A Community of Communities: Report of the Commission on Representation of the Interests of the British Jewish Community

A detailed investigation of a community in transition.

The Hate Debate

How can we understand the emergence and extension of hate crime laws in the United States and in Britain?

Creating community and accumulating social capital: Jews associating with other Jews in Manchester

Today, communities serve a variety of functions, offering safety from the apparently negative effects of unwanted change or counteracting some of the problems that stem from a society that promotes individualism.

Long-term planning for British Jewry: final report and recommendations

This report discusses findings from JPR's Long-term Planning for British Jewry project (LTP).It is designed with two particular purposes in mind: first, to help individual Jewish voluntary sector (JVS) organizations that are considering the strategic planning of their future operations and, second, to improve the understanding of leaders, donors, professionals and individual members of the community with regard to where the JVS is positioned and the challenges that lie ahead.

The future of Jewish schooling in the United Kingdom

Jewish schools are flourishing. They have never been as popular with parents or the British educational establishment. This report explores the reasons for this unexpected success, and highlights the future challenges facing this sector. It also records and analyses key performance indicators using some newly available data, and provides a detailed and nuanced assessment of Jewish day school education in the United Kingdom.

Facing the future: the provision of long-term care facilities for older Jewish people in the United Kingdom

In the rapidly changing demographic, economic, social and political climate of the United Kingdom, agencies, organizations and communities urgently need to assess how they provide services for older people. This report provides, for the first time and in one place, much of the key information, data and analysis that is needed for the UK Jewish community to plan strategically how it cares for its older people, particularly in regard to institutional care.

Jews in Britain: A Snapshot from the 2001 Census

The challenges for the community to grasp

 

 To highlight a few interesting findings presented in the report:

• 36% of Jews live alone in England and Wales, therefore households containing married couples with children are no longer the norm.
•  About three quarters of Jews are in-married.
•  Men are slightly more likely than women to have a non-Jewish spouse or partner.
•  In Tower Hamlets, 68.3% of Jews do not own a car.
• Jews are more likely to be self-employed than non-Jews.
• 17.5% of all British Jews live in Barnet.
• 47% of Jews in Hackney are economically inactive.
• Over a quarter of babies are now born into the strictly Orthodox community.

 read the press release

Sacralization by stealth

What are the political implications of differences in growth rates between secular and religious populations in western Europe? Dr Kaufmann’s paper claims that demographic factors can lead to a reversal of the secularisation process and to growing religiosity in society even if religious apostates outnumber converts.

The secular population of western Europe might grow through defection from the religious population and from the minority of immigrants who are secular. But the main engines of religious population growth in western Europe are more powerful: religious immigrants and higher fertility. Native-born west Europeans who declare themselves ‘religious’ form about half the adult population in six north-western European countries studied by the author.

Read more

Hate Crimes against London’s Jews

In April 2004 the U.K. House of Commons debated the apparent rise of antisemitic incidents and the prevailing antisemitic climate in Britain. Responding on behalf of the Government Home Office Minister Fiona Mactaggart M.P. reported that 'together with the Institute for Jewish Policy Research, the Metropolitan Police is conducting research into such incidents to get a more accurate feel for their nature and to develop a more effective response to them'. We publish online here the findings of that joint research project with a view to understanding more clearly the dynamics of antisemitic incidents recorded by the police in London.

Is Europe good for the Jews? Jews and the pluralist tradition in historical perspective

Jews and Other Europeans - Old and New

The great European project of nation-building was meant to end in a Europe of unified nation-states, each with its own language, history, traditions and a people undivided in its loyalty. The local or ‘merely ethnic’ communities would be effaced, subsumed into the homogeneous nation. Assimilation was the means whereby outsiders would become insiders, strangers would become citizens.

The Second World War, and the Holocaust, brought this project to its tragic and murderous end, laying bare the contradiction at its heart. Outsiders could not be assimilated since their loyalty was, by definition, always voluntary and therefore always seen as untrustworthy. As the historical epitome of the European outsider, Jews accordingly remained suspect despite all their ingenious efforts to assimilate. They experienced first-hand the ambivalence of the assimilatory drive, which was, from their point of view, to become like everyone else, and, from their hosts’ point of view, to deepen belonging by emphasizing difference.

To read about the lecture Professor Bauman gave in December 2007, click here.

New Directions-New Achievements

JPR has published a new vision statement outlining its current research programmes and future plans.

Is anti-Zionism a cover-up for anti-Semitism?

