July 27, 2011

U.S. Jews: Who are we?

Leave a Comment / News, Opinion / Jewish Journal

It will not come as a surprise if I suggest that we Jews are a peculiar people. For all the talk of escalating assimilation, we remain, in important respects, quite different from most other Americans. I report here on a massive survey conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, a survey of 35,000 Americans that conveys substantial information on the broad array of America’s religious groups.

First, some demographic findings: Jews constitute but 1.7 percent of adult Americans. Note, however, that the third-largest grouping (16 percent) of Americans identifies itself as “unaffiliated,” and it is possible that Jews are over-represented in that category. In addition, most American Buddhists (0.7 percent of all Americans) are American-born converts to Buddhism, and there is at least substantial anecdotal evidence to suggest that many of them are (were?) Jews. Among those who say they are Jews, 41 percent say they are Reform, 31 percent say they are Conservative, 10 percent say they are Orthodox, and the balance are “other.”

Education: Among all adult Americans, 16 percent are college graduates, and 11 percent — a grand total of 27 percent — have some post-graduate education. Among Jews, those numbers are 24 percent and 35 percent, for a total of 59 percent, an astonishing difference. But, surprise: Our figures for college and post-college are dwarfed by Hindu Americans: 26 percent have college diplomas, and an additional 48 percent have some graduate work.

Income: Eighteen percent of Americans earn more than $100,000 year — but among Jews, that figure rises to 46 percent (and among Hindus, to 43 percent). It is, however, important to acknowledge the other end of the income distribution: 14 percent of Jews earn less than $30,000 and another 11 percent between $30,000 and $50,000.

Geography: Forty-one percent of us live in the Northeast, compared to 19 percent of the total population.

Now is when we get to the really interesting stuff, the ways we part not demographically but dispositionally and ideologically from others.

So, for example, homosexuality: Half of all Americans believe that “homosexuality is a way of life that should be accepted by society.” Among some religious communities, that figure drops substantially — Evangelical churches (26 percent), Mormons (24 percent), Muslims (27 percent) — while others are more welcoming — Catholics (58 percent), mainline Protestant (56 percent). Jews, however, score 79 percent approval, right up there with Buddhists at 82 percent. Here it may be important to note that the data are almost four years old, and we do not know how volatile they are. (Attitudes toward homosexuality are a likely instance of that.) As with a few of the matters detailed below, events in “the real world” may have caused significant shifts, one way or the other, in people’s dispositions.

The range of response is much narrower on the question of whether “the government should do more to help needy Americans, even if it means going deeper into debt.” There, the national average is 62 percent — it’s 67 percent for Jews — and the range is from a low of 57 percent (Evangelical churches) to a high of 79 percent (historically black churches). Jews are more inclined than most others to believe that “stricter environmental laws and regulations are worth the cost” and to hold, by a substantial margin, that “it’s best for our country to be active in world affairs.” And, whereas 43 percent of Americans believe that abortion should be illegal in all or most cases, 84 percent of Jews endorse abortion, 40 percent in all cases, 44 percent in most.

Forty-eight percent of Americans completely or mostly agree that “evolution is the best explanation for the origins of human life on earth.” For members of Evangelical churches, that number drops to 23 percent, and for Mormons all the way to 21 percent. Among Jews, however, it rises to 77 percent.

I leave to the side most questions about specific religious belief — life after death, heaven and hell, the authorship of the Bible, frequency and utility of prayer and more — and urge the interested reader to go to religions.pewforum.org for the full report. But I can’t resist one of this set: Are “angels and demons active in this world?” Sixty-eight percent of all Americans agree or mostly agree that they are, including 88 percent of Mormons, 79 percent of Muslims and 87 percent of members of historically black churches and of Evangelicals. For Jews, the number is 21 percent. (Fourteen percent of Americans completely disagree that angels and demons are active in our world; among Jews, 52 percent completely disagree.)

Seventy percent of Jews seldom or never read Scripture outside of religious services; for Americans in general, that figure is 45 percent. (I report the Jewish number with a straight face but with a heavy heart.)

