This article aims to examine the response of the Israeli diaspora to a constellation of crises that has unfolded in Israel in recent years, with a particular focus on the events of 2023. Following a brief introduction, it presents theoretical and methodological remarks that contextualize the subsequent analysis. It follows with some considerations on Israeli migration, addressing...
Quantitative studies of contemporary Jewry have primarily focused on Jewish identity, examining the categories that differentiate Jewish self-conceptions, and their implications for belief, behavior, and belonging. In contrast, qualitative studies have deepened this understanding by exploring the process of identity construction. However, significant gaps remain in our knowledge...
This article discusses three exhibitions that took place between 2016 and the present at Beit Hatfusot – The Museum of the Jewish Diaspora (renamed Anu – Museum of the Jewish People in 2021) in Tel Aviv, Israel, and that portrayed three internationally acclaimed (Jewish) rock stars: Amy Winehouse, Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen. What motivated the museum to curate these exhibitions...
The paper sets out how a small religion-based sub-population based in a UK city, Liverpool Jewry, underpinned its planning for the future in the light of its reducing size and the consequent strain on the community’s infrastructure and resources. This was achieved by carrying out a voluntary census to provide information on the community’s current size (about 1800 individuals...
First, this paper contends that, in 2013, the best estimate of the percentage of Jews who are Jews of Color (JoC) was about 6%, and in 2020, it was about 8%. We rely on two sources to support this conclusion: national Jewish population studies and local Jewish community studies. This paper also presents evidence that members of some groups (Hispanic Jews in particular) may not...
There is an appreciable divergence in views on racism among Jewish Americans based on their political affiliations, with Jewish Democrats being almost four times as likely as Jewish Republicans to perceive substantial discrimination against Black people. Through qualitative interviews with 30 Jewish adults across the political spectrum in the Philadelphia area, we analyze...
This study focuses on the tension between the national, public, and social restrictions that apply to the Shabbat (the Jewish Sabbath) in Israel and the way that Jews from a variety of religious streams understand Shabbat as leisure time that allows for a subjective choice of practices and self-realization. Jewish law provides clear rules and instructions for behavior on Shabbat...
In all, 90% of Polish Jews, more than 3 million people, were murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust, and 90% of the survivors left Poland. The survivors and their heirs, most of them not currently living in Poland, saw their land confiscated by the Nazis, nationalized by the communists and reprivatized and sold to others. Poland is the only country in the EU not to have a...
This study examines the effects of social media use on anxiety levels of Australian Jews during the 5-week post-October 7 aftermath. It considers this relationship in the context of the mediating roles played by concerns about rising antisemitism in Australia and concerns about Israel. It further examines the moderating effects on these relationships of non-Jewish friends...
In 1905, Yiddish poet and Glasgow union activist Avrom Radutsky described the Jewish population of Scotland as ‘a mere drop in the ocean’. Nevertheless, by 1920 this drop had swelled to 20,000 people, centred primarily (though by no means exclusively) around the Gorbals in Glasgow. The area was characterised by vibrant community life, but also cramped low-quality housing, poor...
This note takes as its point of departure the tensions and discrimination against individuals and groups that persist in the United States on the grounds of race and color. It is unfortunately likely that there is a long road ahead before racial and color-based prejudice, abuse, inequality, and indignity are no longer normative in the US. Growing incorporation of Jews in US...
In October 2017, Vienna’s Leopoldstadt community succeeded in reinstalling a Hebrew street sign in a public space of the second district. This achievement became possible in large part due to the efforts of an active online community that encouraged many people to share their wish to have visible signs of the former historic Jewish quarter in the present urban space. Through...
In the wake of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, religious organizations increasingly mediatized their activities. Studies examining this process mostly focused on communal offerings, while ignoring how rapid mediatization affected programs geared toward interfaith dialogue. This paper examines the effects and possibilities of this shift to virtual spaces by...
Psychological and sociological studies have reported that highly religious people have better mental health overall, which was also confirmed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Little investigation has been undertaken to understand the actual enablers of religious coping that contextualize these mental health results. Australian pulpit rabbis were invited to submit sermons delivered...