Read articles arguing for and against written by Ben Cohen, Associate Director, Department of Anti-Semitism and Extremism, American Jewish Committee and Antony Lerman, JPR Director. The articles were first published in CQ Global Researcher in June 2008.

Is There a Global Jewish Politics?

Jewish associations are essentially voluntary and have been since the Enlightenment in the eighteenth century. Their decision-making is neither top-down nor a result of a participatory bottom-up process. On the political level each brings its own constituency and mission to the table. So, when it comes to global Jewish politics there is an alphabet soup of organizations and individuals participating in the decision-making process.

Their kaleidoscopic interrelations can resemble independent action, coordination, competition, or conflict, and have prevented a unified Jewish response to most political questions. Instead, we find a dynamic system of responses based on ever-changing relationships among multiple power centres.

How this fragile and fluid coalition politics evolved can be seen by reflecting on three human rights challenges where Jews have been particularly active. Building international human rights institutions: Organizations cooperated informally and each national organization contributed significantly to the process, but at times they opposed each other. Defending vulnerable Jewish communities: Internal cooperation and conflict were especially evident in the campaigns for Soviet Jewry and Ethiopian Jewry. Many organizations were active and some pursued distinctly different agendas. Their success could not be credited to the network’s internal cohesion. Working for the relief of victims of Israeli human rights violations: Israel’s 20-year old human rights network is characterized by informality, collaboration and conflict—and no permanent alliances. Differences have led to failures, but also have contributed to successes.

Being aware of the fluid pattern by which global Jewish politics typically operates prompts the question: How will global Jewish politics be managed in the future? This can be divided into three parts: Who sets the global agenda? Does the decision-making process still work? What issues need collective action?

The busy, buzzing hive of associations should be seen as a sign of the robust health of global Jewish civil society. Those of us who hope to influence Jewish public policy need first of all to understand how the Jewish people works.

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

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.

Secular or religious? The outlook of London's Jews

This study focuses on a new theoretical concept: outlook. It is based on a single question in JPR’s 2002 survey of the Jewish community of London and the South-east,1 in which nearly 3,000 respondents were asked to choose between four options: Religious, Somewhat Religious, Somewhat Secular and Secular. It presupposes that there are differences along a continuum between people who consider themselves to be religious Jews and those who see themselves as secular Jews who are all, nonetheless, united in their claim to be members of a Jewish collective. The working hypothesis here is that outlook will affect an individual’s propensity to believe in particular ideas, belong to particular institutions and behave in particular ways.

Social and political attitudes of British Jews: Some key findings of the JPR survey

Assumptions about the attitudes and opinrons of British Jews influence policy formation on key issues affecting Jewish life. Yet until now, on most issues-from internal communal problems, to social and political matters-there has been no reliable information on Jewish attitudes. Policy planning has suffered as a result. To fill this crucial information gap, the lnstitute for Jewish Policy Research (formerly the lnstitute of Jewish Affairs) commissioned a survey of social and political attitudes of British Jews, the first of its kind. The aim was to produce a profile of the community defined in the broadest possible terms. Uniquely, the survey focuses on the interface between Jewish identity and the social and political attitudes of Jews.

The Jews of Leeds in 2001: Portrait of a community

In 1997 the Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR) embarked on a major and innovative research project concerning the Jewish voluntary sector (JVS). This project, Long-term Planning for British Jewry (LTP), is now drawing to a close and the present report, on the Leeds Jewish population, is the last publication in a series that has dealt with a wide variety of issues of concern to the Jewish community. These have included studies on how the JVS is financed and governed, on the problems facing an increasingly ageing community, on issues concerning Jewish schooling, and on voluntary associations within the community.

Patterns of charitable giving among British Jews

This report documents for the first time the giving patterns of British Jews and their support for a wide range of both Jewish and other charities.

The report establishes a strong relationship between religious outlook and giving patterns. It is therefore likely that, in the long run, any further secularization of the Jewish community will have a negative effect on donations to both Jewish and other charties.

The social attitudes of unmarried young Jews in contemporary Britain

"The period between the completion of education and the settling down into married life was regarded by earlier generations as the 'single years'.

Today most British Jews are privileged members of the middle classes and attend institutions of higher education until about the age of 22. They are less likely than earlier generations to marry, and if they do it is generally at a later age, often in their thirties. Alternative lifestyles, including cohabitation and same-sex relationships, are also much more common nowadays. For most contemporary British Jews the 'single years' are the late twenties or early thirties; by the age of 40 the majority are married. These new patterns require new responses."

