The Jewish Outreach Institute

Carried out by a mail questionnaire, the survey was sent to the membership of the National Association of Jewish Communal Professionals, consisting primarily of Jewish social workers who staff Jewish community centers, day camps, family service agencies, senior residences, and child care programs. The sample included Jewish outreach professionals on the JOI mailing list. A total of 377 responded.

More than 93 percent felt that it was "somewhat" or "very" important that the Jewish community provide outreach programs to interfaith couples and their children. Approximately 80 percent indicated the belief that the amount of money allocated by national and local Jewish agencies to such outreach endeavors ought to be increased. When asked to estimate what proportion of their agencies current budget was spend on outreach to the intermarried, the average estimate was five percent.

Question: "How receptive had your community been to outreach programs?"
	All Respondents	J O I List	Jewish Communal Professionals List
Not At All Receptive	2%	1%	2%
Not Very Receptive	14	12	14
Moderately Receptive	63	53	66
Very Receptive	22	33	17
Total	100% * [N=325]	100% [N=88]	100% [N=237]
* Totals in table may not add to 100% due to rounding

That estimate is in sharp contrast with respondents' reports of the proportion of their clients and other personal associates who are intermarried. On the average, survey respondents reported that: (1)about half of their clients are either intermarried themselves or have close family (i.e. children, grandchildren, siblings, or parents) who are intermarried; (2)about one third of their family and friends were intermarried; (3) about 40 percent of their agencies' board members had close family experiences with intermarriage. When asked to estimate what proportion of their job responsibilities was devoted to outreach to the intermarried, the average estimate was less than ten percent.

In short, the study reveals a widely shared perception among Jewish communal professionals that the need for outreach to the intermarried is far greater than is the amount of financial resources or effort devoted serving that population.

The survey also found that the great majority of Jewish communal professionals have had little or no training for working with the intermarried population and would welcome continuing education programs and materials that would help them do so. Those sampled from the JOI list tended to have considerably more professional training in this area of service.

In releasing the findings of this latest survey, Mr David W. Belin, Chairman of the Jewish Outreach Institute, observed, "This study constitutes our sixth intiative since 1991 to take the collective pulse of diverse segments of the Jewish community on this important issue. What is so remarkable is the consistency of opinion from survey to survey about the overwhelming support for reaching out to interfaith families. Taken all together, the findings of these surveys are truly a portrait of consensus on what needs to be done to meet one of the greatest challenges facing modern American Jewry."

In 1995 and 1996 the Institute also conducted a nationwide survey of interfaith families to find out what receptivity there was among them to Jewish community programs and services designed for them. Those studies, conducted on behalf of JOI by the prestigious National Family Opinion Corp., found that the majority of young interfaith families-with small children-were interested in programs to help them become better intergrated into Jewish life.

David G. Sacks, president of the Jewish Outreach Institute and past president of the UJA/Federation of New York, remarked, "The findings of our latest survey are nothing short of a mandate to finally move the issue of outreach from much heated talk to englightened action. If the example of the New York Federation is any guide, the message is beginning to be heard. We hope that the findings of this latest survey will encourage creative new outreach initiatives throughout the entire organized Jewish community.

"This survey of Jewish outreach professionals mirrors results from JOI's 1991 and 1992 surveys of lay and professional leadership of synagogues and Jewish community agencies as well as among the readership of major Jewish community newspapers. All three previous surveys found overwhelming support for efforts by the Jewish community to reach out to interfaith families," said Dr. Egon Mayer, a sociologist who serves as the Director of Research for the Jewish Outreach Institute.