Ad Campaign in Israel Seeks to Prevent Intermarriage

September 3, 2009 · Filed Under Baum's Blog 

There are many things I love about Israel – but a recent ad campaign from the Prime Minister’s Office and the Jewish Agency is not one of them.  They have launched a campaign – called the Masa Project – which is designed to strengthen Jewish identity among youths in the Diaspora and their bonds to Israel.  That sounds great.  But the way they are doing it is appalling.

One of the video ads presents Jews who intermarry as missing persons.  As if we should all be looking for them and bringing them back to their single life where they can find a nice Jewish partner.

According to Haaretz, Masa’s goal is for the public to help prevent Jews from marrying non-Jews, “which Jewish Agency officials believe is tantamount to a ‘strategic national threat.’”

Israel likely has many national threats and issues to grapple with: wars, boundary-issues, violence, terrorism, availability of natural resources.  It seems to me the government should be worrying about those issues – not about whom we choose to marry.

Intermarriage is a reality.  Rabbi David Ellenson (president of HUC-JIR)  has compared this to a debate in the Talmud which asks: is it good that we are born?  Ellenson’s point is that although that may be interesting to discuss philosophically, it’s rather irrelevant once we are in the situation.

The reality is that intermarriage exists and can even enhance the Jewish community.  Trying to prevent intermarriage is foolish.  An ad campaign like Masa’s will only push people away from Judaism.  Israel, like much of the organized Jewish community throughout the world, needs to embrace the present realities and figure out how to engage blended families.

 

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Comments

11 Responses to “Ad Campaign in Israel Seeks to Prevent Intermarriage”

  1. Mary Gilbert Says:
    September 3rd, 2009 at 1:27 pm

    I agree with you Laura, it’s stunningly counter-productive. Coupled with today’s news from the Cincinnati Archdiocese it’s more evidence that religion is on a conservative shift.

  2. A disturbed reader Says:
    September 3rd, 2009 at 2:43 pm

    Can’t really compare it to “is it good that we are born” because that’s completely out of our control. We do have control over who we date and eventually who we marry. Don’t we?

  3. Joel Katz Says:
    September 3rd, 2009 at 3:52 pm

    Shalom Laura,

    MASA is a fantastic “umbrella” that enables young Jewish adults from all over the world to spend a semester to a year in Israel on any of over 160 programs.

    A distinction should be made between the excellent programs MASA supports and this very poorly thought-out ad campaign.

    If any of your readers are having trouble viewing the video from the Haaretz site, they can view the TV commercial here.

    Joel Katz
    Religion and State in Israel
    @religion_state on Twitter

  4. Cynthia Tyler Says:
    September 3rd, 2009 at 4:18 pm

    Unless they offer a dating/matching service,
    with really great shadchanim who guarantee perfect results,they have no right to criticize nor condemn the methods and results of single Jews – even if we wind up with goyim. It ain’t easy. We’re doing the best we can. Ultimately, the best person is, the best PERSON, who is not necessarily the best Jew.

  5. Lisa Says:
    September 3rd, 2009 at 8:54 pm

    Wow. I don’t even know where to start on this one. Laura you are 100% right that they really should be worried about more important things.

    I had no idea I was a national threat.

    Both of my parents are Jewish and that didn’t help save their marriage. They were married for 3 years and I’ve been married to my Protestant husband for 14 years.

    It’s no one’s business in Israel…or anywhere else…who anyone marries. So, I agree with Cynthia..the best person is the best PERSON.

    I guess I’ll have to be content being a national threat.

  6. Howard Roth Says:
    September 9th, 2009 at 7:03 pm

    Intermarriage is a threat to the Jewish religion. It is a qualified fact that inter-faith families gravitate towards secularism. That’s not good for the Jewish religion. The difficult question is do I look for a mate who shares my religious and cultural values so I can pass those on to my offspring or do I worry about being married longer than my parents. President Kennedy said to ask not what my country can do for me, but what I can do for my country. The same goes for my religion and my homeland. Shall we step aside from self centered egotistical objectives and move in the direction of altruistic endeavors for the good our community? I hope so.

  7. David Talbot Says:
    September 11th, 2009 at 3:43 pm

    The campaign is working, look how much publicity and internet chatter it has inspired. As for the intent, I guess that other peoples ideology is as good as yours as long as they agree with you! If you don’t feel that way, then other people should have the right to publish material you find disagreeable.

    Interfaith marriage and same sex marriage are big issues in the Jewish Community, in Israel and in the world. Let’s have an open dialogue not irrational name calling.

  8. NiceJewishBoy Says:
    September 12th, 2009 at 1:19 am

    To be honest the feeling I get from these ads is very discouraging and it’s this kind of attitude that used to make me want to reject Judaism and my own Jewishness.
    No one likes to be pushed away or told who they should love.

  9. LGreyhawke Says:
    September 13th, 2009 at 3:57 pm

    Our Jewish history and literature would be significantly changed if we were to remove Ruth, Sarah, Rebecca, Leah, Rachel, Bilha and Zilpah. Each was a convert to Judaism. Why do they assume that a Gentile won’t convert and contribute greatly to building a stronger Jewish nation when the history of our people shows that very thing! It is true that intermarriage would dilute the strength of the traditional or Orthodox beliefs if the person didn’t convert to Judaism. The Jewish partner would most likely be drawn toward the belief system of their marriage partner to some degree. This is why liberal Judaism will thrive and eventually Orthodox and more restrictive groups will suffer decreased membership. Liberal Judaism allows you to still be 100% Jewish and be flexible enough to live in the wider world.

  10. Barbara Judd Says:
    September 18th, 2009 at 9:36 pm

    It is a shame that so many Jews distrust bringing people of other ethnic and religious background into our lives. The world is getting smaller and the Jewish population is declining.

    I intermarried a Protestant and he freely converted many years after we were married. I was fortunate to have a Rabbi marry us who did not expect immediate conversion. My son married a lady who is Shinto-Buddhist. They live in Japan. The rabbis in CT, including our synogogue, refused to marry them or even allow them to use their hoopa. We located a Rabbi who was not affiliated to our congragation. The resistance of the so-called progressive Reform community in the Northeast is shameful. The situation was absurd to expect someone who mostly speaks Japanese and lives in Japan to figure out Judaism and convert.

  11. MountainJew Says:
    September 22nd, 2009 at 3:41 pm

    Are you suggesting that it is wrong to encourage our children to marry other Jews? (“Trying to prevent intermarriage is foolish”) Or was the problem by whom and the manner in which it was being done?

    Increasing criminal violence is also a reality in today’s world. Should I then embrace it, even call it forth in my family’s life? Just because something is a reality in today’s world does not mean it is optimal.

    Statistically, many intermarried Jews leave their Judaism behind. They do not become secular Jews–they cease to identify as Jewish at all.

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