The financial resources of the UK Jewish voluntary sector

The financial resources of tbe uK Jewish voluntary sector is the first publication to report the findings of JPR's research programme, Long-term Planning for British Jewry. This four-year policy research project developed as a direct result of discussions helt at a JPR seminar on the future of the Jewish voluntary sector-in which many key individuals and organizations from across the community participated-and it aims to influence the development of policies and priorities for Jewish charities and other voluntary organizations in the twenty-first century.

European Jewish identity at the dawn of the 21st century: A working paper

Contemporary European Jewish identity has been uniquely influenced by three key developments:

1. The rise and fall of Communism
2. The Holocaust
3. The increasing secularisation of European society at large

Various studies of Jewish communities have been carried out in recent years in different European countries. Each study notes the impact of at least one of these influences on contemporary European Jewish identity. In this report I present an analysis of the findings of these studies.

The Jewish voluntary sector in the United Kingdom: its role and its future

This paper examines the issues currently facing the UK voluntary sector, suggests special challenges which face the Jewish voluntary sector, and considers the need for a systematic enquiry about the Jewish voluntary sector and its future.

Ethnic and Religious questions in the 2001 UK Census of the Population: policy recommendations

Prior to the inclusion of a religion question in the 2001 Census JPR presented this report in favour of its inclusion.

“The case for a religion question is essentially practical. Religion is an important organizing principle in British society and an important element in the lives of many citizens. Religious groups and communities need census-type data on their members and potential constituency in order to operate and plan more efficiently for the myriad of educational, welfare, social and recreational activities and organizations that are presently run under religious auspices.”

The attachment of British Jews to Israel

For all who want to influence the future relationship between British Jews and Israel, an understanding of where that relationship now stands and where trends suggest it might be going is essential.

Overall it was found that 43 per cent of the sample felt a strong attachment to Israel. Yet, if current trends prevail, attachment to Zionism and to the Jewish state could become the concern of only a minority with a mostly Traditional or Orthodox religious outlook.

Jewish television: prospects and possibilities

ln this paper a case is made for the serious consideration of creating a Jewish presence on British television. lt argues that the conjunction of a number of factors, both cultural and technological, provide a unique opportunity for British Jewry to grasp the nettle of the electronic age. This is a case for a secular presence on British television, a presence which should reflect, express and enhance Jewish culture as an active and creative force within British society.

The Jewish day school marketplace: The attitudes of Jewish parents in Greater London and the South-east towards formal education

This report provides an in-depth examination of the attitudes and characteristics of Jewish parents living in Greater London and the South-east who are the current and potential users of formal educational services. It provides a sample of parents, assesses who they are and examines how they would like to educate their children. It provides hard empirical data that will help community planners to design educational services that are in keeping with the needs and wants of the Jewish population of Greater London and the South-east.

Governance in the Jewish voluntary sector

In contemporary westem societies that are gappling with notions of democracy, representation, accountability, power relations, transparency and responsibility, the issue of how organizations are governed has become crucial. In the governmenal or public sector, as new transnational stuctures such as the European Union evolve, questions are now being asked about other kinds of restructuring, such as devolution or the reformulation of the role of local govemment. In the corporate world, too, there is a renewed interest in the obligations of boards to shareholders, the work force and the local community, as well as in the make-up, roles and responsibilities of those boards.

Cultural politics and European Jewry

Besides being a confusing designation, culture is a contentious issue. Nevertheless, people depend on the relatively safe and stable entity called culture, which both aids and encumbers them as they negotiate their way in society.

Responding to diversity? An initial investigation into multicultural education in Jewish schools in the UK

In many ways Jewish day school education is enjoying a golden age. Since the 1950s, the number of children at Jewish day schools in the United Kingdom has increased by 500 per cent, with more than half of all Jewish children of primary age (5-11) now attending such schools. In 1999, some 22,640 children went to a UK Jewish nursery, primary or secondary school. In examination results, the picture is similarly positive. Pupils in Jewish secondary schools tend to achieve GCSE and A-level examination results that are considerably higher than the national average. Government inspectors also consistently praise the standards of teaching and the attitudes of staff and pupils in state-sector Jewish day schools. For communal leaders and the sponsors and supporters of Jewish day schools, this is a tremendous success story.

Does Islamic fundamentalism pose a threat to the West?

The rise of terrorist groups which claim legitimacy in the name of lslam, the lranian revolution of 1979 and the spread of lslamist organizations appear to confirm lslamic fundamentalism as a wave of the future. This Report examines the issue of religious fundamentalism in general and charts the growth of lslamic fundamentalism, particularly in the last twenty years, considering whether it presents a strategic threat to the West.

