheartening demographic…
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the announcement of stunningly high rates of intermarriage among American Jews. In 1991, analyzing the National Jewish Population Survey, distinguished researchers Barry Kosmin and Sidney Goldstein reported a rate of 52%. Although I estimated the intermarriage rate at around 40%, there was no questioning indisputably high rates. The…
You’ve heard of Jewish Buddhists — “Jewbus” — and secular Jews. You likely know Jews who favor yoga over synagogue — there are even Jews for Jesus. But Jewish Muslims? With a grim deadlock between the Israelis and Palestinians, which often takes on a religious dimension — and a rise in both Islamophobia and anti-Semitism…
I have a terrible recurring dream. I’m hiding in the attic with Anne Frank and she’s calling me “Kitty.” I tell her that I have to go, I don’t know where my daughter is, and she turns to me and tells me that we can’t go anywhere. We are in hiding and we must stay…
