Are intermarried couples producing more Jewish children?

The premiere installment of TJC’s Forward Forum tackles this and other provocative topics, including:

*the controversy surrounding Chabad’s power;
*Jewish reactions to Republicans’ expressions of faith;
*Jews going green;
*a century of Forward photography;
*and parting shots from our panelists!

How is the changing face of intermarriage affecting Jewish communities?

Staff Writer Anthony Weiss reports there’s been a shift in the debate over “what intermarriage means.” Traditionally the questions have been “Will the Jewish people survive” and “What will the Jewish people look like down the road?” But, says Weiss, “It’s now become increasingly clear that intermarriage is a fact of life in American Jewish life that’s not going to go away.” Thus the new question is how to deal with intermarried couples and, often, how to integrate them into Jewish communities.

A recent report shows that intermarried couples are increasingly interested in raising their children Jewish, but News Editor Nathaniel Popper notes that, strangely, where couples live could be a determinant in whether or not they raise their children Jewish — seemingly “without rhyme or reason,” adds Weiss.

Arts and Culture Editor Alana Newhouse points out the difficulty in measuring something like Jewish identity. In large cities like New York, she says, people are free to be whatever they want to be and are constantly redefining their religious/ethnic identities: “One day you’re Jewish, and the next day you’re vegetarian,” she jokes.

Web Editor Daniel Treiman puts a positive spin on the statistics, pointing out that many Jews will find hope in the idea that just because a couple is intermarried, doesn’t mean their children will be lost to the Jewish community.

Ultimately, though, the Forward staff agrees, the real factor is not whether a child’s parents are intermarried but whether a child’s Jewish parent(s) feels connected to Judaism and impart that sense of connection to their kids.

Is Chabad good for the Jews?

Nathaniel Popper says “you’ve gotta give [Chabad] credit” for trying “to reach Jews who other people have ignored,” and Associate Editor and moderator Gabriel Sanders agrees, calling Chabad “masters” of outreach.

But what’s troubling to some is Chabad’s seeming takeover of Judaism outside of America — particularly in Eastern Europe, where Chabad rabbis hold nearly all of the chief rabbinate positions. “The most interesting place where this plays out is in Russia,” says Popper, because Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar has become quite chummy with Vladimir Putin, giving him his official stamp of approval and thus getting involved in Russian politics.

Sanders notes that Chabad is becoming “an increasingly powerful force” on Capitol Hill as well — to which Popper adds, they’re becoming “an increasingly powerful force everywhere!” And as problematic as some think that might be, most Jews like them, because they’re friendly. But that friendliness causes many less-affiliated Jews — Chabad outreach’s target demographic — to gloss over the aspects of Chabad ideology that might be less acceptable to the mainstream, opines Daniel Treiman, such as the belief of some Lubavitch Hasidim that the deceased Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Schneerson is the Messiah. But Popper retorts that such ideological quirks don’t really matter to Jews who just want a nice Shabbat meal.

As Alana Newhouse sums it up, “The power of Chabad basically boils down to the power of niceness,” offering a model of “authentic Judaism” along with an open-door policy, and that, says Sanders, is its genius.

How are Jews reacting to the Republican primary candidates’ preoccupation with Christian faith?

Daniel Treiman sees Jews continuing to vote Democratic, and thinks that the battle for Christian supremacy among Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee has alienated many Jewish voters. As Gabriel Sanders notes, Romney, who as a Mormon was seen as an outsider to mainstream Christianity, initially had some Jewish support. Treiman agrees but says Romney gave up that support when he delivered a speech on religion — rather than deeming a candidate’s faith a private matter, a la John F. Kennedy, Romney “cast politics as being a competition between the faithless and the faithful, and that really turned a lot of people off in the Jewish community.” He notes that even the Republican Jewish Coalition issued a statement against the views expressed by Romney.

