A Portrait of Jews in London and the South-East: a community study:
Summary

· This report on the findings of the largest ever survey of a British Jewish population aims to provide an accurate and current picture of relevant data on the Jewish population in the London metropolis. With 2,965 completed questionnaires from across a broad social spectrum, providing much previously unavailable information, planners and decision-makers within the Jewish voluntary sector will be able to use the findings to benefit the Jewish community as a whole.

The methodology adopted led to a skewing of the sample towards middle-aged, middle-class married males. The up-side of this bias is that these respondents--the `baalabatim', respectable people, men of substance and good standing in the community--are the principal constituency of the Jewish voluntary sector.

· Schooling and care for older and infirm people are the main issues affecting the future of the Jewish voluntary sector and both are closely related to where Jews live. Knowledge of changing residential patterns is important as decisions are made on where to locate new facilities and close existing ones. Of particular interest is information that permits us to interpret neighbourhood stability and forecast change. No dramatic changes are foreseen in the geographic distribution of London Jews over the next decade.

Six out of 10 respondents had lived at their current address for more than ten years, while less than 4 per cent had been there for under a year. Only 5 per cent expected to move within a year, while a further 20 per cent thought they might within five years. However, for the under-35 age-group, the respective figures were 17 and 48 per cent. Redbridge and South London were the areas where respondents perceived most neighbourhood problems; they were also the areas people were most likely to leave. Burglary was a common problem in Hampstead Garden Suburb and Highgate. The outer suburban neighbourhoods in North-east and North-west London had fewest problems; these were mostly environmental, and included litter, graffiti and vandalism.

· The Jews in London are situated high on the socio-economic scale.

Of those respondents currently in work, two-thirds were employers in large organizations, in managerial or professional positions or in higher technical and supervisory jobs.

· This survey confirmed results reported in an earlier JPR study on charitable giving among British Jews in which most people were found to have donated some money to charity, mostly in small amounts. Household income and religiosity were the main determining factors in the making of charitable donations.

Jewish charities in the United Kingdom were accorded highest priority by 41 per cent of the sample whereas 21 per cent targeted general UK charities. For the religious, the figure for Jewish charities rose to 65 per cent. For secular Jews, the proportion favouring general UK charities rose to 34 per cent.

· However, priorities do not reveal the whole story.

Eighty-five per cent gave to some Jewish charity, with Jewish Care receiving donations from 53 per cent, Norwood from 50 per cent and UJIA from 41 per cent. Eighty-seven per cent gave to some general charity, with 69 per cent choosing a cancer charity and 25 per cent the NSPCC.

· Of particular interest to the Jewish voluntary sector is the propensity to draw up a will and make bequests.

Seventy-eight per cent had made a will and 24 per cent of these included gifts or legacies to charities. The disposition to bequeath gifts and legacies to charity increased with age and income with 35 per cent of those with a personal annual income of over £200,000 having done so.

· Voluntary work is important and will become even more so. Identifying those who already volunteer and using them more effectively can meet this need. The situation can also be improved by involving those currently unable to overcome barriers to volunteering such as distance, lack of information or inadequate means of transport.

Fifty-seven per cent of the respondents did some voluntary work; with some overlap, 51 per cent worked for Jewish organizations and 33 per cent in the wider community. Eighty-three per cent of Jews with a religious outlook volunteered their services within the Jewish community compared with only 30 per cent of those who were secular. Twenty-six per cent of those who did some voluntary work considered that they were under-utilized. Forty-four per cent of those who did no voluntary work said that they did not have the time; 34 per cent were too busy with home and family, 14 per cent had never been asked or had never thought about it and 10 per cent were not interested. More than a third of those who felt under-utilized were willing to do more and 1 in 6 of those who did not volunteer were ready to do so.

· There is a wide variety of views among Jews as to the significance of Jewish education. Jews with a religious outlook feel that a good Jewish education contributes to their sense of Jewishness whereas secular Jews are less inclined to think so.

Fifty-four per cent agreed with a statement that non-Jewish schools were fine if Jewish studies were on the curriculum, 52 per cent agreed that a non-Jewish school was fine if it had a sufficient number of Jewish pupils and 50 per cent agreed that a Jewish school was fine if it had a secular cultural outlook.

· That is not to say that secular Jews reject the role of Jewish education.

Over 70 per cent of avowedly secular parents with children of school age thought that some formal Jewish education was important and 60 per cent agreed that the strength of Jewish identity was related to time spent in Jewish education. With regard to the desirability of Jewish secondary schooling, 96 per cent of Jewish parents regarded academic standards and quality of teaching to be important when considering a secondary school for their children. A school's ethos (92 per cent) and what they had heard from other parents (77 per cent) were also important.

· The Jewish population is ageing and older people have also become a larger proportion of the population so that a shrinking proportion of younger people will need to support them in the future.

Twenty per cent of the sample had an illness or disability that limited their activities, rising to 50 per cent among those over 75. Ten per cent of the respondents were providing care for a relative and 7 per cent of the sample households contained someone receiving care. Thirty per cent had a parent or parent-in-law in a care home.

Sixty-seven per cent stated a personal preference for being cared for in a Jewish residential or nursing home when the time came, and another 15 per cent would be satisfied with a non-Jewish home with a large Jewish population. Only 1 per cent stated a preference for a non-Jewish home.

· The Jewish population is health-conscious.

Forty-eight per cent of the respondents exercised regularly.

· Though there are no prohibitions or taboos, Jews are much less likely to smoke or drink alcohol than the average Briton.

Eighty-five per cent either never drank alcohol or only drank occasionally, and 95 per cent did not smoke. Respondents were more likely to drink regularly if they were secular (19 per cent of this group drank regularly), educated to a higher level (32 per cent of those with a doctorate were regular drinkers) or from South London (30 per cent).

· That a majority of the sample expressed a secular rather than a religious outlook is surprising and even anomalous. This finding is interesting because, compared with JPR's 1995 survey of social and political attitudes of British Jews, traditional Jews and mainstream Orthodox synagogue members were over-represented in this sample.

Fifty-eight per cent of the sample regarded their religious outlook as secular or somewhat secular as against 42 per cent who saw themselves as somewhat religious or religious.

· London's relatively affluent Jews have the time and disposable income to participate in a variety of leisure pursuits.

In sum, 83 per cent of respondents had gone to the cinema, 80 per cent had been to a theatre or concert and 72 per cent had visited a museum in the year prior to the survey. Furthermore, 36 per cent were active participants in a sport.

· Leisure activities are divided between those of a general nature and those with a Jewish orientation. There are high levels of Jewish cultural consumption. In the case of Jewish activities, participation rates generally increase as we move across the spectrum from a secular to a religious outlook and across the socio-economic spectrum from low to high.

Eighty per cent of respondents had watched a television programme on a Jewish topic; 53 per cent had read a book or listened to a radio programme with Jewish content.

· Even when abroad, London Jews are concerned with Jewish culture.

In the twelve months preceding the survey, 24 per cent had visited a Jewish museum abroad whereas 17 per cent had visited a Jewish museum in Britain.

· Computer access and computer use is very high.

Ninety-three per cent of people aged 35_54 had access to a computer at home; almost 90 per cent of them used the computer for e-mail and accessing the Internet.