“The Surge” is here to stay — for now at least and at a slightly slower pace. So the Jewish Federations of North America has found in a follow-up survey to last year’s study on the spike in Jewish engagement in the wake of the Oct. 7 terror attacks.

The survey, which was released on Tuesday, found that while the increased engagement that was documented in the months following the attacks has gone down slightly over the past year, it remains relatively high, with roughly a third of the respondents — 31% — saying that they are engaging more with the Jewish community than they did in the past, compared to 42% who said so last year.

“A year and a half after the Hamas attacks on Israel upended Jewish life, we would have expected to see a significant return toward the status quo, but the Surge has shown staying power,” Mimi Kravetz, chief impact and growth officer for JFNA, said in a statement. “People continue to feel the pain of this moment and relatedly, continue to seek connection, but the data carries an important reminder that the Surge is not going to last forever. If we are going to meet people’s needs, our community cannot wait — we must step up and respond now.”

Last year’s study on “the Surge” provided quantitative data that backed up the anecdotal evidence that was already emerging from synagogues, organizations and other institutions of increased engagement and provided the terminology that continues to be used to describe the groups who are increasing their involvement in Jewish communal life post-Oct. 7.

This year’s follow-up survey, which was conducted via text message recruitment between March 5-25, contacted 5,798 adults, including 1,877 who identified as Jewish. This was the same method that was used in last year’s survey, which had a similar number of Jewish respondents. The study was funded by a group of foundations: the Diane & Guilford Glazer Foundation, Crown Family Philanthropies, One8 Foundation, the William Davidson Foundation, the Mandel Foundation and UJA-Federation of New York.

Though JFNA released its top-line data on Tuesday, the organization is still interpreting the results and will be sharing relevant findings to the relevant organizations, denominations and institutions. 

The study found that respondents who identified themselves as already being “very engaged” and “not at all engaged” were the most likely to report that they were now more involved in Jewish communal life than in the past, compared to those who said they were “somewhat engaged” or “not very engaged.”

To JFNA researchers, the fact that 19% of “not at all engaged” respondents were reporting that they were now becoming more active in the Jewish community was one of the most significant findings, given that this group is by definition difficult to reach.

Most of the respondents who identified as more engaged now than they were in the past — roughly 55% — said that they were spending time with Jewish friends. Just under half — 45% — said that they were visiting their local synagogue. Roughly a third said that they were involved with Chabad, Hillel or another “engagement organization.” 

The survey found that Jewish organizations appear to be succeeding in making themselves welcoming to these newcomers. When asked to select three descriptions about how they felt about their new experiences in the Jewish community, 90% of respondents used at least one positive description. The most common answers were “included,” “inspired,” and “comfortable”; the least common — each getting less than 3% of the responses — were “alienated,” “turned off,” or “excluded.” 

The majority of respondents — over 60% — said that knowing other people at a Jewish communal event makes them more comfortable, and a similar number said that about “interesting or engaging” programming and content.

“At a time when so many are seeking deeper connection, we have a profound opportunity — and responsibility — to meet the moment,” Elan Kramer, JFNA’s senior director and acting head of community and Jewish life, said in a statement. “The data shows that when people show up, the experiences they’re having are overwhelmingly positive. But showing up is just the beginning. It’s on us to nurture friendships, create spaces that foster a sense of belonging and offer meaningful Jewish experiences that turn moments of engagement into lasting community. By meeting people where they are, inviting them into vibrant, welcoming communities, and creating meaningful points of connection, we can strengthen Jewish life in ways that will endure far beyond this moment.”

The researchers found that the increased engagement remained relatively steady across all ages and marital statuses. Young singles (18-34) and older singles (55-74) remained the largest segments of “the Surge,” together making up half of the respondents saying that they were now more engaged with the Jewish community. This generally aligns with existing understandings of these groups, that they are particularly vested in finding and developing communities at this stage in their lives — young singles as they may no longer be part of their parents’ communities and older singles as they may not “know where to go for community with those in their phase of life,” the researchers said. In follow-up interviews, older single respondents were also found to be more likely to be concerned about antisemitism. 

The study also found that while still only representing a relatively small percentage of increasingly engaged respondents (7%), young families — respondents aged 18-34 with children — represented a greater share of them now than they did in last year’s, when they represented 2%. It was not immediately clear what accounted for this more-then-threefold increase.

“Parents want information, resources and a like-minded community for themselves and their families. They are deeply worried about their children’s experiences of antisemitism and of Jewish life,” the researchers wrote, based on follow-up qualitative interviews with respondents.

While “the Surge” was kicked off in response to the Oct. 7 attacks and the resulting events in Israel, the survey found that most newly engaged respondents were not only interested in learning more about Israel but wanted to learn more about Judaism and Jewish topics as well, though respondents were more likely to say that they wanted to learn about Israel than about Judaism. 

Most of this is being done through “self-paced learning,” by consuming more news articles about these topics or reading content from Jewish organizations. Most respondents — 61% — said that they were discussing these topics with more knowledgeable friends and nearly half said they were listening to podcasts about them. A small percentage of respondents, 9%, said that they were signing up for multi-session courses on these topics. 

A large majority of respondents said that they were very closely (64%) or somewhat closely (27%) following news about the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, and a similar percentage — 84% —said that this news was emotionally affecting them somewhat or a great deal. These represent a slight drop from March 2024, but there was a more significant decrease in the number of Jews saying that they were “deeply concerned” about antisemitism, 79% this year compared to 90% last year. 

“This is 11% lower than the same time last year despite reported incidents rising as people are starting to normalize the experience of antisemitism,” the study’s authors wrote.