Overall Perception of Jewish Institutions

Mean Perceptions of Jewish Institutions

Jewish institutions enjoy positive perception, including helping Jews in need, Israel, those with disabilities and addressing antisemitism Almost all of those who see themselves as engaged know these institutions and have a generally favorable view of these institutions. Seventy-five percent have a favorable view of the local Jewish Federation and 81% have a favorable view of the local JCC. The table above indicates the positive and negative traits of these institutions as they are perceived by American Jews.

Overall Perception of Jewish Institutions

American Jews associate community institutions more with positive than with negative attributes. Our study asked how well a series of words and phrases describe community institutions and organizations on a scale of 1-4, where 4 means that the statement describes the organizations and institutions “very well” and 1 that it “doesn’t describe them at all.”

An average score above 3 means that it describes the institutions at least “pretty well.” The unengaged are less likely to see institutions as open, and more apt to see them as too focused on Israel, poltiics or donors.

Institutions are associated with positive attributes, but less so by the unengaged Jews