Jews in the United States and Israel apparently know relatively little about each other, according to a new survey released on Monday by the American Jewish Committee.
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AJC partnered with SSRS, which surveyed a sample of 1,000 American Jews older than 18 between March 25 and May 9, resulting in a 4.5% margin of error and 95% confidence level. In Israel, the survey was conducted by Geocartography in May, using a sample of 1,000 Jews aged 18 and over, with a margin of error of 3%.
A majority in both countries – 73% of Americans and 67% of Israelis – have relatives or friends living in the other country, but those with immediate family members make up a smaller 12% of Americans and 14% of Israelis.
Some 45% of American Jews have visited Israel while a near-equal 47% of Israelis have visited the United States.
Among Americans who have not visited Israel, 24% said it was because of lack of interest, 25% said it was because of lack of opportunity, 27% cited lack of funds, and 9% said they were concerned for their safety.
Of those who did visit, 73% said that the visit or visits strengthened their connection to Israel, 6% said it weakened their connection, while 20% said it made no difference.
Among Israelis who visited the United States, 25% said that it strengthened connection to American Jews, 6% said it weakened it, and 70% said it made no difference.
Some 60% of American Jews said that being connected to Israel is important to their Jewish identity, while 21% said it was not too important, and 19% said it was not important at all. However, when respondents were isolated to those between the ages of 18 to 39, only 46% responded that being connected to Israel was important to their Jewish identity.
In terms of denomination, 84% of Orthodox Jews, 87% of Conservative Jews, 64% of Reform Jews and 34% of secular Jews felt a connection to Israel was important to their Jewish identity.
Among Israelis, 75% believed that a thriving Diaspora was vital to the long-term future of the Jewish people with 36% saying it's because Diaspora Jews advocate for Israel with their governments, 27% because they believe that the variety adds strength to the Jewish people, 24% because of the funding provided by Diaspora Jews and 6% said that the Diaspora fosters Jewish creativity in a different way than Israeli life.
Only 16% of Americans and 13% of Israelis answered all basic knowledge questions about the other group correctly – four Americans and three Israelis.
The survey showed education about Jews in the Diaspora is less common in Israel than education about Israel in the United States, with 32% indicating that they did not receive any education about the Diaspora, 37% saying it was not comprehensive, 20% saying it was "so-so," and 11% saying it was comprehensive.
Among American Jews, 42% cannot read Hebrew, 36% can read phonetically with little understanding, and 22% range from minimal to native fluency.
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There are also divisions among American Jews in the formal education they receive about Israel from kindergarten through 12th grade with 37% describing it as strong, 21% as a medium, 22% as weak and 18% as non-existent. Orthodox Jews are more likely to have received a strong education about Israel with 60% of Orthodox Jews, compared to 53% of Conservative Jews, 40% of Reform Jews and 16% of secular Jews describing their Israel education as strong.
"These surveys provide a wealth of critical information about the state of Israel-Diaspora relations and make the case for increased commitment in each community to high-quality education about, and interpersonal engagement with, the other," said Laura Shaw Frank, AJC director of contemporary Jewish life.
JNS.org contributed to this report.