Jews and Jewry in contemporary Hungary: results of a sociological survey

This report on contemporary Hungarian Jewry, which comes on the sixtieth anniversary of the Holocaust in Hungary, represents both a continuation of and a new phase in the work of the Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR) on diaspora Jewish communities. Although JPR’s most recent work in its Planning for Jewish Communities programme has concentrated on the United Kingdom, particularly the Long-term Planning for the British Jewish Community (LTP) project, it has taken, and continues to take, a keen interest in Jewish communities abroad, especially those outside North America. Over the past decade, JPR has published the results of a survey of Jews in the ‘new’ South Africa, essays on new Jewish identities and the politics of cultural revival among Jews in Europe, a pilot study on European Jewish cultural production and consumption, as well as short works on the development of Jewish museums in Europe.

Jews of the 'new South Africa': Highlights of the 1998 national survey of South African Jews

This pioneering study presents the results of a sample survey based on 1,000 face-face interviews. It explores key social, demographic and religious / identificational aspects of South African Jewry and includes a number of international comparisons. The report also covers several attitudinal and political issues at a time of great social transformation in wider South African society.

A new Jewish identity for post-1989 Europe

Since 1989 a new Europe has emerged. The fall of the Berlin Wall has not merely resulted in the redrawing of geographical boundaries, but in a new intellectual freedom and democratic pluralism. This sea change presents many challenges, but none greater than to Europe's Jews, whose communities were decimated by the Holocaust. Conditions are now in place for a possible Jewish renaissance.

Mapping Jewish culture in Europe today: a pilot project

Some time ago, the Institute for Jewish Policy Research published a report entitled Cultural Politics and European Jewry (Waterman 1999). That report formed the basis of discussion at a seminar in Paris in February 1999, entitled 'Jewish Culture for the Twenty-first Century', convened jointly by JPR and the Alliance Israelite Universelle. That meeting provided a stimulus for the creation of both the European Association for Jewish Culture in 2001 and the project presented here on 'mapping' the extent of the Jewish cultural renaissance in Europe.

The Economic Downturn and the Future of Jewish Communities

‘The great recession’ has followed almost twenty years of unprecedented economic advancement, from which Jews greatly benefited. Investors brought a venture capital mindset into the Jewish nonprofit sector, promoting innova- tion, experimentation and also a certain amount of overconfidence and hubris.

The collapse of the stock market and various financial frauds and scandals have destroyed a good deal of this new Jewish wealth and damaged Jewish philanthropy generally. Now an era of belt-tightening is threatening Jewish educational, cultural and religious initiatives. As a community we will have to make difficult decisions about ‘who will live and who will die’ in Jewish communal life.

What we know is that organizations that were weak or undercapitalized before the recession are the least likely to survive.

There are five important trends to watch: 1. We are witnessing Jewish organizations that either have or are close to being merged into non-Jewish organizations; 2. Efforts to re-engage small donors; 3. Calls for higher stan- dards of ethics and for greater transparency in Jewish philanthropy; 4. New focus on sweat equity; 5. As jobs disappear in the diaspora, we can expect to see both demographic decline and greater aliyah to Israel.

Israel is overtaking the United States as the largest Jewish community in the world in one of the great demo- graphic transformations in contemporary Jewish life. This development demands adjustments in communal thinking and in the flow of money and power. Meanwhile, unlike most of the world’s great religions, Judaism is contracting and reducing its exposure to the larger world.

Will the years ahead be marked by assimilation or revitalization? Will the Jewish community be able to iden- tify a mission compelling enough for young Jews to become passionate about, to replace the great causes of the past? Once the economic downturn is behind us, the goal of formulating a new and compelling mission for our Jew- ish community needs to be high on our agenda.

New Conceptions of Community

During the past 15 months, JPR has been engaged in a conversation involving a small number of the most insightful practitioners and thinkers in the British Jewish community today. The participants in this conversation were drawn from as many sections of the Jewish community as possible and were chosen because of their direct involvement in creating a particularly interesting version of Jewish community, their capacity to think reflectively and their willingness to engage constructively and respectfully in dialogue with others.
 
What has emerged from this initiative, which has been sponsored by the American Joint Distribution Committee and the Clore Duffield Foundation, is a series of thoughts or ideas that can be used to facilitate discussion and debate about our collective future. The views expressed raise some central and often quite challenging questions and ideas which we wish to bring to a wider audience in the interests of promoting a dialogue about how to sustain, renew and invigorate the Jewish community.

