The research findings of the Institute for Jewish & Community Research regularly appear in both print and electronic media. The Institute serves as a resource for reporters and contributes its own editorials to the op-ed pages of major newspapers.

From modest start, Mandels now major force in Jewish philanthropy

By Michael E. Bennet, Cleveland Jewish News
August 19, 2010

The Mandel brothers' strong identity with their Jewish heritage has resulted in their giving a larger proportion of their grants to Jewish causes than do most other Jewish foundations. In "A Study of Jewish Foundations" in 2007, authors Gary A. Tobin and Aryeh Weinberg found 21% of the total dollars from the 56 largest Jewish foundations went to Jewish organizations. The report listed the Mandels' foundations as giving more than 75% of their total dollars to Jewish organizations, a higher percentage than all but six other foundations. Read on...

How have the Jews who took the Gates Giving pledge given Jewish?

By Jacob Berkman, JTA
August 10, 2010

Bernie and Millie Marcus Marcus, the co-founder of Home Depot, spent some $200 million in building the Aquarium in Atlanta, where he is based. The aquarium and Marcus hosted an evening event at the annual conference of the Jewish Funders Network back in 2008. But if you want more Jewish, the Marcus foundation has a branch dedicated to Jewish giving. There's not a whole lot on the foundation's 990 tax form for 2008 going to Jewish causes - aside from a $4 million gift to the Jewish Federation of Atlanta and a $250,000 gift to the Institute for Jewish and Community Research in San Francisco Read on...

The Giving Pledge and the Jews

By Jacob Berkman, JTA
August 9, 2010

The philanthropic world got a happy jolt last week when 40 members of the globe's wealthy elite announced that they would give away more than half of their money before they died.

Earlier this summer, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett officially laid down the gauntlet to their financial peers and challenged them to give away the majority of their wealth before they died by taking what they dubbed The Giving Pledge.

How this pledge will affect the Jewish world is yet to be determined. While many, such as the late Jewish community researcher Gary Tobin, might make the case that any dollar a Jew gives away to charity should be considered Jewish philanthropy, critics often chide the Jewish philanthropic elite for only giving a small fraction of their charity to overtly Jewish causes. Read on...

Christian Academics Cite Hostility On Campus

By Barbara Bradley Hagerty, NPR
August 3, 2010

One of the hot debates in academia is now reaching the courts. The question: Do universities discriminate against religious conservatives? Some professors and students say they do, but it's not an easy charge to pin down.

When Elaine Howard Ecklund began asking top scientists whether they believe in God, she got a surprise. Ecklund, an assistant professor at Rice University and author of the book Science Vs. Religion, polled 1,700 scientists at elite universities. Contrary to the stereotype that most scientists are atheists, she says, nearly half of them say they are religious. But when she did follow up interviews, she found they practice a "closeted faith."

"They just do not want to bring up that they are religious in an academic discussion. There's somewhat of almost a culture of suppression surrounding discussions of religion at these kinds of academic institutions," Ecklund says.

Aryeh Weinberg, who co-authored the study, says one reason for this is that there are relatively few evangelicals in academia. "The question is, why? Do they self-select out, and if they do, why are they self-selecting out? Are they actually not hired? Are they trying to get hired but not getting hired? Are they getting hired then being forced out, not getting tenure?" Weinberg asks. Read on...

Jewish Couple to Give Away 75 Percent of Wealth

By JTA Staff
June 20, 2010

Los Angeles philanthropists Eli and Edythe Broad have pledged to distribute 75 percent of their total wealth, currently standing at $5.7 billion, "during and/or after our lifetimes." A 2003 study by researcher Gary Tobin found that Jewish mega-donors, those contributing over $10 million each year to charities, apportioned only 6 percent to Jewish causes, including support for Israeli institutions.

According to the Tobin study, the reasons for the modest proportion of big Jewish giving going to Jewish causes include the ever-growing integration of Jewish giving into everything that includes "repairing the world," and the timidity of Jewish organizations in developing projects for mega-donations. In Broad's case, while he says he believes in supporting Jewish causes, his philanthropic decisions are based on hardheaded business sense. Read on...

Jewish Groups Brief Congress Offices on Campuses

By JTA Staff
June 13, 2010

American Jewish groups briefed congressional staffers on the intimidation of Jewish students on college campuses.

The June 7 briefing, convened by Rep. Ron Klein (D-Fla.), the co-chairman of the Congressional Task Force Against Anti-Semitism, drew staffers from about 25 congressional offices, including those of leading lawmakers such as Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), the chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Energy Committee; Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.), the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee; and Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.), the chairwoman of the foreign operations subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee.

Jewish groups represented included the Zionist Organization of America, the American Jewish Committee, Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, and the Institute for Jewish and Community Research. Read on...

Florida Textbooks Distorting History

By Dr. Richard M. Swier
Pelican Press (Sarasota, FL)
May 13, 2010

This letter is in response to the May 5 Pelican Press editorial, "District leaders must stand fast in the face of ignorance."

May I respectfully address the editorial in question and how it portrays those who object to Sarasota County School District textbooks that are fatally flawed? How do I know this? Because I read the textbook, as did Gary A. Tobin and Dennis R. Ybarra, co-authors of The Trouble with Textbooks: Distorting History and Religion. What Sarasota County parents, grandparents, concerned citizens, I, Gary and Dennis found was that "World History" distorted both history and religion. But beyond that it established one religion as superior to all the others. It placed Islam in a textually superior position as fact with other religions portrayed as belief systems. This textual portrayal may violate the establishment clause in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Read on...

"Where did the Protestant justices go?"

By Patrick O'Callahan
The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA)
May 10, 2010

If Elena Kagan -- a Jew -- replaces Justice John Paul Stevens -- a Protestant -- on the Supreme Court, the court will consist of six Roman Catholics and three Jews. Protestantism, still the country's majority religion, will be completely shut out for the first time in American history.

Evangelicals need not apply. This is an oversimplification, but Ivy League campuses and other high-prestige schools are not particularly hospitable to conservative Protestants. In fact, the professoriat in general seems hostile to evangelicals. I don't think professors dislike their beliefs per se so much as they view them as political Neanderthals who vote for the likes of George W. Bush.

Check out this 2007 survey by the Institute for Jewish & Community Research. It suggests that a large percentage of college faculty members positively despise evangelicals, an attitude that can't help but affect the atmosphere on campus and spill over into the classroom. Read on...

