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.
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This was the line that caught my attention.
“Jewish institutions are too important to adapt themselves to the whims of 20- and 30-somethings.”
Anyone want to comment?
superficiality for sale at American Apparel…what on earth are you talking about?
Are you out of your mind?
Are you really a Jew?
Just in case it was not clear from the blog post, the Op-Ed was written by Matthew Ackerman and the quotation above is from his op-ed piece.
Morgan Stanley- what makes you questions the “jewishness” of Mr. Ackerman. This is a well written piece that echoes the sentiment of many Jewish thought leaders. Is it so hard to understand his concept? That well established Jewish organizations do not need to bend to the ipod toting, Twitter tweeting youth in order to seem more attractive to young Jews. They don’t need podcasts or videos featuring Sara Silverman. Instead they should stay with the message and concepts that have worked for years, they are not GM and they do not need to reinvent themselves- they need to stick with their ideas and expound on them in a clear and persuasive way in order to remain viable.
And yes, superficiality is for sale at American Apparel, The Gap, Abercrombie, etc…… perhaps you are just upset because your kids are buying it and you are paying the bills.