While popular stereotypes tend to imagine American Jews as wealthy, there are a significant number who live in financial distress. Ilana Horwitz, Laurence Kotler-Berkowitz, Annie Jollymore, and Wendy Rosov recently concluded an in-depth study of the subject. Among their findings is the importance of legacy communal organizations, like Jewish Family Services, in helping impoverished Jews. They also came across some noteworthy trends:
Those currently or recently vulnerable [to financial hardship] are: less likely to have been raised exclusively Jewish, less likely to be married to or partnered with someone who is Jewish, and more likely to have hardly any or no close Jewish friends; less likely to be raising their children with any form of Jewish practice; more likely to identify as secular/cultural or Orthodox rather than Conservative or Reform; more often Sephardi or Mizrahi.
Additionally, they seem, on the whole, to have weaker Jewish connections and fewer consistent interactions with other Jews, spanning from their own Jewish upbringing to how they are raising their children, and including the Jewish identity of their spouses, partners, and close friends. While individual experiences vary, these are the broad patterns that emerged from our survey sample.
Unfortunately, poverty often keeps these Jews from becoming better connected to Jewish life:
Cost can be a significant barrier to Jewish communal involvement, particularly for economically vulnerable individuals. Membership dues for synagogues, tuition for Jewish day schools, fees for holiday events, and expenses related to life-cycle events like bar and bat mitzvahs are often prohibitively expensive. Additionally, the pressure to contribute to ts’dakah (charitable giving) and maintain a certain standard of living—including appropriate attire and other community expectations—can further strain already limited budgets.
Read more at Jewish Funders Network
More about: American Jewry, Poverty