Florida's Textbook War Heats Up

By Richard M. Swier
Family Security Matters.org
May 5, 2010

There is a growing movement that began in Sarasota and is now spreading throughout the state of Florida and beyond. I recently met Aya, who was concerned about the Florida Edition of the McDougal Littel high school textbook World History: Patterns of Interaction. This textbook is on both the Florida Department of Education and Sarasota County School Board approved list of references. This textbook was one of 28 reviewed by the Institute for Jewish and Community Research. The Institute produced a comprehensive study in 2009 titled The Trouble with Textbooks: Distorting History and Religion. An Executive Summary of the report may be read by clicking here. The study found: "Textbooks around the world [including World History: Patterns of Interaction] are blatantly used as tools for propaganda. It is shocking to discover that history and geography textbooks widely used in America's elementary and secondary classrooms contain some of the very same inaccuracies about Christianity, Judaism, and the Middle East as those in Iran." Read on...

Jewish groups ask feds to change policy and include anti-Semitism

By Josh Nathan-Kazis
The Forward
April 14, 2010

Are Jews an ethnic or a religious group? This perennial question is now at the heart of a Jewish communal effort to get the U.S. Department of Education more deeply involved in probing allegations of antisemitism on college campuses.

Thirteen national Jewish organizations have sent a letter to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan arguing that the department's Office for Civil Rights has adopted a policy that fails to protect Jewish students from antisemitic harassment on college campuses.

"The current policy is not to address antisemitism at all," said Kenneth Marcus, who headed the department's civil rights office from 2003 to 2004. "The only way a complaint will be addressed is if it's by a black Jew who faces racism, or a female Jew who faces sexism, or a disabled Jew who faces disability discrimination. But a Jew who faces antisemitism will not be addressed." Read on...

SPME Joins 13 Organizations to Press Education Secretary to Act on Anti-Semitism on College Campuses

By Edward S. Beck
Scholars for Peace in the Middle East
April 2, 2010

Scholars for Peace in the Middle East (SPME ), has joined with a dozen other groups with a letter to US Secretary to Arne Duncan calling for him to enforce existing law to ensure that Jewish students are protected from anti-Semitic harassment, intimidation and discrimination on Campus. The letter urged Secretary Duncan to clarify the authority of the Department's Office for Civil Rights to protect Jewish students who are threatened, harassed, or intimidated on their campuses because of their religion or ethnic identity.

SPME Legal Task Force Chair Kenneth L. Marcus commented, "This is a hugely important letter, because it places the weight of the organized Jewish community behind efforts to reverse the Obama administration's recent statement that it would not extend civil rights protections to Jewish students under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. What we're asking for is to place Jewish students on an equal footing with all other groups." Marcus, who formerly headed the Office for Civil Rights, now teaches at Baruch College and is a director at the Institute for Jewish & Community Research. Read on...

Don't Mess with Texas...Textbooks!

By Chuck Norris
World Net Daily
March 15, 2010

By now, you most likely know that Texas has become ground zero for the latest battles in the textbook wars. While conservatives and progressives take their stands on the issue, I wondered, what would America's founders think about this feud?

Interestingly, in 2009, authors Gary Tobin and Dennis Ybarra of the Institute for Jewish and Community Research found some 500 imperfections and distortions concerning religion in 28 of the most widely used social-studies and history textbooks in the United States.

That is why, as reported even in a recent New York Times treatise, conservatives argue that most American history in textbooks basically avoids religion -- and thus changes and misrepresents history -- and prominent religious scholars are apt to agree with them on that point. Read on...

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What's Wrong With Charitable Giving - and How to Fix It

By Pablo Eisenberg
The Wall Street Journal
November 11, 2009

It's hard to overstate the crisis facing charitable giving today. So let me just say it as plainly as I can: Much of current philanthropic giving, by foundations and individuals, neither meets the needs of our charitable organizations nor addresses some of our most urgent public needs.

Foundation practices today are too bureaucratic, inflexible and cautious, and too focused on short-term objectives. Too often, the process and procedures of grant making are more tailored to the needs of foundations and their trustees than to the requirements of nonprofits. Read on...

Hillel groups responding to hate acts by bringing together campus communities

By Sue Fishkoff
JTA
November 1, 2009

Stanford University's Jewish community celebrated the first night of Sukkot eating the traditional festive meal inside the sukkah they put up every year.

The next morning, on Oct. 3, a student walked into the sukkah to discover that it had been vandalized: Someone had spray-painted large phalluses on the entrance flaps.

Campus police were called and the graffiti were covered with tapestries. Hillel alerted the entire campus with an e-mail blast.

Although the attack may have been shocking and upsetting, it was not unprecedented. Read on...

Exclusive: Review: 'The Trouble with Textbooks - Distorting History and Religion'

By Martha Gies-Chumney
Family Security Matters
October 8, 2009

Intense criticism of American public education makes The Trouble with Textbooks - Distorting History and Religion (Lexington Books 2008) by Gary Tobin and Dennis Ybarra even more relevant today. "This book is a case study of the information and message in American classrooms: how factual they are, how inclusive, how balanced." Textbooks today have what Tobin and Ybarra call a "booming authorial voice." Consequently, knowledge and scrutiny of the evaluation process of textbooks, supplementary classroom materials, and teacher in-services are needed as never before. Read on...

New Fox News Documentary

"Do You Know What Textbooks Your Children Are Really Reading?"
featuring Trouble with Textbooks co-author Dennis Ybarra

The Trouble with Textbooks co-author Dennis Ybarra is interviewed by Fox News in a one-hour documentary: "Do Your Know What Textbooks Your Children Are Really Reading?" broadcast September 4-6.

• Watch excerpts: 4 minutes
• Watch excerpts: 14 minutes
• Watch the full program: 44 minutes

Hard times dampen Jewish High Holidays

By David O'Reilly
Philly.com
Septemeber 18, 2009

The time has arrived again when Jews around the world greet one another with l'Shana Tovah, the traditional wish for a good new year, or Rosh Hashanah, which begins tonight.

But with job losses and the troubled economy taking their toll on synagogue membership, many congregational and denominational leaders worry that 5770, like 5769, will not be a banner year. Read on...

Harvard Isn't Poor

By Lynne Munson and Donald Frey
Inside Higher Ed
July 31, 2009

It's a dramatic tale: The story of the once-wealthy institution that houses America's smartest -- our leading university, perhaps the world's -- now just scraping by. Searches frozen and secretaries dismissed, hot breakfasts suspended, trash piled high: Harvard is "poor," its endowment "collapsed," according to Vanity Fair magazine.

Harvard isn't taking issue with this impoverished profile. In fact, the stream of leaked letters and memos pouring out of this typically proud and stoic institution seem to suggest it is unopposed to its characterization as strapped. But is it true? Is Harvard really poor? Read on...

How American Textbooks Mislead on Jews and Israel

Book Review: The Trouble with Textbooks: Distorting History and Religion

by Dr. Manfred Gerstenfeld
Jewish Political Studies Review
Published July 2009

In recent years there has been increasing analysis of anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic events, as well as biased academic teaching, on American campuses. Little however is known about prejudiced teaching in high schools. Evidence of its extent is mainly anecdotal. Read on...

