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The Contours of Our Jewish Community:

Snapshots from the 2018 Population Study

Editor’s Note: Each week, the Jewish
News will offer insights into the
findings of the 2018 Detroit Jewish
Population Study with the intent
of stimulating discussion about its
potential meaning and impact.

Pittsburgh,
Detroit Similar
In Composition,
Anti-Semitic Concerns

In 2017, the Pittsburgh Jewish com-
munity completed its first population
study since 2002. When compared to
the recently released Detroit Jewish
population study, both communities
have similarities.
While Detroit’s Jewish population is
somewhat larger (71,750 compared to
49,200 for Pittsburgh), both account
for about 2 percent of the population
of their overall metropolitan areas.
Both communities are deeply root-
ed. In Detroit, 87 percent of the Jewish
community has lived in the area for at
least 20 years, compared with 73 per-
cent of the Pittsburgh Jewish commu-
nity. Religious affiliations are almost
identical: 9 percent of Jews in both
communities identifying as Orthodox;
20 percent in Detroit and 22 percent
in Pittsburgh are Conservative; 35
percent in Detroit and 34 percent in
Pittsburgh are Reform.

While the wording of survey ques-
tions for the Detroit and Pittsburgh
studies were not identical, both com-
munities are concerned with anti-Sem-
itism.
In Detroit, 45 percent perceived
a great deal or moderate amount of
anti-Semitism in our metropolitan
area, 45 percent a little bit of anti-Sem-
itism and 10 percent none at all.
In Pittsburgh, where the question
was asked about concern, rather than
perception, 86 percent said they were
very much or somewhat concerned
about anti-Semitism and 14 percent
not at all concerned. These numbers
were 81 percent and 19 percent in the
Squirrel Hill area. And among those
in Pittsburgh who are members of a
Conservative synagogue, 94 percent
expressed concern about anti-Semi-
tism.
Additionally, the Pittsburgh study

found that 16 percent of the communi-
ty directly experienced anti-Semitism
in the past year, mostly “minor” in
nature, while 84 percent had not.
The study’s principal investigators
from Brandeis University noted that
in Pittsburgh, “the perception of
anti-Semitism in the community may
be more than the reality.” Nonetheless,
they added, the community should still
be vigilant. ■

QUESTIONS:
• What would you advise our Detroit
community leaders to do to make us
feel more secure when we send our
kids to Jewish schools, attend syn-
agogues or participate in communi-
ty-wide events?
• Have you personally experienced
anti-Semitism in the Detroit area in the
past year? If so, would you define it as
minor in nature? Did you report it to the
local police department, some other law
enforcement agency or the ADL?

commentary

The New Israel Fund Does NOT Support Israel

I

srael has many enemies: Iran, with
its nuclear program and geographic
expansion plans designed to wipe
Israel off the map; Palestinian terrorism;
the United Nations with its incessant
anti-Israel bias; and the anti-Semitic
BDS movement that wages war on
Israel’s economy.
These are some of the
more obvious enemies
of the State of Israel, but
there are many others
who remain disguised.
Take the New Israel
Kobi Erez
Fund as an example.
The New Israel Fund
(NIF) is a Jewish-led organization that
strategically promotes the boycotting
of Israel, provides legal assistance to
Palestinian terrorists and publicly
accuses the Israel Defense Forces of war
crimes on college campuses and around
the world.
Of course, the NIF doesn’t do this
alone. The NIF invests millions of dol-

8

November 1 • 2018

jn

lars in anti-Israel organizations, each
working in its own way to harm and
weaken the Jewish state. Between 2005
and 2016, NIF granted more than $12
million to the Association for Civil
Rights in Israel and Hamoked, two
organizations that in recent years pro-
vided free legal representation to 48
Palestinian terrorists who murdered 51
Israelis.
Another organization that received
$3 million from NIF is the infamous
NGO B’Tselem, an organization whose
specialty is slandering Israel, taking
great joy in portraying the state as one
that violates human rights. B’Tselem
provides cameras to Palestinians who
often attack Israeli soldiers and citizens,
hoping to record a physical response
and show a one-sided story portraying
Israelis as the aggressors. The head of
B’Tselem, Hagai El-Ad, often speaks
at the UN and European parliaments,
blaming Israel for war crimes and call-
ing on the international community to

take harsh actions against the Jewish
state. He also refuses to call Hamas a
terrorist organization. B’Tselem receives
most of its funding from European
countries, including France, Germany
and Sweden, all of whom realized that
the most effective enemy of the Jewish
state are the Jews themselves.
The New Israel Fund also funds
the Human Rights Defenders Fund
(HRDF), an organization whose exec-
utive director, Alma Biblash, openly
supports BDS and has described Israel
as a “temporary Jewish apartheid state”
which she also calls “murderous” and
“racist.”
Breaking the Silence is another orga-
nization supported by NIF. Breaking the
Silence travels around U.S. college cam-
puses, publicly accusing the IDF of war
crimes. Ezra Nawi, a known anti-Israel
activist who also works closely with
Breaking the Silence, was recorded
bragging about taking part in a scheme
to kill Palestinians who dared to sell

land to Jews.
These are all real examples, but for-
mer President Bill Clinton adviser Hank
Sheinkopf rightfully said, “Those who
stand with New Israel Fund are stand-
ing against Israel.”
So how is it that the New Israel Fund
receives $30 million annually from
American Jews? NIF falsely markets
itself as a social justice organization that
stands up for human rights and democ-
racy. This resonates well with American
donors, particularly as the divide
between left and right grows wider.
Although the New Israel Fund did
lose some donors in recent years due
to its activities, it is not nearly enough.
Our goal must be to spread the truth
about the New Israel Fund so Israel
supporters don’t unknowingly give to
an organization that does everything in
its power to harm the Jewish state and
its people. ■

Kobi Erez is ZOA Michigan director.

