The Institute for Jewish & Community Research is an independent non-profit dedicated to the growth and security of the Jewish community. The Institute serves as a national and international think tank providing policy research for the Jewish community and society in general. The Institute designs and develops initiatives that help build a more vibrant and secure Jewish community.
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In the News

Research & Publications

Be'chol Lashon Highlights

The Jewish Journal
Quiet War on Campus: Israel Remains Under Attack Despite Fewer Public Protests, Is Anti-Zionism the New Anti-Semitism?
By Brad Greenberg
Jewish Journal
August 20, 2008

"Whether there are more or less anti-Israel demonstrations on campus really misses the point," said Gary Tobin, president of the Institute for Jewish & Community Research. "The real insidious nature of this ideology is what takes place in the classrooms and in the writings of faculty in their research -- all of those are far more significant, dangerous and insidious. The legitimacy that Walt and Mearsheimer and Jimmy Carter have given to anti-Israelists has been huge. Just take a look inside the office of the academic affairs director at the Israel Consulate in Los Angeles."

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USA Today
Muslim Census a Difficult Count
By Cathy Lynn Grossman
USA Today
August 6, 2008

"What people do and how they think of themselves, and how we want to classify their institutional affiliations are very, very different," says Gary Tobin president of the Institute for Jewish & Community Research in San Francisco. "If you say you are Episcopalian but you attend a Baptist church on Sundays with your wife who is Baptist, who counts you? If neither one of you attends church anywhere, what are you then?"

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Chronicles of Philanthropy
Some Jewish Nonprofit Groups Lay Off Employees and Trim Programs
Staff Writer
The Chronicle of Philanthropy
July 3, 2008

In these tough economic times, some Jewish nonprofit organizations are reducing the size of their staffs and programs, reports The Jewish Week, in New York.

The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, an international relief agency, and the Jewish federation umbrella group United Jewish Communities recently cut dozens of jobs, and several Jewish groups and programs have closed.

The bad economy has caused some donors to pull back, leaders of Jewish charities said.

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Gary TobinPositive Realist
By Debbie Cohen, Spring 2008
Lifestyles Magazine

Dr. Gary A. Tobin knows how to make a point- even if it's not always easy to hear what the well-known demographer and President of the Institute for Jewish and Community Research in San Francisco has to say. Tobin challenges traditional ways of thinking about Jewish communal life.

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Gary TobinOp-Ed: Stop Keeping Out Non-Jews
By Gary Tobin
JTA
March 3, 2008

A new study showing that Americans are switching religions more than ever proves that U.S. Jewry needs a new strategy, says Gary Tobin.

San Francisco (JTA) -- A study by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life shows that Americans are switching religions more than ever. As many as one of every two adults does not practice the religion in which they were born or raised.

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Religious News Service
Guest Commentary: Competition and the American Religious Marketplace
By Rodney Stark and Gary Tobin
Copyright 2008 Religion News Servce. Used by Permission.
March 2008

A recent report by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life found 44 percent of American adults have switched away from the religious affiliation in which they were raised Cause for concern? Maybe, maybe not.

One of the report’s major findings is that Catholics and mainline Protestant denominations are the big losers, while evangelical and non-denominational Protestants are the big winners.

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Federations need to adaptPhilanthropy Forum: Federations Need to Adapt
By Gary Tobin
JTA
November 5, 2007

San Francisco (JTA) — North American federations could and should be doing much better than they are. They matter. They are important. They embody the ideas of community, common cause and the ability to respond to collective concerns. They are vital institutions and we want them to succeed.

Link to Full Article
Link to JTA Philanthropy Forum
Link to Talking Truth About Federations


Save the Chastising of Jews Who Give to Non-Jewish Causes
By Gary Tobin
JTA
October 22, 2007

Jewish foundations are giving away billions of dollars. A recent study conducted by the Institute for Jewish & Community Research found that 80% of the dollars they gave away in 2004/2005 went to general society, while 20% went to Jewish causes. It is wrong to assume that foundations established by Jews that give to secular causes have lost their way for choosing to give the way they do, or to assert they must not care about being Jewish.