Popper notes that Clinton and Giuliani had much higher ratings amongst Jews in winter polls than did the other candidates and wonders if that’s not just because they’re both New Yorkers. Newhouse quotes writer Nora Ephron as saying ‘If you want to make a character Jewish, just make them a New Yorker,’ and she sees a similar phenomenon going on in politics. Despite his recent kowtowing to conservatives, Jews still view Giuliani as a moderate Republican with socially liberal views.

Republicans have the potential to pick up some of the Orthodox Jewish vote, which has turned toward the Republican party in recent years, but as Treiman notes, that’s a very small percentage of the overall Jewish vote which is overwhelmingly Democratic.

In general, talk of faith in politics inevitably makes Jewish voters squeamish, notes Newhouse, because, as Treiman points out, when they talk about religion candidates are inevitable talking about Christianity, like Huckabee running an ad saying “Christian leader.” Says Treiman, “Lieberman never ran an ad saying ‘Jewish leader’ and I don’t think it would have played if he had.”

Is the “eco-kosher” movement here to stay or just a passing fad?

In the last few years, a “green” movement referred to as “eco-kosher” has sprung up in the Jewish community, creating more demand for organic kosher food. But the most controversial aspect of this movement has come in reaction to accusations that kosher slaughterhouses have been mistreating animals and workers. News Editor Nathaniel Popper has been covering the story, spending time at the Rubashkin’s plant in Iowa, and offers his take.

For many Jews, the news of violations at kosher slaughterhouses — and a disturbing PETA video actually showing the slaughtering process — has brought an awareness that “religious duty has taken on an industrial aspect,” which they find troubling. A label guaranteeing that food is technically kosher is no longer enough for many people, who want a guarantee that their food is being produced ethically, too. Popper thinks these concerns are not going to go away anytime soon.

The industrialization of kosher-food-making, says Newhouse, has taken away the spiritual/mindful aspect that the laws of kashrut have traditionally brought to the mundane act of eating. She’s struck by the recent eco-kosher interest in putting that spirituality back into the slaughter of animals, the idea of “let’s kill in a mindful way.” Popper brings up the recent public slaughter of a goat at a food conference, which upset the vegans and vegetarians in the room, but “a lot of people ate the goat stew the next day,” he says.

But Treiman wonders whether this mindful eating trend would ever extend beyond “boutique products.” The people most concerned with keeping kosher, the Orthodox, aren’t interested in adding even more regulations to kosher food production, he says, yet consumer demand and a talk by the Conservative movement of its own ethical kosher label, has spurred strictly kosher, Orthodox-controlled food companies to begin producing free-range, organic beef and poultry. And people are buying it.

Newhouse notes that the mindful-kosher-eating trend could be a way into Judaism for some less-affiliated Jews.

“A Living Lens”: A Forward book tour across Jewish America
With the publication of her recent book “A Living Lens: Photographs of Jewish Life From the Pages of the Forward,” Alana Newhouse has been criss-crossing the country, signing books and getting to know Jews around the country, collecting interesting anecdotes along the way, which she now shares with us.

Most of the people Newhouse met were surprised at how young she is; they were under the impression that everyone who works for the paper is elderly, but the staff of the English paper is actually quite young overall. Newhouse calls herself the “grandmother” of the paper.

The Jews she met were very connected to what they perceived as their Jewish history — the Yiddish Forward, the Tenement museum, Barney Greengrass — and many didn’t even know that the English Forward existed. Once they found out, Newhouse picked up lots of new subscriptions for the paper!

She also got asked out on several dates — by Jewish mothers!

Parting shots:
*Anthony Weiss notes Joe Lieberman’s endorsement of McCain, wondering if Lieberman might want to make peace with Democrats if he wants to get reelected;
*Daniel Treimans’ excited about Adam Sandler’s new movie Don’t Mess With the Zohan;
*Nathaniel Popper discusses his difficulties as a reporter covering the Orthodox community, wherein objective reporting is often interpreted as a personal affront;
*Alana Newhouse is going as Amy Winehouse for Purim, and wonders about Americans’ attitude toward Israel in this its 60th birthday year;
*and Gabriel Sanders can’t wait to try the corned beef at the newly reopened Second Avenue Deli.