Most community professionals, lay leaders and experts believe the recently released Charles Shahar report, 2001 Census Analysis: The Jewish Community of Ottawa, Part 6 Issues of Jewish Identity, will forever change the way the organized Jewish community views itself and how it goes about its business.

The report will shock and alarm many.

Some of the highlights: Since 1991, the number of intermarried arrangements has doubled. Almost half (48.3 per cent) of couple households in which at least one spouse is Jewish are intermarried. In absolute terms, 2,070 of 4,285 couple households are intermarried. When both spouses are less than 30 years of age, the level of intermarriage is an astounding 82.1 per cent. Almost half of Jewish children under 15 live in intermarried households (43.6 per cent). About a third of the youngest children of intermarried couples are being brought up Jewish (32.1 per cent), approximately half have no religion (49.1 per cent) and the rest (18.8 per cent) are being raised within another religion.

The 2001 Census Analysis report applies “high identification” to those with a religious identification, “moderate identification” to those with an ethnic identification and “minimal identification” to those who claim another religion.

There is a lower proportion of Jews who are “highly identified” in Ottawa (74.5 per cent) than in Canada as a whole (80 per cent). Montreal and Toronto, perhaps because of their size, have the highest identified Jews. Ottawa is slightly behind Winnipeg (77 per cent) in the number of people who highly identify themselves as Jewish. (See chart.)

Fourteen per cent of Ottawa Jews consider themselves moderately identified and 11.5 per cent are minimally identified.

Ironically, compared to most other cities of similar size in North America, Ottawa still has a lower rate of intermarriage and a stronger sense of identification with the community.

The results of the census do not come as a complete surprise.

The Federation Education Outreach Committee Report of 2005 recommended a broad outreach strategy be developed to enhance participation in Jewish education. The report noted the steep drops in enrolment in Jewish supplementary schools and the slow decline in Jewish day school enrolment.

In another report, the Jewish Identity and Responsibility (JIR) Committee, under Chair Rona Shaffran-Tanenbaum, noted the high levels of intermarriage, the high rate of non-affiliation, the shrinking membership in various community institutions and the fact that, despite raising more funds, the Federation has fewer households making donations.

The JIR committee’s recommendation to hire the Jewish Outreach Institute (JOI), a national, non-denominational, independent organization, to help the community reach the unaffiliated and the intermarried has been accepted by the Federation Board of Governors.

The JOI does a scan of the community and helps set up best practices for community organizations to reach the intermarried and unaffiliated. On its website, JOI says the model and methodology it uses “will set off a chain reaction throughout North America to get Jewish professional and volunteer leaders to reevaluate many aspects of their organized community, leading to a community open and welcoming to all, and therefore a stronger Jewish community.”

JOI believes it is imperative that Judaism be taken to where the people are. Its model, “Public Space Judaism,” calls for Jewish programming in secular public venues such as malls or parks. Some examples would be Succah-building at Home Depot or Chanukah Mall madness.

The “Destination: Jewish Culture” events, such as street fairs, author readings and film festivals are held in secular venues. They introduce participants to Jewish topics and provide a positive low -pressure way of meeting the organized Jewish community.

The “Open Door” community takes place inside Jewish institutions and could include such examples as the Reform movement’s Taste of Judaism seminar or fairs or carnivals that are open to all.

Mitchell Bellman, president and CEO of the Federation, feels intermarriage is a “symptom” of the declining affiliation level among Jews. It is, he says, a trend that is happening throughout North American Jewry.

“The problem is not intermarriage, but Jewish identity, involvement, affiliation, and how to increase it.”

He sees the JOI helping the community become more open and welcoming towards the intermarried and unaffiliated, and learning to think creatively in finding venues and programming to engage them.

Professor Allan Moscovitch, school of social work, Carleton University and member of the 2001 Census Analysis, the Jewish Community of Ottawa professional advisory committee, chairs the Federation Allocation Committee. He is hoping the new emphasis on outreach and the decision to make more funds available will result in innovative programming being produced by institutions and organizations.

On Tuesday, November 22, Moscovitch will discuss the just released census data at an open community meeting beginning at 7:00 pm in the Social Hall at the Soloway JCC. He believes “it is an opportunity, a challenge” the community must take up and work together to improve the situation.

Without a doubt, outreach to unaffiliated and intermarried families will be the number one issue facing the Jewish community in the coming years. The survival and growth of our community depends on how we deal with this new reality.

And yet things are not necessarily as bad as they seem. There are numerous groups running or planning to run programs for unaffiliated and intermarried families. The arrival of JOI may be just what this community needs to encourage the process.

In the next few months, the Bulletin will cover the Jewish Outreach Institute extensively, talk with community members about the issue and introduce you to some of the organizations and people who are committed to reaching out to unaffiliated and intermarried families. As always, your ideas and suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

We can all begin the process of becoming a more welcoming, open community by attending the November 22 Federation meeting.