With regard to politics, whereas the population as a whole includes 37 percent who are conservative, 36 percent who are moderate and 20 percent who are liberal, Jews split 21 percent conservative, 39 percent moderate and 38 percent liberal.

What to make of all this? Being neither a demon nor an angel, I am loath to hazard an interpretation, beyond the observation that we evidently march to a different drummer. Or, since American Jews amble more readily than they march, and ambling with drummers is sort of passive-aggressive, perhaps we forgo percussive accompaniment altogether. Fiddler, anyone? Clarinet?

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LAUSD reaches out to middle class

Leave a Comment / Bill Boyarsky, Is Featured?, News, Opinion / Bill Boyarsky

Los Angeles’ new school superintendent, John Deasy, says one of his top goals is to persuade middle-class families, including Jewish parents, to return to the Los Angeles public schools. “It’s one of the major projects I have to deliver,” he said.

I interviewed Deasy last week in his office on the 24th floor of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) headquarters, just west of downtown Los Angeles.

Deasy has been superintendent since January. Before taking the LAUSD job, he was deputy director of education for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, a major supporter of charter schools. Charters are publicly funded but are run with considerable independence; they also often receive substantial private funds and operate outside of union contracts. Deasy also has served as superintendent of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District and the Prince George’s County public schools in Maryland.

It was our first meeting. He — or a member of his staff — had checked me out, and he had read my articles on education. Most important for readers of The Jewish Journal, he was on top of the middle-class issue.

He told me he’s been talking with parents about getting private-school students to enroll in public schools, including those on the Westside and in the West Valley, home to many Jewish families. “People are saying they want to come back, but come back with confidence,” he said. “And that’s my obligation. And I think some are coming back because of the huge economic pressures, which are not going to get better soon. And so, while they may be forced back economically, we want them to feel welcomed and comfortable that the decision … can actually better the lives of their sons and daughters.”

Deasy said school board member Steve Zimmer, who represents much of the Westside, sparked the back-to-public schools effort. He said Zimmer was supported in this by Tamar Galatzan, who represents the West Valley. Both are Jewish.

“I have a whole team on this,” Deasy said. “And we’re going to spend some money to incubate programs that are highly attractive for parents to come back to. At the same time, I am … improving the district, so, as students come through these programs, they will continue to matriculate to better and better public schools.”

He said the program would be presented to the Board of Education in autumn.

Elevating the back-to-the-public-school campaign to a top district priority would be a change. It’s been going on for a few years on some campuses, but has depended on the interest of principals and parent groups. Operating with the intensity of a political campaign in some areas, it has worked. “This is about organizing — listening, communicating … [going] to churches, synagogues, neighborhood councils, door to door,” Zimmer told me when I interviewed him a while back.

Parents dealing with LAUSD face a bewildering number of choices, including traditional public schools, magnets, charters and pilot schools, the last of which offer a blend of charter and traditional approaches.

“I would acknowledge that now we make choice difficult for parents,” Deasy said. “We want to make it much easier. … Parents shouldn’t have to figure out the system. We are developing a portal [on the LAUSD Web site], which lays all this out. We want parents not to search but to be fed information. And, of course, [the site will be] in all of our six predominant languages, so that what you are left with is to make a choice, not to wonder how to find something. It is one-stop shopping, how to register, how to transfer, how to learn about choices, how to understand college applications, how to fill out a financial-aid form, immunization rules, counseling and support, after-school options. Up to this point, it has been hit or miss, or, worse, fractured information.”

A major obstacle facing Deasy is the teachers union, United Teachers Los Angeles. The union is opposed to charters, test-oriented teacher evaluations and any easing of seniority rules that would make it easier to fire teachers. All these steps are favored by LAUSD’s critics, who consider them reforms. Deasy’s time as an executive of the charter-supporting Gates foundation makes the union suspicious of him.

