11 2005 Community Conversations for Conference

Community Conversations with Young Professional Russian-speaking Jewish AmericansResearch Results : 

Community Conversations with Young Professional Russian-speaking Jewish Americans Research Results Dimitri Liakhovitski, Ph.D. November 2005

RESEARCH BACKGROUND & PARTICIPANTS: 

RESEARCH BACKGROUND & PARTICIPANTS

Research Background: 

Research Background Target audience: RSJ professionals, intellectuals, and business people with a commitment to culture and education but who are NOT active in American Jewish life today; 25-45 years of age. Participants invited via Internet forums, clubs, one UJA mailing, one announcement Ten community conversations (nine in NY and one in NJ) conducted in April-May 2005 66 participants Conversation language: a mix of Russian and English One facilitator and one person typing the conversation

Interpretation Note: 

Interpretation Note On average, Community Conversation participants must be considered more open to the whole topic of Jewish life and participating in it than the entire target population:

Community Conversation Participants: 

Community Conversation Participants 41 females, 25 males Average age: 30.8; median age: 31. ~90% have a Jewish mother; ~90% have a Jewish father ~50% single, ~40% married/living together, ~10% divorced/separated 86% emigrated in 1987 or later; 88% arrived in the US in 1988 or later; >55% arrived in the US between 1989 and 1993 Participants came from Russia (37.5%), Ukraine (37.5%), Belarus (11%), other SU republics (9%) 86% of married/dating participants have a spouse/partner from the FSU (83% of whom were likely to be Jewish as well) Of 62 participants who studied in the US, only two did not (yet?) attain BA; almost 50% hold MA or a higher degree, 13% hold doctoral degrees

CONTENT ANALYSIS FINDINGS: 

CONTENT ANALYSIS FINDINGS

What “being Jewish” means to us (1): 

What “being Jewish” means to us (1) We are Jewish by blood, not religion. We are Jewish from a cultural and not necessarily religious perspective. We are Jewish because we feel part of the Jewish history and tradition. I wouldn’t say that I always feel like a Jew, but it’s part of my history, my family. At least I know about major holidays and want to celebrate them in some way. We are Jewish because the outside world keeps reminding us of that. We are Jewish because we care a lot about Israel & Jews in other countries.

What “being Jewish” means to us (2): 

What “being Jewish” means to us (2) We are Jewish because we feel connected to the past of our People and our families. Partially my Jewishness comes from the fact that my grandparents grew up in Latvia. Half of the family were killed during the World War II. For some of us, Jewish religion is an important part of being Jewish. Being Jewish implies engaging in a fight against anti-Semitism.

We (would like to) self-express as Jews by:: 

We (would like to) self-express as Jews by: ...participating in non-religious Jewish cultural/educational events. To maintain my Jewish identity I would continue to learn things having to do not with religion, probably, but with culture and history. ...trying to keep some Jewish traditions. Most of us here were married under the Chuppah. If you have a son, you would probably circumcise him, etc. ...supporting Jewish causes. ...visiting Israel or even staying there. ...learning/speaking Hebrew. ...marrying Jewish, because it is important to us and our families. ... keeping the best of the two worlds – the Jewish and the Russian one. ...learning Yiddish. ...“choosing Jewish”

Some of us do not self-express as Jews and/or do not feel a need to: 

Some of us do not self-express as Jews and/or do not feel a need to To me it does not matter if someone tells me I am not Jewish; I just know I am. I don’t feel like a Jew... I do not consider it necessary to belong to anything. Here in the US, there is an opportunity to not belong to any group of people – be it a religious one, or a political one.

What would encourage us to participate in American Jewish life (1): 

What would encourage us to participate in American Jewish life (1) Non-religious cultural events with a Jewish component. If we could see that there is a possibility of entering the Jewish culture without the obligation to practice religion, we would be more interested. I would be interested in theater trips and coffee shop discussions. Social events with a Jewish component. Some sort of interesting social groups for educated and professional Jews would be attractive. Tours to Israel/ mixed Russian-American trip. You can put people together, for example, based on traveling together. I would also be interested some sort of hiking tours, as well. A shared noble cause that provides a sense of purpose. Educational events with a Jewish component. Something like a club, Jewish club, but entirely secular, preferably related to an educational facility (college)

What would encourage us to participate in American Jewish life (2): 

What would encourage us to participate in American Jewish life (2) Events/activities associated with colleges and college clubs. More advertisement to the Russian Jewish community, especially via the Internet. Getting us involved by appealing to our professional skills/interests. I would be interested in meetings that were oriented professionally. A professional social networking club would appeal to me. Events for our children: reaching us through our kids. The most winning way of reaching out is through children. For children, we’ll go to any lengths. Having informal leaders in the Russian community reach out to other Russians. Helping us feel like we belong somewhere.

What would encourage us to participate in American Jewish life (3): 

What would encourage us to participate in American Jewish life (3) Leveraging what American and Russian Jews have in common. Events related to politics, to Israel. Events that are hip and relevant, not cheap and boring. New York city and what it has to offer. Opportunities to give back to the American Jewish community. Events that specifically target Russian Jews.

Implications for Secular American Jewish Community: 

Implications for Secular American Jewish Community Is your vision clear? Be clear and united about your goals vis-à-vis RSJs Do you have basic trust of RSJs? Earn it. Possibly, you’ll need to start earning basic trust from scratch Religion is the wrong way to reach RSJs Address RSJs with one voice; be direct, clear, and honest about your intentions Reach out and start the dialogue Is the outreach present and noticed by RSJs? Address issues that are under your control Marketing techniques to define target sub-populations and send clear messages to them Educational and social events with no emphasis on religion Outreach to families: Children and education are of primary concern for RSJs Outreach to students in colleges Intellectuality and exclusivity Support for Israel Don’t expect an immediate (monetary) gratification Stay the course

Appendix: Barriers: 

Appendix: Barriers

Things that prevent us from taking part in American Jewish life (1): 

Things that prevent us from taking part in American Jewish life (1) American and Russian cultures, languages, and mentalities are very different. Participation in American Jewish life is expensive. Participating in Jewish life does not come naturally to us and requires time and energy. Over-activism and religious propaganda push us away. We don’t have enough information about (non-religious) Jewish events. Opportunities for interaction between American & Russian Jews are limited. We don’t feel welcome when we try to attend American Jewish events. Many Russian Jews are not that interested in Jewish topics/ tradition. It seems, secular American Jews in large cities are themselves not part of any community. Many Russians prefer to stick to the Russian community. It is hard to approach the Russian community as “one piece”: it is not homogeneous.

Things that prevent us from taking part in American Jewish life (2): 

Things that prevent us from taking part in American Jewish life (2) Sometimes, Russian and American secular Jews hold different political views (esp. on Israel). Russians hate to be “organized” because of their strong anti-establishment sentiments. Jewish events we know about are not exciting. Attending Jewish services/gatherings makes us feel phony. On and off events are not likely to result in success.