[eschaton]

Originally Posted by craigs

The Tablet magazine article linked above concludes the exact opposite, at least in Los Angeles, where Reform institutions have been revived and reinvigorated.

Yeah, but my point is this can't go on forever, not unless Reform Judaism turns into Unitarian Universalism or something and totally divorces itself from Jewry as an idea of a unique culture.

People raised by one Jewish and one Gentile parent may feel culturally connected to Jewish practice. But will their kids? Their grandkids? At some point, it's going to become attenuated simply due to dilution into the general population.

Originally Posted by Quixote

You already have plenty of celebrities well over 30 that are mixed Jewish-gentiles: Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Connelly, Robert Downey, Jr., Lea Michele, Amy Schumer, Maggie Gyllenhaal, etc. NYC does seem like it's a generation behind when it comes to intermarriage, however.

Yeah, the idea of "mixed marriages" being taboo pretty much fell to the wayside in the U.S. by the 1970s, and there were examples even before that, so I was aware of plenty of 40something (and even some older) celebrities who were half or less Jewish. My point is only it's becoming near universal.

Originally Posted by Quixote

This is why I made it a point to emphasize NYC's urban concentration of Jews. Manhattan in particular is ruled by a wealthy Jewish elite that, although secular, is also very insular. You have tons of Jews who will only marry and primarily associate with Jews within this elite class, have their kids bar/bat-mitzvahed, eat matzo ball soup and latkes, light menorahs, make references to Seinfeld and Barbara Streisand, and incorporate Yiddish words into their lexicon. However, relatively few will go to temple regularly, always fast during Yom Kippur, own/read a Hebrew Bible, visit Israel at least 5-10 times throughout their lifetime, etc. This is what makes for "ethnic Jewry," and the absence of it suggests some degree of (and desire for) assimilation into the broader white establishment. Give an Upper East Sider a choice between moving to Jewish Millburn or WASPy Greenwich, and I bet 75% would select the latter.

I mean yeah, maybe, to a limited extent, but NYC's secular, urban Jewish elite, much like secular urban elites across the U.S., doesn't have many kids. This is a waning group, with the much more insular Haredim (and somewhat less insular Orthodox and more recent Jewish immigrant groups) clearly the dominant force in NYC-era Jewry now.

I also just think it's not true that this elite is really that insular. Amy Schumer is a good example. She from the Upper East Side, her father was a wealthy Jewish business owner, her mother an old-stock WASP who converted. Jared Kuchner marrying Ivanka Trump is another example, for that matter.