Towards the Development of a Planned Communal Response to Jewish Intermarriage

Publication Date: December 1974

Publisher: Jewish Communal Service Association of North America

Author(s): Jerry Hochbaum

Research Area: Social conditions

Keywords: Intermarriage; Jewish Organizations; Jewish Continuity

Type: Report

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

The author examines the results of a National Jewish Population Study sponsored by the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds, focusing on the sociological significance of intermarriage. Not only individuals and their families are affected by intermarriage, the author contends -- the entire Jewish community is affected. Jewish organizations must act in a concerted and determined fashion to reduce the incidence of intermarriage and the factors which contribute to it. The author suggests promoting cultural pluralism, while still strongly promoting Jewish distinctiveness within that context.