American Hebrew Schools Enrollment Declining

[Chava61]

Originally Posted by VA Yankee

I see myself as American first and feel no claim towards Israel, I respect their right to exist as a country but their current political path and the attempts to impose a hard right religious control are something I can not accept. There is a reason our country has a separation of church and state wherever possible.

In Israel there is no real separation of church/synagogue and state. One needs to realize it is a different political system.

I think this article written by a British born Israeli is a good take on the Israeli political system (vs. the American one):
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-741490

[VA Yankee]

Originally Posted by Chava61

In Israel there is no real separation of church/synagogue and state. One needs to realize it is a different political system.

I think this article written by a British born Israeli is a good take on the Israeli political system (vs. the American one):
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-741490

I never said it was like ours but as recent demonstrations are showing people want a more secular government and not some form of Kosher Shariah Law as the hardliners would implement given free reign.
They also want a more moderate position and do not like the hard line rhetoric currently in place which negates the treaties and good will that was agreed to by the government.

Seems the one thing our countries have in common is a distaste for a hard line approach that limits people and tries to force them into a specific mold.

[Chava61]

Originally Posted by VA Yankee

I never said it was like ours but as recent demonstrations are showing people want a more secular government and not some form of Kosher Shariah Law as the hardliners would implement given free reign.
They also want a more moderate position and do not like the hard line rhetoric currently in place which negates the treaties and good will that was agreed to by the government.

Seems the one thing our countries have in common is a distaste for a hard line approach that limits people and tries to force them into a specific mold.

Again in Israel the party with majority in the Knesset needs to form a coalition government with smaller parties. A good number of those parties are religious based especially in order to form a right wing government (as Mr. Netanyahu is the head of the Likud, a right wing party).

Also perhaps not shown in USA (or international) news is that there are demonstrations of voters who support the current right wing government.

Any way, the likelihood of a "kosher Shariah law" style government is not very realistic if one knows Israel and Israelis in general.

[VA Yankee]

Originally Posted by Chava61

Again in Israel the party with majority in the Knesset needs to form a coalition government with smaller parties. A good number of those parties are religious based especially in order to form a right wing government (as Mr. Netanyahu is the head of the Likud, a right wing party).

Also perhaps not shown in USA (or international) news is that there are demonstrations of voters who support the current right wing government.

Any way, the likelihood of a "kosher Shariah law" style government is not very realistic if one knows Israel and Israelis in general.

I already understand how their government is formed and why the current mix is predominantly hard right.

Whether the religious right gets their way or not the current attempts are not being accepted and I think we will only see protests increase. The attempt to changes the power structure of government is especially distasteful to the every day people.

[charolastra00]

I wonder how much of it is that young Jewish couples aren't having children or are waiting to have kids (outside of the Hassidic world). While Jewish people live everywhere, concentrations of Jews and robustly programmed synagogues are more likely to be in urban areas which have seen runaway cost of living.

I'm 35 and have not yet been in the position to have kids, and there are very few kids in my partner and I's social circle of mostly Jewish, professional 30-somethings who live in the suburbs of Boston, NYC, DC, SF, LA, and Miami due to our careers. Unfortunately, kids have become cost prohibitive and we're likely to see these numbers continue to plummet. Jewish life doesn't offer as much support for young families as is needed. Even my synagogue's daycare is approaching $2000 a month for one child 18+ months and "extended day" is considered 8:30 to 4 (which doesn't cover most folk's 9-5 schedules, much less commutes). And that synagogue would be difficult to get to from cheaper suburbs - I'm driving half an hour now to go. There are closer synagogues, but with aging populations and more limited options for young families.

When my parents were my age in the 90s, they had 2 kids, only one worked, and all of their childhood and college friends and coworkers had a few kids. It looks *very* different now both in my social life and at work.