The Community Research Initiative: data about the community, for the community

There is a clear thirst in the community for more up-to-date information. To help community leaders make decisions that will affect us all, they need reliable data upon which to base their projections and plans. It is time to produce high quality, up-to-date and accessible data about the issues that matter, with one overarching goal in mind: to build the most responsive, supportive and inspiring Jewish community we can.

Grant-making trusts in the Jewish sector

After a 1997 seminar where representatives of leading communal agencies considered Margaret Harris's paper on the future of the Jewish voluntary sector (Harris 1997), the Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR) established a four-year programme, Long-term Planning for British Jewry. The project is designed to provide-through analyses of financial resources, governance, human resources, service and delivery systems and 'market' needs-the first strategic assessment of the UK Jewish voluntary sector. The first of the project's reports, The financial resources of tbe UK Jewish voluntary sector by Peter Halfpenny and Margaret Reid, is being published simultaneously with this one; the need for research into grant-making trusts (GMG) emerged out of the initial findings of that study.

A guide to Jewish television: prospects and possibilities: findings of the working party

The JPR Working Party on Television was predicated on the belief that there is a case for seriously considering television as a catalyst for reinvigorating contemporary Jewish culture.

It was established to examine the possibilities for Jewish programming and content following two seminars (May 1997 and February 1998) and the publication by JPR of Roger Silverstone's policy paper Jewish television: prospects and
possibilities (March 1998).

It met five times during 1998-9 to explore this new field. This paper which details the findings and conclusions of the Working Party, will hopefully act as a guide in this field and move forward the intellectual exercise involved in creating a Jewish presence on television.

The political leanings of Britain's Jews

With a week to go before the General Election on May 6, JPR has just released new data which throws light on the political leanings of Britain’s Jews.  The findings are based on an online questionnaire carried out during January and February 2010, from which JPR randomly selected and analysed 1,000 responses.

Synagogue membership in the United Kingdom in 2010

A report published jointly for the first time by the Board of Deputies of British Jews and JPR, and co-authored by Dr David Graham, JPR’s Director of Social and Demographic Research, and Daniel Vulkan, Research and Information Officer at the Board, reveals a dynamic picture of communal change in the UK community, and charts significant changes in its religious make-up.

The report is of particular interest to community leaders and planners because it provides the only consistent indicator of patterns of Jewish affiliation and Jewish belonging over time.

The Key Challenges Facing the Jewish People

Transcript of the Morris and Manja Leigh Memorial Lecture by the Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks

Committed, concerned and conciliatory: The attitudes of Jews in Britain towards Israel

JPR’s latest report examines the attitudes of Jews in Britain to Israel.  Exploring a wide range of issues including the place of Israel in Jewish identity, perceptions of contemporary Israeli society, and opinions on some of the key political issues, it is the most definitive study ever conducted on the topic.

We hope the data will be used both for scholarly purposes, and to encourage debate within the Jewish community about our individual and collective relationship with Israel.

An extended Methodological Report is available to associated researchers on request.

Child poverty and deprivation in the British Jewish community

Commissioned by several foundations, organizations and individual donors, this report uses a combination of quantitative data and qualitative interviews with welfare experts from across the Jewish community to measure the scale of the problem of child poverty and deprivation in the British Jewish community. It paints a portrait of how this is currently being tackled by Jewish welfare agencies, and offers several practical policy recommendations designed to trigger discussion about how best to tackle what is likely to be a growing problem.

Key trends in the British Jewish community: A review of data on poverty, the elderly and children

This report, commissioned at the request of, and sponsored by the Maurice Wohl Charitable Foundation, provides an overview of existing reliable demographic data related to three issues within the British Jewish community: poverty (including indigence and distress), the elderly (including care, welfare and support) and children (including care, welfare and support and education).

Jewish life in Hungary: Achievements, challenges and priorities since the collapse of communism

The renewal of Jewish life in Hungary comes under scrutiny in a new report published by JPR today.  The research, conducted by local experts on behalf of JPR and funded by the Rothschild Foundation (Hanadiv) Europe, was designed to assess the development of Jewish communities in East-Central Europe since the collapse of communism, as well as the challenges they face going forward.

