Few Jewish programs have been as effective as the one that takes young people on trips to Israel. Those who care about Jewish life need to act to prevent cutbacks.
What s Wrong with a Program Promoting IN-marriage? | The Jewish Press - JewishPress com | Jonathan S Tobin | 5 Tevet 5781 – December 20, 2020 jewishpress.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from jewishpress.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Is there something wrong with a program that encourages in-marriage?
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Is there something wrong with a program that encourages in-marriage?
A new study shows that the Birthright Israel program is having a positive impact on participants’ decision to marry a Jewish partner. That has angered interfaith outreach advocates.
(December 18, 2020 / JNS) What’s the point of programs that were designed to encourage young people to embrace their Jewish identity? There was little doubt about what was on the minds of those supporting massive increases in funding for Jewish education (both day schools and synagogue schools), Jewish summer camps and trips to Israel following the publication of the National Jewish Population Study in 1990: intermarriage. Everyone studying the situation understood that, as that study concluded (and as future surveys would confirm), if a majority of Jews were marrying outside their faith, the result would have enormous consequences for the future
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Illustrative: An Israeli couple photographed for their wedding at a blossoming almond tree field in Latrun on February 25, 2019. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)
NEW YORK Those who travel to Israel with Birthright are more likely to stand under the wedding canopy alongside another Jewish person, according to a newly released study.
Known as the Jewish Futures Project, the study showed that 55 percent of those who participated on a free 10-day trip to Israel with Birthright had a Jewish spouse or partner, compared with 39% of non-participants. The research also showed that Birthright participants were more likely to raise Jewish children and stay connected to Judaism.