ridges who identify as Jews found that
most had explored their non-Jewish
roots before deciding on Judaism.
"When people come to synagogue
to pray and to celebrate, no one asks
them what else are you doing in your
life," Olitzky said. "We want to
encourage, not discourage; include,
not exclude; embrace, not push
away."
Outreach Debate
The debate over outreach to the
intermarried has shifted over the past
decade following the 1990 finding
that approximately half of American
Jews marry non-Jews.
Initially, such outreach — which
consisted mainly of support groups
for interfaith couples and of educa-
tional programs for interfaith families
with young children — was criticized
on the grounds that it tacitly encour-
aged intermarriage.
Later, the debate became one of
"inreach vs. outreach," with critics
questioning whether scarce commu-
nal resources should be used to target
people on the fringes of the commu-
nity rather than on strengthening.the
commitment of those already
involved in Jewish life.
Intermarriage has become increas-
ingly acceptable among rank and file
Jews. A recent survey found that half
of American Jews view opposition to
intermarriage as "racist" and 78 per-
cent believe rabbis should officiate at
weddings between Jews and non-
Jews.
Increasing numbers of Jewish lead-
ers have argued that it is not neces-
sary to choose between inreach and
outreach, and that the more gateways
that exist to bring American Jews into
Jewish life, the better.
According to the institute, there are
approximately 1 million intermarried
Jewish households in the United
States, and more children now have
one Jewish parent than two Jewish
parents.
While the most extensive evalua-
don so far, the JOI study is relatively
limited in scope, based on surveys of
735 people. It is not clear whether
the survey — which had a 23 percent
response rate — is representative of
all people who participated in the
outreach programs or whether people
with positive experiences were more
likely to fill out a voluntary survey.
Mayer acknowledged the limita-
tions of the study, saying it is simply
a first attempt to get a picture of out-
reach's success. 0
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