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Chaim I. Waxman

Quality and quantity

What should be the priority for the future of the Jewish people? Fighting declining birth rates and increased intermarriage, or concentrating on improving the quality of Jewish life? Both approaches are correct

Some 40 years ago, a debate emerged among scholars of Jewry as to which was more important for the future of Jewry, quality or quantity. Some focused on declining birth rates along with increasing intermarriage rates, and argued that these were the greatest threat. Others focused on what they saw as the declining quality of Jewish life and argued that improving Jewish quality must be the priority.

 

These are among the issues that will be addressed at next week's Conference on the Future of the Jewish People in Jerusalem. With respect to the quality-quantity debate, the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute and its conference adopt the spirit of the legendary Rabbi of Anatevka, namely, that both are correct.

  

The quality of Jewish community life is clearly a source of the decreasing rates of communal affiliation. With more of Diaspora Jewry living in countries in which they are experiencing expanding opportunities in the wider society, along with new communications technologies which allow for a sense of belonging with actual belonging and involvement, as well as a perceived lack of openness and creativity within organized Jewish communal structures, fewer Jews are finding incentives or reasons to be personally part of a Jewish community. The issue of quality is crucial.

 

On the other hand, as the late American Jewish sage, Milton Himmelfarb was wont to emphasize, without quantity there can be no quality. Low birth rates and high intermarriage rates have contributed to a smaller Jewish population and that population being a smaller percentage of the overall population in every Diaspora country. Although the influence of Jews has hardly ever been a function of their numbers, decreasing numbers along with increasing influential and powerful foes is clearly a challenge of utmost significance.

  

Weakening sense of collectivity

  

As if these weren't enough, Jews now face the challenge of a weakening sense of collectivity. The technologies of global communications have, in some respects, made the world smaller. In a sense, the "global village" foreseen by Marshall McLuhan has materialized in our time.

  

But those technologies have not minimized the peoplehood distance of Jews; in fact, they may contribute to increasing it. The growing gap between Diaspora communities and Israel is widely perceived. Diaspora Jews feel lees emotionally attached to Israel, and increasing numbers of Diaspora communities are placing priority on themselves and feel less bound to Israel.

  

In addition, Diaspora Jewry (as well as an increasing segment of Israeli Jewry) is decomposing, in the sense that increasing numbers of Jews no longer experience a sense of Jewish collectivity beyond their immediate locality and no longer feel a sense of wider Jewish corporate responsibility. Not only do they not speak the same languages of Jews in other countries, many no longer share the same core values.

  

The aim of the Conference on the Future of the Jewish People is to articulate meaningful policy directions for the Jewish people, in Israel and in the Diaspora and, to that end, each of its working groups will be accompanied by a Senior Fellow of the Institute, as well as other staff expertise, who will assist the respective working groups in their deliberations. The conference will close with a synthesis of the recommendations of the four working groups, and will be presented by Ambassador Dennis Ross as a set of prioritized policy recommendations.

  

Prof. Chaim I. Waxman is a Senior Fellow at the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute and heads its project on Global Jewish Identity

 


פרסום ראשון: 07.05.07, 10:41
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