Book Review: The Trouble With Textbooks: Distorting History And Religion

CAMERA.org
By Maxime Myer-Smith
March 9, 2009

According to the recently released The Trouble with Textbooks: Distorting History and Religion, textbooks commonly used in America's schools are misinforming K-12 students about subjects ranging from history to religion and politics.

"It is shocking to find the kind of misinformation we discovered in American textbooks and supplemental materials being used by schools in every state in the country," said Dr. Gary A. Tobin, president of the Institute for Jewish and Community Research, based in San Francisco. ...more

Authors Warn That Many Textbooks Distort Religion

Fox News
By Lauren Green
March 7, 2009

Jesus was a Palestinian? That's what one public school textbook says.

Although Jesus lived in a region known in his time as Palestine, the use of the term "Palestinian," with its modern connotations, is among the hundreds of textbook flaws cited in a recent five-year study of educational anti-Semitism detailed in the book "The Trouble with Textbooks: Distorting History and Religion."

Authors Gary Tobin and Dennis Ybarra of the Institute for Jewish and Community Research found some 500 imperfections and distortions concerning religion in 28 of the most widely used social studies and history textbooks in the United States. ...more

Institute Uncovers Bias in K-12 History Textbooks

The Jewish Journal
By Lilly Fowler
February 25, 2009

For more than three years, Dennis Ybarra did what many schoolchildren loathe to do for even one day: He pored over textbooks.

As part of a five-year study launched by the Institute for Jewish and Community Research, an independent think tank based in San Francisco, Ybarra read 28 social studies, history and geography textbooks widely used in both public and private schools nationwide.

Read the Article

Charities' Loss of Trust and Stability Is the True Damage of the Madoff Scandal

The Chronicle of Philanthropy
By Gary Tobin
January 15, 2009

Now that nearly a month has passed since news of the Bernard Madoff scam broke, it is time to put the scandal in perspective. Much has been written about the horrific effects on Jewish philanthropy, and how the fraud reaches deep into Jewish nonprofit life.

Full Article

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Madoff's Charity Victims

Interview with President of the Institute for Jewish & Community Research, Gary Tobin on the most troubling aspect of the Maddoff scheme.
2008

Teaching Religion: U.S. Textbooks Distort History, Christianity

Washington Times
By Tony Blankley
December 23, 2008

I recently read a book that deserves the widest possible readership. The book is "The Trouble with Textbooks - Distorting History and Religion" by Gary A. Tobin and Dennis R. Ybarra. I have never met or talked with either of these gentlemen, but I can't say enough good things about this book. For all who believe that there is a fairly objective rendition of history that we are obliged to teach our children, this book reveals how shockingly far from that objective American education-and particularly school textbooks-have fallen.

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School endowments: Saving for what?

Boston Globe
By Lynne Munson and Donald Frey
December 19, 2008

President Richard Levin admitted this week that the institution's endowment has lost 25 percent of its value, or over $5 billion. Harvard University's endowment is down $8 billion. These losses are difficult to appreciate unless their value is translated into real goods. For $8 billion Harvard could have provided 25 years of Crimson undergraduates with a free education. Or built the largest particle accelerator in the world.

Read the Article

Impact on Jewish Charities Is Catastrophic

Wall Street Journal
By ELEANOR LAISE and DENNIS K. BERMAN
December 16, 2008

"In the Jewish world, we've just taken a major, central player, and introduced fear and uncertainty all over the system. It's like finding out your brother is a murderer" said Gary Tobin, president of the Institute for Jewish and Community Research, which studies Jewish philanthropy. Dr. Tobin estimated the total amount of such giving in the U.S. to be as much as $5 billion annually.

Full Article
Read the Interview

'The Trouble with Textbooks' spells out flaws

USA Today
By Greg Toppo
December 1, 2008

In 2004, the Institute for Jewish and Community Research, a San Francisco think tank, launched an effort to address "anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism" in American education, from K-12 to higher education. Its book, The UnCivil University, focused on the USA's colleges and universities. ...more

New Arab-Israeli battleground: textbooks

Book Review: Trouble with Textbooks

San Diego Jewish World
By Norman Manson
October 29, 2008

This is an exhaustive, well researched study of a problem that is given too little attention in critiques of the American educational system - named, the prevalence of biases in the textbooks that students in all grades rely on for their views on key issues. The authors have pored through 28 history, geography and religion textbooks in minute detail, and have found more than 500 "specific and notable problematic entries." Read on...

For nonprofits in a tough economy, marketing pitch must be perfect

The Jerusalem Post
By Jacob Berkman
October 16, 2008

Mouchly-Weiss also sits on the executive committee of the UJA-Federation of New York, and is on the boards of the New Israel Fund, the Abraham Fund and the Israel Policy Forum.

Her message is clear: With nonprofits facing a shrinking fund-raising pool as funders either lose money or become more tightfisted, organizations will have to come up with an effective pitch for convincing donors that they are running tight ships. And nonprofits have to recognize that their messaging may be their meal tickets. ...more

The Indigenous Lives of Jesus and Mohammed

FrontPage Magazine
By Steve Frantzman
October 16, 2008

A new study of American elementary school text books by the Institute for Jewish and Community Research has found that the history of ancient and modern Israel has been politicized by modern interpretations of the 'conflict' in the Middle East. ...more

Madoff: The Atomic Bomb for Jewish Charities

The Wall Street Journal
Posted by Dennis K. Berman
October 15, 2008

Deal Journal: So what are the direct effects of the Madoff scandal?
GT: There are three effects. The first is that at least hundreds of millions of dollars in foundation assets have disappeared. Major Jewish foundations have lost 50% to 100% of their assets, which means tens of millions of dollars on an annual basis won’t be given away. ...more

'Jesus Was a Palestinian,' Claims U.S. History Text, Study: American Public School Books have 'Same Inaccuracies' as Arab Texts"

The World Net Daily
By Bob Unruh
October 3, 2008

A new study reveals that if Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wanted to criticize the nation of Israel before the United Nations, he could use American public school textbooks to do so. ...more

New Research: Jews, Israel Suffer Unfair Hits in U.S. Textbooks

J. The Jewish News Weekly of Northern California
By Amanda Pazornik
October 3, 2008

If your child brought home a history book that said Jesus was a Palestinian, or that Jews contributed little to the arts and sciences aside form Old Testament poetry, how would you react? Would you rush to the principal's office, tear out the pages or do nothing? ...more

Synagogue, and 'Spiritual Starbucks'

The New York Times
By Paul Vittello
September 28, 2008

Gary A. Tobin, director of the Institute for Jewish and Community Research in San Francisco, said such partnerships marked "the convergence of the two major trends in Jewish life: the expansion of the most successful movement in world Jewry, which is Chabad, and the undeniable fact that Jews are becoming birds of passage like everyone else, less likely to belong to a synagogue but still searching for the authentic religious fundamentals." ...more

Study Says US Textbooks Misrepresent Jews and Israel

The Jerusalem Post
By Haviv Rettig
September 26, 2008

American elementary and high school textbooks contain many "gross misrepresentations" of Judaism, Christianity and Israel, according to a book-length study released this week by the San Francisco-based Institute for Jewish and Community Research.

