This month’s newsletter is early because we’re going on a trip to Morocco. Two topics have come up this month: whether leaders and organizations are talking – or not – about interfaith family inclusion, and whether Jews are responding positively – or not – to interfaith marriage. The third season of Nobody Wants This has
I hope your holidays have been meaningful in our very challenging world. It’s been quiet with respect to interfaith family inclusion; a few items reflect a wide range of attitudes towards interfaith marriage. Embark: Embracing Interfaith Couples The best piece this month was in the Philadelphia Jewish Exponent about a new Embark cohort there, led
The big news this month is reaction to the Conservative movement’s late-July teshuvah on responding to interfaith couples. But three items first… Project Prism The Jim Joseph Foundation released a report on Project Prism, a research study of more than 2,000 Jewish young adults, seeking insights about “how this demographic expresses their Judaism, the types
18Doors The biggest news this month: “18Doors Announces New Leadership; New Chapter Focused on Building Belonging for Multi-Heritage Families.” I am beyond pleased that 18Doors will continue, under the leadership of Adam Pollack as Executive Director and Fern Chertok as Board Chair, “refocusing on equipping clergy, professionals and lay leaders with the tools to build
I don’t need to tell you that there is an awful lot going on in the world that demands attention. In the Jewish world, most of the attention understandably continues to focus on Israel/Iran/Palestine/Gaza and on antisemitism. I can’t help but feel that in the Jewish world, almost no one wants to talk about engaging
CASJE/eJP Panel June 11 I’m pleased to be making remarks at a panel discussion on “Jewish–Interfaith Families and the Future of Jewish Life in the United States” hosted by CASJE and eJP, on Zoom on June 11, 12 to 1:30 pm ET. The panel follows publication of CASJE’s research digest on children of intermarriage and
A Personal Note In this newsletter I recap the month’s developments and news related to inclusion of interfaith families in Jewish life. A lot happened this month, starting with something personal – with a big interfaith family inclusion angle – my granddaughter’s bat mitzvah this month at Mishkan Chicago. I’m still glowing from the overwhelming
I was busy this month with three presentations on what’s necessary for interfaith families and partners from different faith backgrounds to feel belonging in Jewish settings: with Cohort 5 of the 18Doors Rukin Fellows on March 10, with students and faculty at a lunch & learn at the Hebrew College Rabbinical School on March 17,
Boston 2025 CJP Survey CJP released the 2025 Greater Boston Jewish Community Study on February 12. As readers of this newsletter know, I am most interested in what research reveals about interfaith families’ feelings of belonging in Jewish communities (see What Recent Studies Reveal About Interfaith Family Inclusion). That’s because for liberal Judaism to thrive,
How Times Have Changed On January 11 I spoke at Congregation B’nai B’rith in Santa Barbara CA for the second time – the first was in December 2005. I took the opportunity to reflect on what’s changed about interfaith family inclusion over the past twenty years – and what work remains to be done. You