The union has a new president, Warren Fletcher, who succeeded the combative A.J. Duffy. Deasy said he and Fletcher “are working on building a strong relationship together. We both have enormous responsibilities on our shoulders, and we both don’t want to make mistakes in our first year. I have met him a number of times now,” Deasy added. “He wants to do the right thing by his membership and students, and so do I. … How we disagree will be the hallmark of our relationship, that it will be a respectful and productive disagreement when it occurs, and a very respectful and productive collaboration when it occurs.”

If that miracle happens, it will change the theatrics of the Los Angeles public-school debate. With the shouting toned down, perhaps the two sides can then get down to substance, and the district can be made into something attractive to all Los Angeles, to become, as Deasy said, “Best in the West; No. 1 in the nation.”

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Galit Dayan speaks what’s on her mind — and in her heart

Leave a Comment / California, Community, Is Featured?, News / Tom Tugend

When Galit Dayan first met her future husband in 1987, both were serving in Israeli army intelligence units and she realized right away that nothing would come of the encounter.

It wasn’t so much their different backgrounds, though his Ashkenazi parents were Lithuanian and Polish, while her Sephardic parents were Moroccan and Algerian.

More important, “We had nothing in common,” she reminisced, sipping coffee in a small, French-style café on Canon Drive in Beverly Hills. “I was a naïve girl from Jerusalem; he was a sophisticated guy from Tel Aviv. Politically, I leaned to the left; he leaned to the right, and so on.”

Fast forward 24 years, and Galit and Jacob (“Yaki”) Dayan have been married for 19 years and have three children. He is his country’s consul general in Los Angeles; she is a leading scholar of Egyptology, with a doctoral degree from Hebrew University. And while Yaki served at the Israeli embassy in Washington, Galit obtained a certificate in organizational development from Georgetown University.

Furthermore, they testify, fervently and frequently, that they are one another’s best friends and advisers and form a close partnership in everything they do. In conversation, both are intense, but while he focuses on the immediate topic, she pumps out ideas and projects like a rapid-fire Gatling gun.

Though no mere mouthpiece for the Israeli government, Yaki conveys his standing as his country’s top diplomat in the southwestern United States. Galit, too, is a proud Israeli representative, but she also is not afraid to speak of her country’s shortcomings.

On the Middle East situation, for example, she observed, “It’s not about agreements, but a problem of building trust among leaders. … We have failed to build such trust before signing treaties, so they are just pieces of paper.”

Israel’s spokesmen, media and supporters are effective in telling the world about “our capabilities and accomplishments, but not in showing our character, integrity and good intentions,” she added. “That’s not easy, but we have to find a way.”

A small example of her own efforts on this path could be seen at a party she gave for the wives of diplomats from 45 countries who were stationed in Los Angeles.

Among them were spouses from Muslim countries, which have no diplomatic relations with Israel. The party was a success, Galit said, “because it wasn’t about politics, it was about people.” She was especially pleased when one of the guests from an Arab country called later to ask for the recipe for her banana cake.

Galit grew up in an academic family. Her father, professor Michel Abitbol, served as chairman of the African Studies department at the Hebrew University, and her mother continues to teach French at the Institut Francais in Jerusalem. Both parents lived in Paris before coming to Israel, and Galit’s first language was French, although she was born in Israel.

Home discussions were enlivened by her father, an atheist, and her mother, who observed Sephardic religious tradition. “I have parts of both,” Galit said.

Her own education is a similar mixture of apparent opposites — ancient history and modern management techniques. Drawing on both, plus a sense of humor, she recently wrote for the Huffington Post on the similarities between hieroglyphics and digital texting.

After her studies at Georgetown University, Galit established a consulting business in Israel, teaching leadership and management skills to executives on their way up, mainly in high-tech industries and hospitals. During her four years in Los Angeles, she flew to Israel every three months for two weeks of intensive consulting.

In parallel, she has immersed herself in the Los Angeles scene.

“When I arrived here, I knew nothing about the city and its Jewish community,” Galit said. “I wanted to help but didn’t know how, so I asked for a list of Jewish organizations. I took one look and was overwhelmed by the sheer number.”