"It is shocking to discover that history and geography textbooks widely used in America's elementary and secondary classrooms contain some of the very same inaccuracies about Christianity, Judaism and the Middle East as those [used] in Iran," the IJCR said in a summary of the findings of the five-year study. ...more

Paying It Forward - and Back

The Chronicle of Philanthropy
By Suzanne Perry
September 4, 2008

The Institute for Jewish and Community Research, in San Francisco, conducted a study of more than 8,000 donations of at least $1-million each made from 2001 to 2003. The biggest proportion — 44 percent of total dollars — went to colleges and universities, followed by health and medical institutions (16 percent) and arts and culture groups (12 percent). Groups that provide social services received only 5 percent of the pot."The disparity among nonprofits is so stark that it was inevitable that elected officials would start to to take a look at this," says Gary A. Tobin, the institute's president. ...more

Quiet war on campus: Israel remains under attack despite fewer public protests

The Jewish Journal
By Brad Greenberg
August 20, 2008

"Whether there are more or less anti-Israel demonstrations on campus really misses the point," said Gary Tobin, president of the Institute for Jewish & Community Research. "The real insidious nature of this ideology is what takes place in the classrooms and in the writings of faculty in their research -- all of those are far more significant, dangerous and insidious. The legitimacy that Walt and Mearsheimer and Jimmy Carter have given to anti-Israelists has been huge. Just take a look inside the office of the academic affairs director at the Israel Consulate in Los Angeles." ...more

Muslim census a difficult count

Cathy Lynn Grossman
USA Today
August 6, 2008

A recent report by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life found 44 percent of American adults have switched away from the religious affiliation in which they were raised. Cause for concern? Maybe, maybe not.

One of the report's major findings is that Catholics and mainline Protestant denominations are the big losers, while evangelical and non-denominational Protestants are the big winners. ...more

Positive Realist

Lifestyles Magazine
Spring 2008

Dr. Gary A. Tobin knows how to make a point- even if it's not always easy to hear what the well-known demographer and President of the Institute for Jewish and Community Research in San Francisco has to say. Tobin challenges traditional ways of thinking about Jewish communal life. He tackles hot topics like the increasing trend of megagifts being donated outside of the Jewish community, antisemitism in America's educational system, new ways of looking at intermarriage and conversion to Judaism, and the need to embrace today's growing number of racially and ethnically diverse Jews. ...more

In Living Color

Jewish Living Magazine
July 2008

Raising a biracial Jewish daughter, a mother finds herself answering many questions: from her child, from total strangers, and from her own heart.

"Mommy, you became Jewish when you had me."

That's how Mae, my eight-year-old daughter, explains it, and she's right. Sort of. Mae was seven months old when her father walked out and I became a single mom. At that point in my life, I'd never been so far from Judaism. I was firmly planted in motherhood, but it would take me a while to see that I needed my religious roots to unfold. ...more

Some Jewish Nonprofit Groups Lay Off Employees and Trim Programs

The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Staff Writer
July 3, 2008

In these tough economic times, some Jewish nonprofit organizations are reducing the size of their staffs and programs, reports The Jewish Week, in New York.

The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, an international relief agency, and the Jewish federation umbrella group United Jewish Communities recently cut dozens of jobs, and several Jewish groups and programs have closed. ...more

Staying Afloat

With Economic Questions Looming, Nonprofits Weigh Options

The Forward
Anthony Weiss
June 18, 2008

With food and oil prices skyrocketing, the stock and housing markets in tatters, and the threat of a recession looming on the horizon, now is not the easiest time to ask donors to open their checkbooks. Across the country, these economic ills are being felt not only by individuals and families, but also by a whole range of Jewish institutions, from synagogues to food banks to social service not-for-profits that depend upon the generosity of donors to stay afloat. ...more

Coercing the Conscience: New Examples of the Reign of Intolerance in Schools of Social Work

National Association of Scholars
By Glen Ricketts
June 6, 2008

A recent empirical survey of religious attitudes among college and university faculty suggests strongly a widespread pattern of hostility towards evangelicals by professors. In Religious Beliefs & Behavior of College Faculty (San Francisco: Institute for Jewish & Community Research, 2007), authors Gary Tobin and Aryeh Weinberg affirm unsurprisingly that academics, although certainly not monolithic, are generally less religiously inclined than the larger public. ...more

Guest Commentary: Competition and the American Religious Marketplace

By Rodney Stark and Gary Tobin
Religion News Servce
March 2008

A recent report by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life found 44 percent of American adults have switched away from the religious affiliation in which they were raised. Cause for concern? Maybe, maybe not.

One of the report's major findings is that Catholics and mainline Protestant denominations are the big losers, while evangelical and non-denominational Protestants are the big winners. ...more

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Growing Share of 'Megagifts' Goes to Colleges, Hospitals, and Museums, Study Finds

The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Debra E. Blum
December 11, 2007

Colleges, hospitals, and museums, long at the top of the list for America’s biggest donors and grant makers, are receiving a growing slice of multimillion-dollar gifts, according to a new study. ...more

Philanthropy's Largest Gifts Go to Colleges and Universities Religion and Human Services Are Almost Shut Out

Institute for Jewish and Community Research
Gary A. Tobin, Ph.D.
December 11, 2007

San Francisco – (December 11, 2007) - According to a new study released by the Institute for Jewish & Community Research (IJCR), higher education, health, and cultural arts organizations receive the lion’s share of the largest gifts that individuals, foundations, and corporations contribute to American philanthropy. ...more

Report: A Fifth of Jewish Foundation Dollars Going to Jewish, Israeli Causes

JTA
Jacob Berkman
October 9, 2007

NEW YORK (JTA) -- The country's largest Jewish foundations give about a fifth of their funds to Jewish causes - and that number could fall, according to the researchers behind a report released this week... more

Robbing the Rich to Give to the Richest

Inside Higher Ed
By Lynne Munson
July 26, 2007

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, fresh from an investigation of the student loan industry, is out with a plan he says will "help reverse the crisis in college affordability." Kennedy’s Robin Hood approach takes $18 billion from lenders and applies it to reducing loan repayment costs for students, among other purposes.

