jews d in the continued from page 20 do we provide for the growing needs of older adults as they age?” The survey will be conducted with adults who consider them- selves Jewish and is by random digit dialing. The study will be con- ducted by professional interviewers from an independent company with the goal of completing 1,200 surveys from households randomly selected in Oakland, Wayne and Macomb counties. Interviewers will not know, and will not ask for, names and addresses of respon- dents. There will be no solicitation of funds. Not everyone in the com- munity will be called. Q&A With Ira Sheskin VIVIAN HENOCH SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS Demographer Ira Sheskin 22 January 11 • 2018 jn Federation has enlisted the ser- vices of Ira M. Sheskin, the princi- pal investigator of the 2005 Detroit Jewish Population Study and its 2010 update. Sheskin has authored more than 50 studies of Jewish communities across the United States. He is the editor and a con- tributing author of The American Jewish Year Book and much of his work can be found at jewishdata- bank.org. Home-based at the University of Miami, Sheskin is director of the Jewish Demography Project of the Sue and Leonard Miller Center for Contemporary Judaic Studies and Q: Recent studies indi- cate that the Jewish popu- lation globally is growing. Is that the case? IS: That data keep shock- ing everybody, including me. Sometimes we find that com- munities feel there are a lot of people moving in — and there are! But what we don’t see is that there are almost as many people moving out. Across the nation, when we look at the factors that drive population growth, we do find that more Jews are moving into the U.S. than are moving out. Particularly, they are mov- ing to the U.S. from places like South America and Israel. Here in Florida, we have Jews coming in from Canada. We’re not talking really large numbers, but there is some growth. Now you would think that in a population that is 16 per- cent elderly — which is what Jews are nationally — there would be more Jewish deaths than Jewish births. Yet the interesting thing is that every time we do a study — with the exception of Detroit and Broward County, Fla. — we keep finding more Jews. In its last study, Detroit showed a decline in its population estimate. We’ll see this time. professor and chair of the what we are thinking and Department of Geography. where we are headed,” says In addition to collecting Linda Blumberg, director demographic and socio- of Planning and Agency economic data, the study Relations at Federation. will ask questions about “It will identify the crucial Jewish identity and engage- needs in our community ment as well as attitudes and help us create a road- Linda Blumberg and needs of the Jewish map for all Jewish com- population as a whole munal organizations and and of select subpopula- foundations to address, tions, including foreign-born Jews, plan for and serve Jewish needs and Holocaust survivors, intermarried interests for years to come.” families and young adults. Results of the study are expected “This study in being conducted this summer and will be shared to provide critical information con- with the community, according to cerning who we are, where we are, Federation officials. • I’m hoping we find that there’s been some increase in Detroit’s Jewish population. Q: There’s a strong perception in the Detroit Jewish community that we are the exception to many trends. Would you agree? IS: I’m really looking for- ward to the Detroit study. I often use Detroit as an example of a community that has something that almost none of the Florida com- munities have — and that’s the fact that so many people who live in Detroit were born in Detroit. In Detroit, people feel they belong here; they’ve been here for generations and honestly can say, “This is my Jewish community.” The connections are remarkable. Personally, I’m not looking to leave Florida, but if I were looking to move — in terms of weighing the Jewish com- munities, Detroit would be near or at the top of my list. In Detroit, we find a stable Jewish community that has many, many dedicated mem- bers, based on the numbers of Jewish agencies in place and all the great things happen- ing here Jewishly. In terms of the infrastructure and quality of the Jewish communities we see across the country, it would be hard to see Detroit being beat. Q: As you’ve studied Jewish communities around the country, what notable trends are you beginning to see? IS: One of the notable trends we’re seeing nation- wide as the Jewish popula- tion continues to age is that most communities are having trouble getting young people involved although we are beginning to see some impact of Birthright. More specifically, a trend we see with millennials is their reluctance to join any- thing; they don’t want to be labeled Democrat, Republican, Conservative, Orthodox or Reform. They’re not getting involved at the same rate as previous generations. Additionally, in many com- munities, we are seeing a lev- eling off of the intermarriage rate. In fact, the intermarriage rate is a little lower for those under 35 than those 35 to 49 in some communities. Another interesting trend (though I can’t say it’s nation- wide because I’ve only tested it in three or four communi- ties) is that the percentage of people under age 35 who currently are married is much lower than it was 20 years ago. People are waiting longer before they are getting mar- ried. However, that is not the trend in the Orthodox commu- nity, and Detroit has a higher percent of Orthodox than most U.S. Jewish communities. Another trend: In terms of Jewish identity, we see the community going in two distinct directions. We find some people becoming “more Jewish” for lack of a better phrase, and others heading in the opposite direction, but still being Jewish. When we look at the 2013 Pew Research Center study of American Jews, 95 percent of the peo- ple in that study were proud to be Jewish, but there’s also a high percentage who aren’t doing much about it. In contrast to some dismal findings in other communities, in our 2005 study of Detroit, 96 percent of Jewish house- holds had some involvement in Jewish activities in the past year. So, in that regard, Detroit really does stand out. It will be interesting to see what the numbers tell us this time around. • A longer version of this interview is available on myjewishdetroit.org, where Vivian Henoch is editor.