She quickly learned the ropes and found that people who might be intimidated talking to a consul general would come up to her. She also learned that, as “a kind of extraterritorial entity,” the consulate could on occasion bring the often-competing Jewish organizations in Los Angeles together in a common project.

As she became more involved, she discovered similarities between Los Angeles and Israel, such as that it usually takes a crisis to unite people. Another common characteristic is, “If you’re not happy with an organization [or political party in Israel], you leave and start a new one.”

Though a great admirer of what she calls the Los Angeles spirit, Galit wishes for an “updated” long-range vision, at home and here, especially on the joint future for Israel and the Diaspora.

“Life in Israel is very intense,” she observed. “We’re always on alert, there is no time to reflect, to analyze and to strategize.”

One obstacle to a joint Israel-Diaspora vision may be a mutual ignorance of the other. Some 80 percent of American Jews have never visited Israel, and even many of those who go on “missions” never meet “the common Israelis,” she said.

On the other side, she noted, “Most Israelis have no clue about the Diaspora,” and the Israeli media doesn’t pay much attention to the subject.

Aside from her role as her husband’s adviser, Galit focused on a number of specific projects.

LA’s BEST

The long-standing program initiated by former Mayor Tom Bradley provides after-school recreation, education and enrichment for 28,000 mostly Latino kids at 180 elementary schools.

Galit worked with Carla Singer, president and CEO of the organization, to link the program to Jewish day schools and to the consulate staff for joint holiday celebrations and cultural exchanges.

FIESTA SHALOM

With the same emphasis on strengthening Latino/Jewish/Israeli ties, Galit was instrumental in bringing together the Mexican-American and Jewish communities in 2009 to celebrate their shared roots in Boyle Heights.

ISRAELI CULTURAL CENTERS

To help Israeli expats and their children maintain their bonds with their homeland, Galit mobilized Israeli women to create MATI, the Hebrew acronym for Israeli Cultural Centers. The centers, first in the San Fernando Valley, and a second this year in Beverly Hills, offer Hebrew classes, lectures, entertainment and a sociable meeting place.

Last, but first on Galit’s priority list, are the three Dayan children — Daphne, 17 1/2; Tal, 15; and Itay, 8.

“Whenever Yaki gets a new assignment, we ask the kids if they want to go. If one says no, then we don’t go. And later, if they are unhappy in the new place, we go back to Israel,” Galit said. “Fortunately, the kids are very mature and responsible and feel that they, too, are part of the family mission to represent Israel.”

During their stay here, the Dayan children attended Sinai Akiba Academy and Milken Community High School, had a great time and say they will miss their friends.

How does Galit juggle all the responsibilities?

“I’m very focused on what I’m doing, and I’m good at time management,” she said. “I started my own consulting business, and joined with a partner, so I could decide how many projects I could take on.”

But there is little risk that any extra time will hang heavily on the Dayans when the family leaves Los Angeles on Aug. 1. “I know Yaki will work until the minute the plane takes off,” Galit said. “And my calendar is full for the next two months after I arrive in Israel.”

Naturally, she’s taking back with her a little project, dubbed “One People.”

The plan, as she enthusiastically unfolded it, calls for a march of Jewish people from all over the world, retracing part of the route of the Exodus, from the southern Negev to Abraham’s Well in Beersheba.

Locally, Galit has been working with Metuka Benjamin, director of education at Stephen S. Wise Temple and Schools, on the project, timing the march for October, around the Sukkot festival.

When not packing their personal belongings, the Dayans have been attending multiple farewell tributes, ranging from the mayor’s office and Christian pastors to Hadassah and the Israel Cancer Research Fund.

As the family heads home, they leave behind a dual legacy, as Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky put it at this year’s Independence Day celebration.

“Yaki and Galit,” he said, “your presence here has made a difference for Israel and has made a difference for Los Angeles.”

Video highlighting consulate events during the past four years: