Social Equality: The Most Jewish Value of All?

Southern & Jewish

Southern & Jewish celebrates the stories, people, and experiences – past and present – of Jewish life in the American South. Hosted by the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life, posts come from educators, students, rabbis, parents, artists, and many other “visitors-to and daily-livers-of” the Southern Jewish experience. From road trips to recipes to reflections, we’ll explore a little bit of everything – well, at least all things Southern and/or Jewish. Shalom, y’all!

Day in and day out, community engagement is my job. Specifically, working here in the South, my mandate is to pursue social justice in partnership not only with schools and nonprofits but also, very specifically, with Jewish communities.

So of course, this statistic caught my eye:

“When asked which qualities are most important to their Jewish identity, nearly half of American Jews cite a commitment to social equality—twice as many as cite support for Israel (20%) or religious observance (17%)[1].”

In fact, according to
The Jewish Values Survey
, 46% of Jews listed “a commitment to social equality” as most important to Jewish identity. Other qualities include cultural heritage and tradition (6%) and a general set of values (3%).

That should mean good news for the work that I’m doing. What does it mean to you?

Do these numbers surprise you? Do they resonate with you? Which of these qualities are most important to your Jewish identity?