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ChartReport: A Fifth of Jewish Foundation Dollars Going to Jewish, Israeli Causes
By Jacob Berkman
JTA
October 9, 2007

A recent survey conducted by the Institute for Jewish & Community Research shows that prominent Jewish foundations in the United States gave away 1.2 billion dollars through over 8000 grants in 2004/2005, 79% of which went to secular causes and 21% to Jewish causes. Only 7% went to Israel. The study covered approximately 50 American foundations, with over $17 billion in assets. These foundations, established by Jewish Americans, gave to a wide array of causes and organizations in education, health, the arts, and human services.

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Baylor InstituteNew Affiliated Research Center - The Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion

The Institute for Jewish and Community Research (IJCR) and The Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion recently announced a new association for a series of collaborative research projects. Senior scholars from each institute now hold reciprocal appointments that create a top team of scholars to conduct research and produce joint publications in the study of religion. Among the projects will be studies of attitudes about religion among college faculty and an extensive survey about how college students experience religion on campus. They will also engage in a multi-year study of tolerance and intolerance of different religious groups in the United States.

 

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Addressing anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism on America’s college campuses is attracting more and more bi-partisan support in the House, Senate, and state legislatures. The work of the Institute for Jewish & Community Research is frequently cited by senators, congressmen, and state representatives as part of their efforts to combat anti-Semitic bigotry in higher education.

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Recent Publication
Mega-Gifts in Jewish Philanthropy:
Giving Patterns 2001-2003

Gary A. Tobin and Aryeh K. Weinberg
(San Francisco: The Institute for Jewish & Community Research, 2008)

Mega-Gifts in American Philanthropy"While Jewish organizations do a reasonable job attracting smaller mega-gifts, those from $1-2 million, they are failing dramatically to attract the biggest gifts that Jews make to non-profits. The trends over eight years are remarkably consistent – Jewish mega-gifts exceeding $10 million to Jewish organizations were rare eight years ago and remain notably infrequent," according to Gary A. Tobin, president of IJCR. IJCR presents findings from a new study on mega-giving analyzing over 1,000 Jewish mega-gifts of $1 million or more made between 2001-2003.

Press Release
Download Report
List of Jewish Mega-Gifts 2001-2003


Recent Publication
Mega-Gifts in American Philanthropy: Giving Patterns 2001-2003
Gary A. Tobin and Aryeh K. Weinberg
(San Francisco: The Institute for Jewish & Community Research, 2007)

Mega-Gifts in American PhilanthropyHigher education, health, and cultural arts organizations receive the lion’s share of the largest gifts that individuals, foundations, and corporations contribute to American philanthropy. IJCR presents findings from our new study on mega-giving analyzing over 8000 gifts of $1 million or more made between 2001-2003.

Press Release
Download Report
List of Mega-Gifts 2001-2003


Talking Truth about Jewish Federations
Gary A. Tobin
(San Francisco: The Institute for Jewish & Community Research, 2007)

The Truth About FederationsJewish federations need to change if they are going to remain a dominant force in Jewish philanthropy. This policy paper explores how federations operate, the challenges they face, and possibilities for reform.

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A Study of Jewish Foundations
Gary A. Tobin and Aryeh K. Weinberg.
(San Francisco: The Institute for Jewish & Community Research, 2007)

Study of Jewish Foundations coverFoundations established by Jewish Americans give to an amazing array of causes and organizations in education, health, the arts, and human services. They cover the landscape, which is what you would expect from a community that is so well integrated into every part of American society.

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Profiles of the American University / Volume II: Religious Beliefs & Behavior of College Faculty
Gary A. Tobin and Aryeh K. Weinberg.
(San Francisco: The Institute for Jewish & Community Research, 2007.)


Faith The religious identity, beliefs, and behavior of college faculty in the United States are complex. Faculty are far more religious than many might believe, but still much less religious than the American public. Their religious beliefs are often intertwined with political ideology. Moreover, faculty are not without their religious prejudices – they are less tolerant of some religious groups than others, such as Evangelicals and Mormons. The Religious Beliefs and Behavior of College Faculty examines the intersection of two of the most important institutions in American life: religion and higher education.

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Profiles of the American University / Volume I: Political Beliefs & Behavior of College Faculty
Gary A. Tobin and Aryeh K. Weinberg.
(San Francisco: The Institute for Jewish & Community Research, 2006.)


Faculty The Institute for Jewish & Community Research's study of American college faculty offers the reader a unique portrait of today's academy. It illustrates the existence of a dominant political ideology on campus that encompasses views of American foreign, domestic, and trade policies. The majority of faculty are bound by a set of beliefs that could compromise the core mission of the academy to provide unbiased teaching and scholarship.

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Politics & Propaganda in American Education: The UnCivil University
Gary A. Tobin, Aryeh K. Weinberg, and Jenna Ferer. (San Francisco: The Institute for Jewish & Community Research, 2005.)


Uncivil UniversityThe UnCivil University examines the current state of the American university and concludes that higher education has lost sight of its mission. Using the persistence of anti-Semitism in the form of anti-Israelism on campus as a case study, the book calls for reform at every level.

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Be'chol Lashon
New Be’chol Lashon Website

The new Be’chol Lashon website is dedicated to all who are looking for a place among the Jewish people. Welcome...


Be'chol Lashon Retreat 2008
Create your Jewish Community...

The Be'chol Lashon Retreat
Fri-Sun, October 10-12
Walker Creek Ranch, Petaluma
...more information


Read the July Newsletter


Rabbi Gershom Sizomu
Freshly-Ordained Ugandan Rabbi Gets Ball Rolling on Returning Home

By Roberto Loiederman, July 16, 2008, JewishJournal

Rabbi Gershom Sizomu, the first black sub-Saharan rabbi ordained at an American rabbinical school, has had a very busy time since returning to Uganda in June...
Read the new July Newsletter


Press Release

Rabbi Capers Funnye, Rabson Wuriga, Gershom Sizomu, and Chisubere
Historic Day for Black African Jews

First Ever Gathering of African Jewish Communities

San Francisco - (July 10, 2008) - The Pan-African Jewish Alliance (PAJA) is holding its first multi-national meeting on July 11, 2008 with participants from Jewish communities in Uganda, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, and the United States.

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Tobin Family in Jewish Living Magazine In Living Color
By Rachel Sarah, June/July 2008, Jewish Living Magazine

Diane Kaufmann Tobin, says about her 10-year-old son, whom she adopted with her husband, Gary, "I wanted him to grow up Jewish and not have to choose between his racial and religious identities." The Tobins, both of whom are white, were determined to find a place where Jonah would feel "very at home being both Jewish and black." So, they founded San Francisco's Be'chol Lashon (In Every Tongue) program, which "grows and strengthens the Jewish people through ethnic, cultural, and racial inclusiveness." Read the June Newsletter


The 2008 Be'chol Lashon Media Awards - Win $2,000

Have you written or produced a piece about Jews who are also African/ African American, Asian, Hispanic or Native American? Are you aware of the broad ethnic diversity of Judaism — and have you considered doing such a piece? Established this year, the Be'chol Lashon Media Award honors excellence in coverage of the ethnic and racial diversity of world Jewry. Call for entries – for more information.


Gershom SizomuPress Release: Rabbi From Uganda Ordained – First Ever in the United States

Be'chol Lashon and The Institute for Jewish & Community Research
MMD Newswire
May 14, 2008

San Francisco, CA (May 14, 2008) – On May 19th, Gershom Sizomu will become the first black rabbi from sub-Saharan Africa to be ordained from an American rabbinic school. He will return home to rural Uganda in June 2008 to lead his Jewish community called the Abayudaya (“people of Judah”) and to open a school to train rabbis to serve growing Jewish communities throughout Africa.

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Rabbi Sizomu is delighted to announce the release of the new Abayudaya CD

Sing for Joy

Music has long been a motivating force for religion in Africa and has been critical to the survival of the Abayudaya community.

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In Every TongueIn Every Tongue: The Racial & Ethnic Diversity of the Jewish People, by Diane Tobin, Gary A. Tobin, and Scott Rubin. (San Francisco: The Institute for Jewish & Community Research, 2005.)

In Every Tongue documents the little known racial and ethnic diversity of the Jewish people, both in the United States and around the world. The impact of the book’s findings reach far beyond the Jewish community. The increasing diversity of the Jewish people is a microcosm of larger changes afoot in American society.

Independent Publisher Award2006 Independent Publisher
Book Award Finalist!


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