A national survey of teen-age Jewish youth in the United States revealed that a cross-section of youths of 16 and over thought American and Israeli Jews “were part of one people, no matter where they live.” The four-month study was conducted by B’nai B’rith in cooperation with the youth department of the American Zionist Council. A selected cross-section of Jewish youth in 16 cities and 28 smaller communities was polled.
Label A. Katz, of New Orleans, national chairman of the B’nai B’rith youth movement, reported the teen-agers rejected “any concept that a Jewish culture can thrive and be creative only in Israel. They see a prospering future for Jewish life in their native land.” While almost all youths indicated a desire of making a tourist visit to Israel, only five percent expressed interest in living there.
The teen-agers were virtually unanimous in rejecting a view that “anti-Semitism is inevitable everywhere, and Jews can be completely safe only in Israel.” Only one-third of one percent called creation of Israel “a mistake.” About 60 percent thought that “only in very rare or extreme instances will activities in behalf of Israel be incompatible with a Jew’s responsibility as a citizen of the United States.”
Nine out of ten agreed that American Jews should try to influence the U.S. Government in behalf of Israel, when Israel has a justifiable grievance.” But only half of the teenagers favored “demonstrations and rallies” to back Israel. The teen-agers, by a majority of 92 percent, opposed Israeli law dominating secular life. The non-observance of religious practices by many Israelis was considered unharmful.
The poll revealed that developments viewed as beneficial to American Jewry were: Israel’s immigration policy, the growth of the Hebrew language, and the advancement of Israeli music and art. A majority favored “increasing allocations to Israel.”
The study showed confusion about definition of what a Zionist is today. Mr. Katz reported that “the results show they are just as confused about this as their elders.” Although 28 percent considered themselves Zionists, and another 22 percent said they were non-Zionists, half of the young people said they simply did not know. This indicated a lack of a clear definition of the word “Zionist” in current usage.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
