The findings in the most recent Kelman/Cohen studyare not as blazingly obvious as "men want hot women", but they are nonetheless unsurprising.
Based on the responses of more than 1,700 non-Orthodox American Jews of all ages, the study indicates that successively younger age groups show a greater detachment from the State of Israel.
According to the report, which was based on statistics collected as part of the 2007 National Survey of American Jews between December 20, 2006, and January 28, 2007, less than half of Jews under the age of 35 believe Israel's destruction would be a personal tragedy, compared to 78 percent of those over 65. Sixty-six percent of Jews aged 50-64 believe it would be a personal tragedy, compared to 54% aged 35-49.
The study doesn't even lend itself to the favorite American Jewish pastime of fruitless hand-wringing in that there is an obvious policy solution to this "dilemma.":
The new study showed sharp differences in levels of attachment to Israel between people who have visited the country and those who have not. Among those who have never been to Israel, the number of those with a high level of attachment is less than half that of those who have visited at least once (19% vs 42%). Additionally, the level of attachment grows with the amount of time spent in Israel. Thirty-four percent of those who have traveled to Israel once are highly attached to Israel, while only 17% of them report low levels of attachment.
The numbers go up as the time spent in the country increases. Fifty-four percent of those who have traveled to Israel two or more times are highly attached, while less than 10% report low levels of attachment. Meanwhile, 68% of those who have lived in Israel for a semester or year-long program show high levels of attachment.
That last paragraph should be quite effective in rousting up additional funds for Birthright (which given the study's sponsors, was probably the point of the study in the first place).
Not surprisingly, the Post article contaiins the requisite quotes from young, progressive American Jews who express their "detachment" from Israel. But what the findings really show is that young American Jews are increasingly alienated not from the reality of Israel, but of the myth of Israel. The Israel presented in Hebrew schools is one of child-like simplicity - SabraLand!- with the less convenient aspects of Israeli history and society omitted. Without a more sophisticated understanding of Israel, American Jews are ill equipped to respond to the counter-myths that are peddled by anti-Zionists at American universities, which they embrace or at least triangulate. On the other hand, those American Jews who get to personally experience Israel and all of its contradictions - the incredible surface rudeness and underlying warmth of the people, the wonder of Ben and Jerry's and McDonald's being just down the road from the Old City of Jerusalem - develop a mature love for the country, one that can withstand Israel's very human failings and the shifting currents of political fashion.
Cross-posted at Jewcy
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