United Jewish Council of Anne Arundel County

Jewish Community Calendar

UJC Social Action

Jewish Demographic Study

Past UJC Events

Affiliated Synagogues

Jewish Organizations

Fund Raising Feasibility Study

UJC-AAC Home

Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi  March 10, 2002

Barnett Rattner  www.ujc-aac.org

Annapolis, MD. Results of a major Jewish Demographic survey of the Jews in Anne Arundel County were released to the public for the first time today. The Aleph Bet Jewish Day School and the United Jewish Council of Anne Arundel County sponsored the poll. Said Barnett Rattner, President of the Aleph Bet Jewish Day School, "This poll gives us important facts from which we as a community can prioritize how we use our talents and resources. The growth in the Jewish community in our area is tremendous and the support for meeting important Jewish needs is exciting."

Major findings in the poll included the fact included the nearly unanimous response when asked "How important is it for the Jewish Community to offer the following" there was overwhelming support for children’s (92%) and pre-teen and teen programs (87%) – something that has been in short supply in the county for some time. Said Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, a pollster involved in the project and a member of the United Jewish Communities National Young Leadership Cabinet; "This study is a wake-up call that we need to quickly expand high quality Jewish programming for children and teens in this area." The poll also showed that fully 53% of the Jews of Anne Arundel County have children either at home or in college, and that fully 79% of respondents think that family programming is either "one of the most important" or "very important" to offer in Anne Arundel County.

While the poll showed intense interest in programs for the youth, it did not show support for children’s sports. Only 35% said that sports for children are either "one of the most important" or "very important" for the community to offer. Said Jody Goldsmith, a leader of the United Jewish Council of Anne Arundel County, "There was a time when it was hard for Jewish children to be involved in sports since so many clubs and events were restricted. Fortunately, this situation no longer exists."

Only 36% of those surveyed supported senior fitness programs, 14% of those surveyed supported adults sports programs and only 8% felt strongly that the community need a gym. In terms of other programs, however, 74% support adult Jewish programming, 69% would see a JCC as an important social meeting place, 66% support social programs for seniors, 65% support adult social programs, 55% support cultural arts programs, and 52% see interfaith programs and support as important. At the same time, only 30% see a kosher eatery as important.

Like America overall, the Reform movement is the largest in Anne Arundel County (45%). However, 37% see themselves as Conservative, 6% Traditional, 5% Orthodox and 5% as other.

While there was a broad range of Congregations where survey respondents are members, over 25% of those who participated in the survey do not belong to any Congregation. "

A key part of the survey looked at philanthropic patterns of the community. Fully 65% of those surveyed say that they have contributed to a synagogue in the last three years, and 62% say they have contributed to another national or local Jewish organization, charity or cause. However, only a tiny fraction of the community has contributed to America’s most established Jewish charity, the United Jewish Appeal (UJA/UJC), in the last three years. In fact, the UJA has not had a real presence or fundraising campaign in the area for several years before the poll was conducted.

Fully 79% of those surveyed said they want to contribute to combating anti-Semitism, 70% want to contribute to rescuing Jews who are persecuted or in distress, 70% want to support children and teens, 63% wish to contribute to supporting the people of Israel and 62% want to support the needs of the Jewish elderly. 55% support dealing with social justice issues, 53% wish to support Jewish Day School education for children, 51% wish to support creating a Jewish Community Center. 51% wish to support Jewish communities elsewhere in the world. At the same time, only 33 % say that they need to personally be involved in an organization to want to support it, 32% think it is important that they are asked to contribute by someone they respect, and only 21% felt it was important to support the Jewish poor.

Only a tiny fraction of the community say that finances prevented their household from participating in sending a child to Israel, a Jewish camp, a religious school, or even a Jewish Day School. Indeed, in terms of education, it is clear that parents want quality education (98%) and small class sizes (90%). At the same time, parents are very concerned with their child’s happiness (98%) and ability to get into a good college (81%).

Now in its 13^th year, Aleph Bet Jewish Day School, the county’s only Jewish Day School, fills a unique niche for those seeking a combination secular and religious education for children in elementary school. Results of the survey relating to the Aleph Bet Jewish Day School revealed tremendous "Customer Satisfaction" (excellent or above average ratings from those who knew the school) with the quality of instruction (98%), teacher-pupil ratio (97%), overall happiness of children attending the school (94%) and tuition cost (78%). On the flip side, with older facilities, it was not surprising that the school’s classrooms and facilities were seen as less satisfactory with only 29% giving that positive scores.

Aleph Bet is currently wrestling with potential expansion to include a middle school. Although many survey respondents favored the creation of a middle school, only one-third of the respondents with children indicated that they would seriously investigate sending their children to an Aleph Bet Middle School. Further analyses of survey data are being conducting to shed light on this mixed-message.

In strong contrast to the past when an overwhelming majority of the Jews in Anne Arundel County looked to Baltimore as the city with which they feel most closely aligned, that percent has dropped to 42%. Currently 31% reports that Washington is the city with which they feel most aligned.

The poll was paid for by the Aleph Bet Jewish Day School, the United Jewish Council of Anne Arundel County, and the Mizrahi Family Charitable Trust. The poll was sent to 1850 Jewish households in the county, which includes the State Capital of Annapolis, Severna Park, Crofton, and other areas. Six hundred households participated in the survey, which lasted from September to November 15, 2001. The margin of error on the survey is +/-4%. 

Send mail to UJC_AAC@hotmail.com with questions or comments about this web site.