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March 9, 2001/Adar 14, 5761, Vol. 53, No.23
Young Jews defy traditional outreach
JULIE WIENER
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
NEW YORK - Don't call them "Generation X."
"Young adults" won't do either.
And unless you want to sound the death knell for your program, don't even think of calling it a "Jewish singles" event.
That's some of the advice coming from the front lines of Jewish outreach to a largely unaffiliated demographic group - Jews who range in age from just out-of-college to late 30-something, and have not yet had children.
For years, the American Jewish community tended to focus almost exclusively on senior citizens and families with school-age children. But amid a flurry of new efforts to engage unaffiliated Jews and - to use the lingo of "Jewish renaissance" promoters - create "multiple entry points" to Judaism, 20- and 30-somethings are getting some attention.
That age group - approximately 23 percent of the American Jewish population, according to the North American Jewish Data Bank - will be the focus of a March 12-13 gathering in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the United Jewish Communities' Renaissance and Renewal Pillar and the Schusterman Family Foundation.
The event will bring together 40 leaders, most in their 20s and 30s, to brainstorm about outreach to young Jews.
A number of participants are from established institutions, like the religious movements and federations, but the majority come from new Jewish programs specifically for 20- and 30-somethings.
So how is this generation different from those that preceded it? The number of Jews in their late 20s and 30s who are single has grown during the past decades because many Jews are waiting longer to marry and have children.
David Morrison, president of Twentysomething, a marketing firm that specializes in that age group, describes them as mobile, eager for adventure, busy, "grasping for a sense of belonging" and plugged into technology.
"The idea of setting down roots in a Jewish community is not high on their priority list right now," said Morrison, who will be one of the speakers at the Washington gathering.
Morrison, himself Jewish and 20-something, said he is unsure how to translate his somewhat contradictory findings - a yearning to belong combined with an unwillingness to set down roots - into Jewish policy.
He suggested that the Jewish community offer more opportunities for young people to connect on the Internet, perhaps even offering religious services on the Internet.
He also advised synagogues to do a better job of welcoming newcomers at events and to consider shortening services, because young people are "racing to temple if they have time and from temple to somewhere else."
Leaders of new programs geared to 20- and 30-somethings said their constituents are interested in Jewish activities if they relate to personal interests such as hobbies, community service or professional development.
"Everyone wants to feel connected," said Alison Corton, national director of Gesher City, a national organization that serves as a clearinghouse for Jewish events of interest to young people and facilitates contacts between Jews with shared interests.
Corton said that the Gesher City's most popular programs have been Jewish text study sessions and distribution of free or discounted tickets to High Holiday services.
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