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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.
Bricks & Mortar
and Kosher Food:
Changing Senior
Needs and
Preferences
T
rends show growing
preference for our elderly
to age in place in what
are commonly referred to as
“naturally occurring retirement
communities.” Included in this
definition are condominium
and apartment complexes where
once-active retirees become more
dependent on family members and
the community at large to provide
in-home support.
Concurrently, there has
been significant growth in the
number of non-denominational
independent living facilities — at
various price points — offering
modern facilities, spa-like
amenities, medical staff … and
well-prepared non-kosher meals.
Some now provide competition for
Jewish Senior Life and its array of
brick & mortar facilities in West
Bloomfield and Oak Park.
During the 2017-2018 budget
year, Jewish Senior Life received
overall support of $3.67 million.
Included in this was $671,203 from
Federation’s annual campaign and
challenge fund.
The 2018 Detroit Jewish
population study shows our
community includes 17,766
persons in Jewish households above
the age of 65. Using a different
metric, the study shows that 1,300
Jewish households with persons
10
November 15 • 2018
jn
over age 75 needed in-home health
care in the past year and 1,200
needed in-home support services.
Most of the providers of these
services — as well as others like
transportation and adult day care
— were not from Jewish-sponsored
organizations.
Additionally, when comparing
the 2018 data to the 2005 Detroit
Jewish population study, there
is a trend away from seniors
(or their family caregivers) very
much preferring to be in Jewish-
sponsored senior housing. In 2005,
62 percent said they very much
preferred a Jewish-sponsored
facility compared to 42 percent in
2018. Also, while 14 percent said in
2005 that they had no preference
one way or the other for a Jewish-
sponsored facility, 26 percent said
they had no preference in the 2018
study.
The 2018 study also asked about
the importance of having kosher
food. Among those who very much
or somewhat preferred living in a
Jewish-sponsored senior housing,
20 percent very much preferred
kosher food, 18 percent somewhat
preferred it, 47 percent had no
preference and 15 percent would
rather not have it at all. ■
QUESTIONS:
• Given the trends, would Jewish
communal resources be better
invested by providing more services,
including programming, to Jewish
elderly in their homes or residing at
non-Jewish sponsored facilities?
• At one time, the Jewish
community owned and operated
nursing homes (think Borman
Hall). Not anymore. Are there
any scenarios where the Jewish
community might step back from
owning and operating brick & mortar
senior housing facilities?
funding for East Jerusalem hospitals
or shutting down USAID in the West
Bank and Gaza entirely.
If House Democrats are also able to
shine a spotlight on these issues in a
way that demonstrates why the Trump
approach is hurting Israel, they can be
effective in crafting a pro-Israel message
that takes Israeli security seriously while
preserving American leverage with
the Palestinians and maintaining long-
standing U.S. goals in the region.
With all the speculation about what
a Democratic House will do with
regard to Israel, people are in some
ways missing the real story. Trump’s
ability to execute domestic policies with
effectively zero oversight or pushback is
now over. Much as previous presidents
have focused on foreign policy because
it is the area where they constitutionally
and structurally have the most freedom
and power to operate unencumbered,
Trump is soon going to realize the same
thing.
As the House squeezes what should
have been four years of investigations
into two and Trump becomes more
boxed in, he is likely to start paying
more attention to what is going on
around the globe. As it is, he has
already placed a high priority on the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict; and because
it is such a shiny brass ring, I expect
that he is going to make an even bigger
push to secure his ultimate deal as he is
hemmed in on his domestic priorities.
Aside from appropriations, Congress
does not have much of an impactful
role on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
or on Israel issues more broadly, and
the way House Democrats deal with
Israel is going to be impacted more
by the next campaign than it is by the
issues themselves.
But the fact that they are in power
and will be grinding Trump’s agenda
to a halt means that the White House’s
attention to Israel is about to go way
up, and if Trump’s track record so far
is indicative of what is to come, expect
some more upheaval on the road
ahead. ■
Michael Koplow is Israel Policy Forum’s policy
director, based in Washington D.C.
continued from page 5
neighborhoods.
Smith, along with JCRC executive
director David Kurzmann and leaders
from the progressive Jewish community-
building organization The Well, started
brainstorming about what could be
done on a grassroots level to strengthen
these intercommunal ties and how to
bring them to an audience of millennials
poised to inherit communal leadership.
“The ultimate goal,” Smith says, “is to
inspire collaboration between black and
Jewish Detroiters by fostering authentic
relationships. Our only ask for the group
is that everyone finds someone whom
they didn’t previously know to grab
coffee, lunch or a drink.”
Effectively, we are there to diversify
our friend groups. Our friends and the
tight-knit communities we identify with
are some of the biggest contributors to
our success: Friends serve as emotional
supporters, social and professional
introducers, potential business partners
and artistic collaborators, moral
referenda on our life choices, event
inviters and co-adventurers. Jewish
communities are among the best at
this. And even though I, a young city-
dwelling Jew, consider myself progressive
with a diverse set of friends, how many
of my close friends — the friends whom
I invite to my home or regularly go
out to drinks with — are actually from
different backgrounds than myself?
How many opportunities do I truly have
to meet new like-minded friends who
come from different communities? How
many are from the majority (83 percent)
black community I’ve moved into here in
the city of Detroit? How intentional am
I about building deep, non-transactional
relationships that will go on to be
lifelong allyships? How might we create
opportunities to do this at scale?
These dinners create that opportunity
and visibly strike a chord with attendees,
who all want to come back for more,
calling them “cathartic,” “energizing”
and “one of the best events I’ve ever
attended in Detroit.” The next challenge
the organizers face is how to grow to
accommodate the returnees along with
new attendees, to host Shabbaton retreats
or Juneteenth events, perhaps to get
everyone in the same room, to expand to
other cities and communities that have
expressed interest. Seems like they’re up
for the challenge. ■
Lauren Hoffman is a millennial transplant to Detroit,
works at Rock Ventures and is actively involved in
the Detroit Jewish community.