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Student groups ready for debate after anti-Semitism lecture

The South End
Brandy Trapp
March 28, 2007

Sparks didn't fly during an event hosted by Students for Israel (SFI) and attended by members of Anti-Racist Action (ARA). Students from both groups said the meeting on campus anti-Semitism and civil rights was productive, and though they will not give up their personal beliefs, they are ready for debate without name-calling. ...more

Meet Civil Rights Director in Michigan - TOPIC: Campus Anti-Semitism

Stand With Us Michigan
March 21, 2007

To cap off what has been a banner inaugural year, StandWithUs/Michigan, which has proudly supported local students on the ground and out front in challenging anti-Israel bias and hostility in the classroom and on campus, is honored to bring the director of the US Commission on Civil Rights to educate our community about the troubling rise in campus anti-Semitism. ...more

Amid grumbling, UJC may get out of population survey business

the j.
January 5, 2007

At this point, even the Warren Commission probably wouldn't buy the National Jewish Population Survey's numbers.

The United Jewish Communities-sponsored 2000-2001 NJPS, the largest and most expensive survey of American Jews yet, raised eyebrows when it found only 5.2 million Jews in the United States, a drop of 300,000 from the UJC's 1990 tally. ...more

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On Campus, A Culture of Conformity

by Gary A. Tobin
The Forward
November 10, 2006

Almost two-thirds of American faculty members say their colleagues are sometimes reluctant to express their true opinions when those opinions contradict dominant views on campus. That number should be zero. ...more

The second most dangerous country: the United States

Haaretz
Shmuel Rosner
October 26, 2006

41% of faculty members in U.S. universities see the United States and Israel combined as the greatest threats to the world. For humanities faculty, 56% list the U.S. and Israel, compared to just 41% who list China, Russia, and Iran combined. ...more

Liberal 'Groupthink' Puts Professors at Odds With Most Americans, Report Says

The Chronicle of Higher Education
Robin Wilson
October 19, 2006

A report released on Wednesday on the political views of faculty members accuses professors of liberal "groupthink," a stance that the report says puts them at odds with the beliefs of most Americans on national and international issues. ...more

Day Schools Don't Isolate, They Foster Jewish Identity

J, the Jewish news weekly of Northern California
Saul Singer
July 28, 2006

It's too soon to tell. We still have to hold our breath. But the Jewish people may be slowly gearing up to save themselves. About 700 day schools are now in America, enrolling 200,000 students - double the number in 1978. ... more

As Day Schools Rake in Mega-Gifts, Some See a Trend in Jewish Giving

Combined Jewish Philanthropies
Chanan Tigay
May 9, 2006

In February, news broke that the Jim Joseph Foundation would give some $25 million a year to Jewish education.

The previous month, the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, Md., received a $15 million gift from a family foundation. In late 2004, a group of anonymous families made a $45 million donation to three Boston-area day schools. ... more

Congress, Civil Rights Commission Back Campus Accountability

j., The Jewish News Weekly of Northern California
Ron Kampeas
April 28, 2006

The effort by an alliance of Jewish groups to hold government-funded Middle East studies departments accountable took two strides forward in recent weeks: one legislative and one moral. ...more

Civil-Rights Panel Urges Federal Monitoring of Campus Anti-Semitism

The Chronicle of Higher Education
Jennifer Jacobson
April 14, 2006

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights voted last week to recommend that Education Department officials protect college students from anti-Semitism by "vigorously enforcing" Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It also called on university leaders to denounce hate speech on their campuses and to ensure that all academic units, including departments of Middle East studies, "respect intellectual diversity." ...more

Change in Law Proposed To Stamp Out Anti-Semitism in Schools

New York Sun
Meghan Clyne
April 4, 2006

The United States Commission on Civil Rights is calling on Congress to amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act to explicitly protect Jews against anti-Semitic harassment on America's campuses. ...more

U.S. Commission Finds "Serious Problem" With Anti-Semitism on Campuses

Religion News Service
Piet Levy
April 4, 2006

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights reports that many college campuses have a "serious problem" with anti-Semitism and urges universities and government agencies to take corrective steps. ...more

Anti-Israel Bias at Colleges Scrutinized

USA Today
Mary Beth Marklein
April 3, 2006

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, responding to allegations that an anti-Israel bias is rampant on college campuses, approved recommendations Monday aimed at ensuring that Jewish college students are protected from anti-Semitic harassment. ...more

Rights Body Condemns Anti-Semitism on Campus

JTA Daily Briefing
April 3, 2006

Anti-Semitism on campuses is a "serious problem" that merits a campaign to inform Jewish students of their rights, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights said. ...more

A Disavowal of Absolutely No Value

Chicago Tribune
Gary Tobin
February 19, 2006

Northwestern University President Henry Bienen has upbraided tenured engineering professor Arthur Butz for his repugnant embrace of Holocaust denial. For that, the academic community and the American public should be grateful. Leadership in America's universities on basic moral issues is sometimes slow and sometimes absent, especially when it comes to calling anti-Semitic speech by its real name. ...more

Between the Lines

University Business
Caryn Meyers Fliegl
February 1, 2006

THE UNCIVIL UNIVERSITY: Politics and Propaganda in American Education

Consider this: The NCAA last year required several schools to stop using Native American mascots. George Will, the conservative columnist, called the demand to rid the University of Illinois of Chief Illiniwek "chief among silliness."

The Campus Truth Foundation, a nonprofit group, will soon rate campuses on tolerance, providing a new index for IHE comparison. ...more

Islamic Studies a Hot New Course at U.S. Colleges

NPR
Eric Weiner
January 18, 2006

Shortly after noon recently at the University of Miami, students shuffle into a classroom. They're lucky to be here -- the class is full, and there's a waiting list to get in. The course, Introduction to Islam, is one of a growing number of Islamic studies courses being offered by universities across the country.

In the wake of the September 11 attacks, interest in Islamic and Middle Eastern studies has surged and universities are scrambling to meet that demand. But they face a shortage of qualified professors, as well as accusations of bias in the classroom. ...more

Koret Foundation Funds Awards $100,000 Matching Grant to Caravan for Democracy High School Edition

Funding Will Allow for Expansion of Israel Advocacy Program

JNF Press Release
San Francisco, CA
January 18, 2006

On the heels of a successful pilot year, Koret Foundation Funds of San Francisco has renewed its support of Caravan for Democracy High School Edition by awarding the program with a $100,000 matching grant.

"After funding the inaugural year of this program, we are happy to once again participate in the Caravan for Democracy High School program in Northern California," said Jeff Farber, Executive Director of Koret. "Surely our support recognizes Caravan's work in high schools to better acquaint students with the positive aspects of Israel, and ways in which to advocate for Israel once they reach college."

