views

publisher’s notebook

commentary

continued from page 5

The Contours of Our Jewish Community:

Snapshots From the 2018 Population Study

A

stable population of 71,500
Jews in 31,500 Jewish
households, but with signif-
icant demographic shifts beneath
the surface that provide challenge
and opportunity for the Detroit
area Jewish community. That
would be the sum-
mary finding of the
2018 Detroit Jewish
Population Study
when compared
to similar studies
completed in 2005
Arthur Horwitz and 1989.
Released in
September, the Jewish Federation
of Metropolitan Detroit-sponsored
study supports some hypotheses
about the community, including
growth in the number of young
adults who are staying or return-
ing to the area. It rebuts others,
showing a diminishing number
of young adults who are living
in the city of Detroit and the
Downtown-Midtown area. It shows
longer-term trends that could move
the epicenter of the community
from the Maple-Telegraph area in
Bloomfield Township to the 10 and
Greenfield area in Oak Park. And
it suggests that our current strategy
for providing services to senior
adults will need revision.
Over the coming weeks, in
print and on its digital platform,
the Jewish News will offer insight
on portions of the study with the
intent of stimulating discussion
about its potential meaning and
impact.
We are blessed to live, work and
play in one of the most respect-
ed Jewish communities in North
America. We all have a stake in its
continuing strength and success.

Arthur Horwitz,

Publisher and Executive Editor

8

October 11 • 2018

jn

DEMOCRATS
51%

INDEPENDENTS
34%

REPUBLICANS
15%

Disproportional Political Impact

The Detroit Jewish community takes
Election Day seriously. Data from the
study reveal that of the 68,600 persons 18
years of age or older residing in Jewish
households, 96 percent are registered to
vote. And of those, 94 percent (61,904)
said they participated in the most recent
statewide election (2016).
As a point of comparison, the U.S.
Census estimates that in 2017, there were
455,018 persons 18+ residing in the city of
Detroit. Of those, approximately 85 per-
cent are registered to vote. And of those,
approximately 25 percent (96,691) voted in
the most recent election. While the city of
Detroit has a potential voting population
almost seven times larger than our Jewish
community, actual voting turnout more
typically is about 50 percent higher.
And while the study didn’t measure the
intensity of political activity in the Detroit
Jewish community, empirical evidence
drawn from the filings of various political
campaign committees suggest a high level
of political contributions from members of
the Jewish community.
The party affiliations of Jewish Detroiters,
as measured by the population study,
provided a few surprises and opportu-
nities. American Jews, since the days of
Franklin D. Roosevelt, have voted heavily
Democratic (an estimated 71 percent voted
for Hilary Clinton in 2016, 69 percent for
President Barack Obama in 2012, and 78
percent for candidate Obama in 2008).
However, when asked their party affil-
iations, 51 percent of Jewish Detroiters

said they were Democrats, 15 percent
Republicans and 34 percent Independents.
When the population study compared
Detroit to 15 Jewish communities of
similar size and composition, it had
the second lowest number of registered
Democrats. The number who affiliated
with the Republican Party was aver-
age for these communities. However,
the number who said they were
Independents was the highest.
From the Detroit study, 40 percent of
Orthodox said they were Republican.
Sixty-one percent of Reform said they were
Democrats. Almost 59 percent of females
said they were Democrats. Just over 19 per-
cent of all males said they were Republican.
For political candidates looking for
Independent voters — who will cast ballots
in the Nov. 6 election — the Detroit Jewish
community could be a wise investment of
their time and focus. ■

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
• Compared to other similarly situated
Jewish communities, we have a low
affiliation rate with the Democratic party
and a higher likelihood to identify as
political Independents. Why do you think
this is so and what could be its signifi-
cance in future election cycles?

• What more can be done to encourage
higher proportions of Detroit registered
voters to participate in elections?

I am no scholar of Judaism, but I
do know that a central tenet of our
religion is compassion, something
often preached but not regularly
practiced. At our religious services,
we recite prayers and songs of
compassion and, for a moment or
so, we focus on those in need of
healing. But how easy is it, after the
service, to overlook those in pain
and focus on the trivial things in
our lives? How easy is it to forget
that sadness has a way of lingering
for a very long time, maybe forev-
er? How easy is it to lose sight of
the big picture and take for granted
just how truly fortunate we really
are?
The High Holidays have a way
of crystallizing one’s life to one-
self. We take a temporary respite
from our daily routine and, while
pausing, we take inventory of who
we are, what we have become and
who we wish to be. For Jews like
me, not overly religious but fierce-
ly proud of my heritage and my
culture, the services are a power-
ful dose of introspective and spiri-
tual medicine.
Each year, I try to focus on
one overriding message from the
High Holidays that I can convert
into action and attitude for the
following year.
So, as I sat in services and
took my annual personal inven-
tory, my takeaway of the High
Holidays of 5779 became crystal
clear: This world is full of people
facing real, profound and crip-
pling problems in their everyday
lives, and yet they rise above
their struggles with courage and
grace. In that moment of clarity,
all my so-called “problems” or
silly self-pity washed away, and I
declared an end to complaining
about a single thing. ■

Mark Jacobs is the AIPAC Michigan
director for African American Outreach,
a co-director of the Coalition for Black
and Jewish Unity, a board member
of the Jewish Community Relations
Council-AJC and the director of
Jewish Family Service’s Legal Referral
Committee.

