H eadlines
Population One of the differences between the last study
and the current one is terminology; for example,
the current survey uses the phrase “interfaith”
instead of “mixed” to refer to marriage.

Continued from Page 1
A new population study looks at Jewish activity, religious and ethnic identity, philanthropy, social service
needs, health, anti-Semitism and perceptions about Israel in Greater Philadelphia’s Jewish community.

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organizations can use them.

The study is led by
Romirowsky, who is supported
by a lay leadership committee
and a technical advisory com-
mittee. The Jewish Federation
selected Westat as the research
firm to conduct the study.

The study is more than just
a census because it has prac-
tical goals, said Adam Laver,
who, along with his wife Sara,
is co-chair of the lay leadership
committee. That goal is for the
community to better prioritize
resources based on need.

“If we have true numbers
on the extent of that need, it
can help us delve deeper into
meeting the needs and finding
ways to respond,” said Laver,
who is on the board of trustees
of the Jewish Federation, board
chairman of Jewish Family and
Children’s Service and a member
of Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel.

The participants are ran-
domly selected to ensure the
sample isn’t biased.

The first stage is a screener
that asks the participant basic
questions. The invitation to
complete this screener, either
online or with a hard copy, is
mailed out. This step includes
both Jewish and non-Jewish
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM respondents, but only those
who identify as Jewish are
invited to complete the next
stage: an in-depth 20-minute
survey, either online or via hard
copy. The survey can also be
done over the phone for those
who need extra assistance, and
is available in Russian.

It’s been a decade since
this kind of study of the local
Jewish community has been
done. Romirowsky said such
studies usually take place every
10 years in similar cities.

One of the differences
between the last study and
the current one is terminol-
ogy; for example, the current
survey uses the phrase “inter-
faith” instead of “mixed” to
refer to marriage. This study
also has more questions about
anti-Semitism, Israel, health
and transportation.

“I don’t believe in the past
we asked much about trans-
portation,” Romirowsky said.

“I know, being an evaluation
director here, that transporta-
tion is a huge issue for our com-
munity members, both young
and old, in being able to access
both religious Jewish and just
general social services.”
The survey 10 years ago
defined Jewish engagement
as synagogue membership or
participation in rituals like
lighting Shabbat candles or
attending a Passover seder. The
new survey has broadened that
definition by including visits
to a Chabad House and less
traditional ways to celebrate
holidays, such as a Shabbat hike.

“My major goal with this
stuff is to look at and mea-
sure on a continuum the range
of Jewish practices that ...

folks today might be doing,”
Romirowsky said.

She also said the new study
may reveal an uptick in con-
cern about anti-Semitism, at
least since the last survey was
done. She’ll also be interested
to see the new demographic
information. “We know that we have an
older population than some
other Jewish communities,”
she said. “That proportion
we know about. The question
is, because the last study was
done and didn’t include cell
phones at a time when cell
phones would have represented
at least some portion of the
population, there may have
been an underrepresentation
of the young population. We
don’t know.”
They are holding focus
groups to gather qualitative
data that can supplement
the information they collect
through the study.

“We can’t ask everything
because you really want to keep
it to about 20, 25 minutes,”
Romirowsky said. “That’s why
we’re following up, and we’ve
already started doing focus
groups to really get the story
and the why for people and
really get a rich picture of what
people are experiencing.”
The focus groups allow
researchers to delve deeper into
issues facing specific subsets of
the Jewish community, such as
Russian speakers, Israelis, older
adults, college students and
more. Focus group participa-
tion is open to the community;
participants do not need to have
been selected for the study.

“This is Abraham’s tent,”
Adam Laver said, “and it’s
open to all.”
People interested in partici-
pating in focus groups can call
215-832-0863. l
szighelboim@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0729
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