Caravan for Democracy High School Edition (HSE), a program of Jewish National Fund, Media Watch International, and American Friends of Likud, empowers high school juniors and seniors to advocate for Israel and respond to anti-Israel sentiments when they go off to college. The program has filled a void in Jewish education that previously left many students unprepared to support Israel when faced with opposing viewpoints or hostility. ...more

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An anti-Semitic atmosphere

haaretz.com
Avi Beker
December 20, 2005

On September 17, 2002, Harvard President Larry Summers delivered his traditional remarks in honor of the beginning of the academic year. However, in an admittedly unprecedented fashion, Summers decided to come out against the burgeoning anti-Semitism among academic communities. ....more

Prince of Tithes

Wall Street Journal Online
December 16, 2005

In an era when Saudi nationals are best known for flying planes into buildings or funding radical Islamic groups that espouse terror and spread hatred, it is almost a relief to see a Saudi royal donate money to two U.S. universities for a benign-sounding cause. Harvard and Georgetown announced this week separate gifts of $20 million each from Prince Alwaleed bin Talal to fund Islamic studies.....more

In Order to Restore Accountability, Campuses Need Oversight

j., The Jewish News Weekly of Northern California
Gary Tobin
December 16, 2005

Each spring, well-rehearsed university graduation ceremonies fill the halls of ivy and public venues. The ancient robes, the stirring music, speakers' calls to high-minded purposes feed the public's perception of universities as special institutions deserving of respect, the sacrifices of students and parents, and above all, an ample supply of taxpayer and philanthropic dollars.....more

Jewish Groups Claim Discrimination on Campuses

Daily Colonial, George Washington University
Melissa Key
December 11, 2005

A number of pro-Israeli and civil rights advocates called on public officials last week to act against anti-Semitism and anti-Israel bias on college campuses.

At a Nov. 18 hearing before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, representatives of four Jewish and education rights groups said that anti-Semitism at American colleges and universities is a widespread problem that needs to be realized. ...more

Civil-Rights Panel Hears Complaints of Anti-Semitism on Campuses

The Chronicle of Higher Education
Jennifer Jacobson
December 2, 2005

Representatives of Jewish groups have told the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights that anti-Semitism and anti-Israel bias are rampant at colleges and universities across the country, and should be halted by campus officials or, if necessary, through federal and state government intervention. ....more

Campus Oversight Passes Senate As Review Effort Scores a Victory

JTA
Ron Kampeas
December 1, 2005

The effort by some Jewish groups to establish a government review procedure for claims of anti-Israel bias at universities scored a victory in the U.S. Senate, but at the expense of a mechanism some advocates say is crucial to addressing campus anti-Semitism.

The Senate passed legislation earlier this month that would require the Department of Education to consult with an array of U.S. security and diplomatic agencies before renewing grants to institutes of higher learning....more

Hatred Brews Against Jews at Colleges

humaneventsonline.com
Ivy Sellers
December 1, 2005

A student at Columbia University recently reported being pulled aside by the professor during a classroom discussion on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and told to stay out of the discussion. "You have no voice in this debate," he said. "See, you have green eyes. You’re not a Semite. … You have no claim to the land of Israel." ....more

Book: College Campuses Quiet, but Anti-Israel Feeling Is Growing

JTA News
Joe Eskenazi
November 29, 2005

When it comes to raucous anti-Israel rallies, it’s quiet on the nation’s campuses.

Too quiet, San Francisco’s Gary Tobin says.

The chaotic, often violent anti-Israel campus demonstrations of 2001 and 2002 caught the attention of the media and provided an easy example for pro-Israel activists to say, "See? This is what we’re up against." ....more

Colleges See Anti-Semitism Rise

Washington Times
Brian DeBose
November 26, 2005

A panel of Jewish academics recently presented evidence to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights that anti-Semitic programs on college campuses are increasing.

The commission heard testimony from Gary A. Tobin and Susan Tuchman, director of the Zionist Organization of America, that Jewish students at the University of California at Irvine, Columbia University and other campuses have recently experienced hostility and intimidation. ....more

Religious Freedom in America, Abroad Presented on Capitol Hill

By Francis Helguero
Christian Post
November 18, 2005

At the monthly meeting of the Congressional Working Committee on Religious Freedom on Thursday, leaders and representatives in their respective fields reported on their concerns over religious restrictions and civil rights violations at home and abroad.

The group gathered in the Capitol building gave brief reports on issues including Israeli-Palestinian tensions in the Middle East, anti-Semitism in universities, a Chicago Christian cemetery and difficulties with laws about the expansion of a nearby airport, as well as Saudi Arabia and extreme forms of Islam. In attendance through part of the meeting was also Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.)...more

Only Encouraging Them

Wall Street Journal Op-Ed
James Piereson
November 18, 2005

Students at Yale University's School of Music -- and aspiring musicians hoping to go there someday -- must have been jumping for joy two weeks ago when the school announced that it had received an anonymous $100 million endowment gift that would guarantee them all free tuition. A few days later Tufts University, not to be outdone, announced that it had received its own $100 million gift. This one was from Pierre Omidyar, alumnus and founder of eBay, who did not specify how his money was to be used, only that the principal must be invested in "micro loans" to small business enterprises in poor countries in Asia and Africa... more

Fundraising Just a Mouse Click Away

Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles
Tzvi Kahn, Jewish Telegraphic Agency
July 22,2005

When Carol Vavra, a major and tactical airlift navigator in the U.S. Air Force, returns home from the Middle East at the end of July, her husband will have a surprise waiting for her.

Paul Vavra, a recently retired Air Force major and an avid classic rock fan, bought his wife a pair of tickets to a Rolling Stones concert for $760 on eBay. In the process, he made a substantial donation to the UJA-Federation of New York... more

Wanted: 1 Rich Jew

Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles
Rob Eshman, Editor-in-Chief
June 24, 2005

Americans Seek Connection to God Without Religion

PR WEB
June 16, 2005

Sankara Saranam's book is about establishing a personal relationship with God, unhindered by dogma, creed, or ritual. The ultimate goal is to spread peace and understanding.

Is religion gaining ground in America, or are people simply looking harder for answers? Religion and spirituality books are selling strongly, while the number of Americans not identified with a religion is rising. It appears that more and more people are seeking God on their own rather than through established belief systems...more

Where Are the Women?

j., The Jewish News Weekly of Northern California
Editorial
May 20, 2005

Few Jewish communities are as rich in leadership as the Bay Area. Our region has produced sterling leaders, some of national prominence, in every realm of Jewish communal life...So why run a story about the serious shortage of qualified Jewish community leaders?. ...more

COVER STORY: Who Will Fill These Shoes?

