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January 17, 2003/Shevat 14 5763, Vol. 55, No. 21
Attracting newcomers
Outreach a challenge for community leaders
JESSICA BARBER
Staff Writer
Nearly a quarter of the Valley's Jewish population has moved to the Phoenix area in the past five years, presenting a challenge for synagogue and community leaders striving to increase affiliation.
Forty-two percent of the Valley's Jewish population, or 18,500 households, have relocated to the Greater Phoenix area during the past 10 years, according to the 2002 Greater Phoenix Jewish Community Study. About 10,000 of those households - 23 percent - have lived in the Phoenix metropolitan area for five years or less.
"It's very hard to have outreach," said Joni Cohen, program director at Beth El Congregation in central Phoenix. "Unless they call us, we don't have their names."
The difficulty of locating Jewish newcomers is mirrored by information presented in the survey. Only 14 percent of Jewish newcomers reported they were contacted by someone in the Jewish community when they first arrived, and only 18 percent received written information about Jewish organizations or events. Twenty-six percent of new residents were invited to a Jewish community event or synagogue service.
Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix's Shalom Newcomers serves as an initial contact for those seeking involvement in the community. However, recent budget cutbacks have taken their toll.
"There was a time when we used to have parties for newcomers and all that," said Dena Robins, Shalom Newcomers coordinator. However, most social events "went by the wayside" when cutbacks were made, she said.
Shalom Newcomers now relies mostly on e-mails, telephone calls and community events to help new or potential residents meet their needs, Robins said.
"Most of what we give is information and referral," she explained. "I have people calling me from out of town who are looking for information about which areas have the most Jewish people or ... looking for a day school or preschool. I also get people who are looking for something for their parents who need assisted living."
Synagogues throughout the Valley are also striving to attract the large influx of unaffiliated Jews through traditional and nontraditional means.
Temple Solel's traditional ice cream socials and bagel breakfasts, however, have not been as successful as hoped.
"(Newcomer programming) is important to do, but I don't think those kinds of efforts produce great results," said Patti Evans, Solel's executive director. "(This is) truly a dilemma for synagogues, the lay leaders, the professionals and the clergy. How do we speak to the people who've chosen not to affiliate?"
Temple Solel and leaders of other local Reform synagogues are considering a new program, said Evans.
"The presidents of the temples and possibly the executive directors are talking about getting together to look at ways that we can collectively start to speak to the unaffiliated members of the Jewish community," said Evans. "It's really just been an initial reaction to the (demographic) information."
The group may consider joint advertising or other ways to reach newcomers and unaffiliated residents, she said.
Other challenges may also arise when seeking new members, according to Rabbi Mendy Deitsch of Chabad of the East Valley.
"One of the biggest obstacles (is that some newcomers) have a stereotypical feeling of Jewish organizations or they don't know how to enter the synagogue for the first time," he said.
Therefore, the East Valley Chabad has attempted to draw newcomers who may or may not be interested in the religious aspect of the Jewish community.
"We try to have events in non-threatening environments," said Deitsch. "We do things at an ice skating rink, a park, a bookstore, Arizona Mills mall and classes at the University of Phoenix. We want to offer a taste of what the community has to offer ... so they can make an open-minded decision."
Deitsch also believes that holding events in public places may be a way to reach a greater number of people.
"If you do something in the mall," said Deitsch, "you reach people who are shopping there anyway."
Chabad of the West Valley has taken yet another approach. Chabad does not require membership in order to attract those who do not want to make a commitment to a synagogue.
"We are here to offer a lot of everything so if people feel comfortable, they can decide to be a part of it," said Chana Lew of the West Valley Chabad. "We're open to everybody."
Chabad of the West Valley offers a Shabbat dinner every six weeks to encourage newcomers to meet others that may share similar interests.
"We have people from lots of different places," said Lew. "We went around the table and everyone spoke about where they're from and said something about themselves. Everyone found someone they could feel comfortable with and it didn't feel so new. They found connections."
Despite efforts by local synagogues and Jewish organizations, only 20 percent of newcomers to the greater Phoenix area are synagogue members, making the group the least likely to be affiliated, according to the survey.
"Maybe they don't care," said Evans. "Maybe there are things that they want that we're not offering to them, or maybe we are offering it and we're just doing a bad job communicating it to them. The challenge is to determine what they want."
Contact the writer at jessica_barber@jewishaz.com.
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