an opinion piece from the Jewish Daily Forward:

Jewish Organizations Should Spare the Change

Innovation, we are often told, is the great savior. It will remake Detroit, cleanse the atmosphere and educate every child.

Years of steady drops in the membership rolls and donor bases of many American Jewish institutions, from national advocacy organizations to community federations, have led many to conclude that innovation is also the key to solving the problem of participation in American Jewish life. Money and support should be given to young, creative Jews, who will manage new programs free of the institutional baggage that prevents the engagement of their peers.

…But in order for Jewish institutions to offer something more to young people than the kind of superficiality for sale at American Apparel, they must hold fast to their institutional identities.