Shortage of executives impacts Jewish organizations

j., The Jewish News Weekly of Northern California
Dan Pine, Staff Writer
May 20, 2005

Dick Rosenberg gazes out the window of his downtown San Francisco office. Somewhere out there, across the fruited plain, is the next chief executive officer of the S.F-based Jewish Community Federation. ...more

Campus Turmoil
Jewish students and activists call UC Irvine a hotbed of anti-Semitic harassment

Jewish Journal
Marc Ballon, Senior Writer
March 11, 2005

In the center quad at UC Irvine, Amir Abdel Malik Ali stands before a crowd of 150, his hands clutching a podium bearing the message, "Desperation of the Zionist Lobby."

"Zionism is a mixture, a fusion of the concept of white supremacy and the chosen people," the Oakland-based Muslim religious leader and teacher told the audience at the Feb. 2 Muslim Student Union (MSU)-organized event....more

Short News and Commentary: A Giving People

American Enterprise Magazine Online
John R. Lott, Sonya Jones, Mark Steyn, Alan Dowd, Naomi Riley, and Laurie Vuoto
February 4, 2005

Within three weeks of the Asian tsunami disaster, private donors in America had given even more than the $350 million in official assistance pledged by the U.S. government, note researchers Gary Tobin, Alexander Karp, and Aryeh Weinberg in a forthcoming study entitled "American Mega-Giving." With private contributions continuing to pour in, and $6 million per day of relief assistance being carried out by nearly 20,000 U.S. troops, total U.S. aid for this disaster will exceed $1 billion... more

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Nation's Unchurched Doubled in Decade, Poll Finds

LA Times
K. Connie Kang, Times Staff Writer
October 30, 2004

The proportion of Americans who say they have no religious affiliation doubled over the last decade and now stands at 16% of the population, according to a new study on religious identity...more

Will Voters' Religious Devotion Factor Heavily on Election Day?

San Diego Union-Tribune
Sandi Dolbee, Religion & Ethics Editor
October 12, 2004

In an election year dance that has seen Roman Catholics swaying toward the GOP and Muslims stepping to the Democratic ticket, pollsters are scrambling to keep up with the choreography...more

Report: Religion in U.S. on the decline

United Press International
San Francisco, CA
September 22, 2004

A new survey by the Institute for Jewish and Community Research concludes that religious identity in the United States has declined over the past decade...more

Terrorism And Anti-Semitism Are Inseparably Married

Jewish Press
Sen. Sam Brownback
September 28, 2004

Editor’s Note: The following remarks were delivered last week on the floor of the U.S. Senate

Mr. President, I thank my colleague from Pennsylvania for addressing the topic of anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism expanding in the world. I have comments to add to this issue as well...more

'Passion' Film Lessens Hostility Towards Jews, Poll Shows

CNSNews.com
Melanie Hunter, Deputy Managing Editor
March 15, 2004

(CNSNews.com) - Mel Gibson's film "The Passion of the Christ" is lessening hostility towards Jews contrary to what the film's Jewish critics predicted, a new poll shows...more

'Passion' Not Fueling Anti-Semitism

Washington Times
Julia Duin
March 17, 2004

Mel Gibson's new film "The Passion of the Christ" may be reducing anti-Semitism, according to a new poll. Not only is "The Passion" not producing the much-feared anti-Semitic backlash, it has actually created an empathy for Jews, according to a poll released by the San Francisco-based Institute for Jewish and Community Research (IJCR)...more

One Poll Finds 'Passion' Makes Viewers Less Likely to Blame Jews for Crucifixion

JTA Email Edition
Joe Berkofsky
March 17, 2004

You heard it here first: Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" is good for the Jews. So says demographer Gary Tobin, whose San Francisco-based Institute for Jewish & Community Research released a new poll this week concluding that the movie changed Christian attitudes toward Jews and the crucifixion for the better. "In general, people are less inclined to see Jews as responsible for killing Christ" after seeing the movie, Tobin said...more

No Anti-Semitic Fallout from 'Passion'

San Francisco Chronicle
Don Lattin, Religion Writer
March 18, 2004

Despite fears that it could promote anti-Semitism, the new film by Mel Gibson "The Passion of the Christ'' may have made Americans less likely to blame Jews for the death of Jesus, according to a new survey...more

Poll Indicates 'Passion' Film Has Lessened Anti-Semitism

Christian Broadcasting Network
March 19, 2004

(CBN News) - Despite concerns that "The Passion of The Christ" could inflame anti-Semitism in America, a survey out this week shows it may have had the opposite effect...more

Gibson's 'Passion' Remains a Concern over Portrayal of Jews

Pittsburgh Post-Gazettte
Ann Rodgers
March 21, 2004

Nearly a month after its release, "The Passion of the Christ" has made hundreds of millions of dollars for producer-director Mel Gibson but remains a focus of concern among scholars over its portrayal of Jews...more

Bias in the Jury Box?

The Washington Post
Richard Morin
March 21, 2004

Racially prejudiced people are more likely to end up as jurors in death penalty cases and also more likely to say they would feel worse about letting a murderer go free than they would about convicting an innocent defendant -- two reasons why blacks are overrepresented on Death Row, claims sociologist Robert L. Young of the University of Texas at Arlington...more

Second Thoughts about 'The Passion'

Town Hall, townhall.com
John Leo
March 22, 2004

My current theory is that Christians and Jews see two different films when they watch Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ." For example, when Satan slithered through the crowd, I saw nothing objectionable..more

Jewish Bids to Amend 'Passion' Film Were Pointless

Ha'aretz
Nathan Guttman
March 23, 2004

WASHINGTON - Four weeks after it came to the cinemas, Mel Gibson's controversial "The Passion of the Christ" about he last hours in the life of Jesus continues to make headlines... more

Lay-Professional Relationship Is Key

Cleveland Jewish News
Rachel Pomerance, Jewish Telegraphic Agency
October 8, 2004

Jews fighting is hardly news - after all, the joke about two Jews and three synagogues is familiar to Jewish communities around the world.But when the quarreling Jews also work together, it makes their jobs difficult. That's often the case with the lay-professional relationships at the top echelons of American Jewish organizations...more

Seeking the Next Jewish Leaders; Holidays Are Marked by a Campaign to Preserve Young Adult Jews' Cultural Identity

Los Angeles Times<
Teresa Watanabe
September 16, 2004

As the Jewish High Holidays start today and synagogues prepare for their largest annual crowds, questions are growing over whether younger, more assimilated Jews can be coaxed into the fold as future leaders...more

LEADERS OF THE TRIBE Series

JTA
Rachel Pomerance
September 15, 2004

Part 1: What makes a leader?: As Jewish community changes, so does model of good leadership

Part 2: Wanted: A Jewish leadership pool: In Jewish life, lack of candidates to take on crucial leadership roles

Part 3: Lay-professional relationship is key: Lay-professional tensions heighten the leadership challenge for groups

Part 4: Portraits of leadership: From up-and-comers to insiders, portraits of American Jewish leaders

How to Win Leaders and Influence People

Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles
Gaby Wenig, Staff Writer
July 2, 2004

Melina Gimal has been a Jewish community professional for most of her life. As a young girl she worked at Jewish Community Centers in Argentina, and later at Hillels in Washington and Miami. But most of her peers aren't doing the same...more

Lead Players on a Global Stage

Forward 50
November 12, 2004

The year's Forward 50 list of the Jewish community's most influential members includes rabbis and entertainers, activists and philanthropists, artists and community leaders. They don't share a single perspective or a common approach to their work -- in fact, one notable figure isn't even Jewish -- but they have all made their mark on Jewish life in America.

