A Blueprint for Our Future
San Diego
Jewish Community Study
ABout The Study
If we could create a portrait of the Jewish community in Greater San Diego, what story would it tell? What would the community look like? What traditions would be bringing people together? What are common perspectives, and how are these evolving over time?
A team of researchers and community organizations sought the answers to these and other questions when they outreached Jewish households in the Greater San Diego area to ask about their households, perspectives, and day-to-day lives. The responses are representative of the voices of an increasingly diverse community.
The goal of the study was to create a snapshot of today’s San Diego Jewish community that can be used by community organizations to design programs and policies that support and enhance the quality of Jewish life. Valid data are essential to effective decision-making, allocation of resources, strategic priorities, community support, robust participation, and outreach.
A Blueprint for Our Future: The 2022 San Diego Jewish Community Study is centered around the study team’s four Guiding Principles:
Gather actionable and usable data that sheds light on what Jews in San Diego County and Temecula think and feel.
Recognize the diversity of the Jewish community and use an inclusive lens when recognizing Jewish identity.
Ensure full representation of Jews that are living on the margins/fringes and struggling to make ends meet.
Identify and understand Jews that are disengaged and disconnected from Jewish life.
We thank our research team, which brings together two preeminent research institutions, the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies (CMJS) at Brandeis University and NORC at the University of Chicago. This team, led by Dr. Janet Aronson and Professor Leonard Saxe at Brandeis University, and Dr. David Dutwin and Dr. Zachary Seeskin at NORC, combines CMJS’s extensive experience conducting dozens of Jewish community studies over the last two decades with NORC’s expertise using the most advanced research methodologies.
A Blueprint for the Future would not be possible without all the local individual donors who gave generously to support this effort. We are grateful to them for their belief in the power of data-driven decision making and the potential of this study.
We are also thankful for the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation’s support of our work to understand the racial and ethnic diversity of our community and collect data about financial insecurity.