Research in Hungary reveals a community re-invigorated over the last 20 years, but nevertheless facing the challenge of low engagement in communal life: only 10 per cent of the Jewish population is affiliated to any Jewish organization.  The report calls for:

• the restructuring of the Hungarian Jewish communal infrastructure to ensure that decisions on issues affecting the whole community are made in a democratic and transparent fashion;
• help to build a religiously pluralist communal environment;
• greater levels of co-operation and co-ordination among Jewish communal organizations and initiatives.

Both English and Hungarian language versions of the report can be downloaded in full below:

Report in English

Report in Hungarian

Jewish life in Poland: Achievements, challenges and priorities since the collapse of communism

The renewal of Jewish life in Poland comes under scrutiny in a new report published by JPR today.  The research, conducted by local experts on behalf of JPR and funded by the Rothschild Foundation (Hanadiv) Europe, was designed to assess the development of Jewish communities in East-Central Europe since the collapse of communism, as well as the challenges they face going forward.

The report on Poland testifies to the rebirth of a small community that has a disproportionate impact on world Jewry, not least because of the importance of Polish Jewish history and heritage.  It also points to increased non-Jewish interest in, and sympathy for Jewish issues, and calls for:

• greater investment in Jewish cultural and educational  models that allow for new and creative expressions of Jewishness;
• continued support for the minority Orthodox community which is likely to remain a pillar of Jewish life;
• greater support for the development of non-Orthodox forms of Judaism;
• an urgent need for the establishment of a Jewish old-age home in Warsaw.

Report in English

Report in Polish

 

Home and away: Jewish journeys towards independence. Key findings from the 2011 National Jewish Student Survey

 Jewish students are comfortable being openly Jewish at British universities, despite having concerns about attitudes to Israel on campus. Their commitment to Israel and the Jewish People is robust, but their appreciation of their personal social responsibility lacks muscle.
 
These are some of the findings of the 2011 National Jewish Student Survey, conducted by JPR, and published today.  The survey was initiated by the Union of Jewish Students and commissioned by UJS in partnership with Pears Foundation.

Zsidó élet Magyarországon: Eredmények, kihívások és célok a kommunista rendszer bukása óta

Zsidó élet Magyarországon: Eredmények, kihívások és célok a kommunista rendszer bukása óta

Życie żydowskie w Polsce: osiągnięcia, wyzwania i priorytety od upadku komunizmu

Życie żydowskie w Polsce: osiągnięcia, wyzwania i priorytety od upadku komunizmu

Will the 21st century be the democratic century?

Vernon Bogdanor CBE is a Research Professor at the Institute of Contemporary History, King's College, London and former Professor of Government at Oxford University. One of Britain's foremost constitutional experts, adviser to a number of governments, he is the author of numerous books and a frequent contributor to TV, radio and the press. This paper was given as the Morris and Manja Leigh Memorial Lecture on 22 November 2011 in London under the auspices of JPR.

 

2011 Census Results (England and Wales): Initial insights about the UK Jewish population

The 2011 UK Census was held on 27th March 2011 and the first results on religion for England & Wales were released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on 11 December 2012. 

 

The census included a question on religion for only the second time and therefore this is the first occasion on which we have been in a position to chart change in the Jewish population from one census to another.

2011 Census Results (England and Wales): Initial insights into Jewish neighbourhoods

 

The 2011 Census was held on 27th March 2011 and included a question on religion for only the second time in its history. It affords us a unique opportunity to chart detailed demographic change in the Jewish community over the decade from 2001, which was the first occasion religion was included in the census.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has just published a second set of data about religion in England & Wales. This release focuses on statistics relating to local neighbourhoods and tells us much about the population dynamics of Jewish communities over the last decade.

Jews and the News: News consumption habits and opinions of Jews in Britain

The Israel Survey was carried out by JPR in early 2010 and was the first national study dedicated to an examination of the attitudes of Jews in Britain towards Israel. Supported by Pears Foundation, the survey generated a total of 4,081 responses, the largest sample so far assembled of Jewish public opinion in Britain.

The first report on the findings, Committed, concerned and conciliatory, the attitudes of British Jews towards Israel, showed that for a majority of respondents, Israel forms a very important aspect of their Jewish identities, with almost three-quarters describing themselves as ‘Zionist’. Nine out of ten felt that Israel is the ‘ancestral homeland’ of the Jewish people and an even greater proportion had visited the country. The survey also explored territorial issues, the peace process, defence policy and Israeli society.

This second report explores the considerable amount of data that were gathered in the Israel Survey on a number of other related topics, in particular, the media and news consumption habits of Jews in Britain. The majority of this data has not been previously analysed or published and therefore is presented here in its entirety for the first time.