One of the deans of American Jewish social research, Gary Tobin has been raising eyebrows for the past decade with his maverick liberal views on conversion, adoption and racial diversity within the Jewish community. This year the San Francisco-based scholar, 55, raised eyebrows yet again by launching a partnership with the neoconservative Foundation for Defense of Democracies. So far the partnership has produced two major Tobin studies, both pro bono: one on American attitudes toward Israel, the other on anti-Israel trends on campus. Meanwhile, Tobin's own Institute for Jewish & Community Research, founded in 1997 after he left his tenured post at Brandeis University, continues to produce important new religious data. A study of professional development in Jewish organizations, released this fall, showed a deep rift between volunteers and staff and documented the persistent glass ceiling facing women staffers. Another, released in October, found that the fastest growing religious group in America is, the election results notwithstanding, people with no religious identity at all....Read On

Charity List Shows Community's Fund Raising Generally Is Stable

JTA
Rachel Pomerance
October 31, 2004

Boston Day Schools Get Anonymous $45 Million Gift

Forward
Nathaniel Popper
October 15, 2004

A group of anonymous donors has given $45 million to support Jewish day schools in Boston, the largest one-time donation ever made to the city's Jewish community... more

Prudent Management or Outright Greed? Critics Ask How Big Endowments Should Be

The Chronicle of Philanthropy Endowments: A Special Supplement
Ben Gose
May 27, 2004

Harvard University is sitting on nearly $20-billion in cash and wants much more. Guide Dogs for the Blind has cash reserves of roughly $260-million, nearly 10 times its annual budget. And Shriners Hospitals for Children maintains an endowment of more than $7-billion, a sum so vast that it covers 90 percent of the annual operating costs at the organization's 22 hospitals... more

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Apr. 20, 2003 - Jewish Week
Surprise! U.S. Jewry May Be Growing
On the eve of a much-anticipated national Jewish population survey, a leading demographer has found that there are 18 percent more Jews in America than earlier reports have stated...more

Mar. 15, 2003 - Washington Post
Jewish Organizations Worried About Backlash for Iraq War
American Jewish organizations, deeply divided over the wisdom of invading Iraq, are increasingly worried about an anti-Semitic backlash blaming Jewish officials in the Bush administration for any U.S. casualties...more

Jan.21, 2003 -Washington Post
Values Survey Finds Odd Bedfellows
Atheists, Muslims and Mormons led the list of groups viewed by Americans as the least like themselves in terms of basic beliefs and values, according to a national survey by the Institute for Jewish & Community Research...more

Jan.19, 2003 -Washington Post
The Sick Economy
Watch out: Whenever Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan does his part to help jump-start a sluggish U.S. economy, it just might kill you...more

Jan.17, 2003 -Foward Staff
Brothers' Judaism Swings to an East African Beat
Having a tough time finding a good Jewish day school for your kids? Have you considered Semei Kakungulu School outside Mbale, Uganda?...more

Jan.17, 2003 -Jewish Week
New Fears Cloud Run By Lieberman
As Sen. Joseph Lieberman begins his run for the Democratic nomination for president, concern surfaced this week that with so many critical world events tied to U.S. policy in the Middle East, 2004 may not be as opportune a time for a breakthrough Jewish candidacy as 2000...more

Jan.17, 2003 -Philadelphia Inquirer
Survey gauges anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism is widespread among America's young adults, with a fourth believing Jews control the media and Wall Street, according to a survey released this week by a Jewish research group...more

Dec. 12, 2002 - San Francisco Chronicle
Alternative religions really do thrive in Marin Survey finds faiths, practices far more diverse than U.S. as a whole
The Good Book is old hat in Marin County, where the teachings of Gautama Buddha and a host of New Age spiritualists are beginning to eclipse the Bible as the most prevalent guidebook for a better life...more

Nov. 10, 2002 - Marin Independent Journal
New study tracks spirituality and religion in Marin
Marin residents are less likely to go to church than their counterparts nationwide, but are far from spiritually disenfranchised, according to a study by a San Francisco-based religious think tank...more

Oct. 9, 2002 - LA Times
A Clouded View of U.S. Jews: Religion - One study finds numbers falling; another finds growth. The results raise divisive questions.
For more than a decade, the American Jewish community has poured millions of dollars and thousands of hours into programs driven by a single fear--the prospect that the country's Jewish population is dwindling away...more

Oct. 9, 2002 - NY Times
Survey of U.S. Jews Sees a Dip; Others Demur
A major survey released yesterday estimated the Jewish population in the United States at 5.2 million, a decline of 300,000 from 10 years earlier...more

Oct. 4, 2002 - The Forward
American Jews Stand Up To Be Counted
Counting Jews, whether for demographic research or for communal policy planning, is a difficult task. Ours is a highly dispersed community..more

Sept. 24, 2002 - JTA
Jewish population undercounted? New study launches a new debate
There are 600,000 more American Jews than previously believed, because the U.S. Jewish population has been underestimated for years, according to a new study...more

May 1, 2003 - The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Getting Megagifts to the Neediest Causes
Big gifts from wealthy donors and foundations are made primarily to a small group of very large charities, with the result that many causes -- and almost all small and regional groups -- are cut off from a substantial source of funds, according to a new study...more

April 17, 2003 - The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Most Big Gifts Benefit a Handful of Large Charities, Study Finds
Megagifts -- donations of $10-million or more -- are a critical component of American philanthropy. Such donations accounted for more than $29-billion of the donations that charities received from 1995 to 2000...more

Apr. 1, 2003 - JTA
Among the wealthiest Jews in U.S., most give most to non-Jewish causes
In his 74 years, Arthur Sackler made a fortune in medical book publishing and amassed a collection of rare art and sculpture. In 1999, his family foundation gave $100 million to the Smithsonian Institution, where an Asian art gallery bears Sackler's name....more

Mar. 23, 2003 - San Jose Business Journal
Revealed: Where the wealthy give away their money
The vast majority of mega-gifts -- gifts of $10 million or more -- are concentrated in three areas: education, health, and arts/culture, according to a new study by the Institute for Jewish & Community Research of San Francisco...more

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