Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) published a report on Sunday showing that 70% of Jews in Israel feel a connection to Diaspora Jews. The report also indicated that the stronger the level of one’s religious belief, the greater the sense of belonging to the Jewish diaspora.
The report surveyed Jews in Israel about the extent to which they feel part of the Jewish people living outside Israel. Of those surveyed, 70% reported feeling a connection — 44% answered to a great extent and 26% to some extent. Meanwhile, 12% reported feeling little connection and another 12% said they felt no connection at all (6% answered unsure).
The CBS noted a correlation between religiosity and connection to the Jewish diaspora: 92% of ultra-Orthodox respondents, 86% of religious Jews, 70% of traditional Jews and 61% of secular Jews in Israel answered they feel part of the Jewish people living abroad to a great or moderate extent.
Another question asked respondents how committed they feel to the welfare and safety of Jews living abroad. Approximately three-quarters (74%) reported feeling committed — 44% answered to a great extent and 30% to some extent. Some 12% felt little commitment and 9.6% reported feeling no commitment (4% were unsure).
The CBS found a small gender gap in the data, with 76% of men and 73% of women expressing commitment to Diaspora Jews. Younger people were more likely to feel committed than older respondents: 76% of Jews aged 20–64 compared to 68% of those aged 65 and older reported feeling committed to the welfare and safety of Jews abroad.
The data also revealed that the higher the level of religiosity, the greater the commitment to the Jewish diaspora: 94% of Haredim, 88% of religious Jews, 75% of traditional Jews and 65% of secular Jews expressed such commitment.
Additionally, the CBS found that 22% of Jews aged 20 and older in Israel have first-degree relatives living abroad. Jews with children are more likely to have relatives abroad than those without (25% compared to 14%, respectively).
The report also showed that the percentage of Jews with relatives abroad increases with age: 16% of Jews aged 20–44, 24% of those aged 45–64 and 31% of those aged 65 and older reported having first-degree relatives living abroad.
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Among Israeli Jews with first-degree relatives abroad, 52% were born in Israel and about one-third (32%) were born in Europe, the Americas or Oceania.
Jews with relatives abroad were more likely to feel connected to the Jewish diaspora than those without (76% compared to 69%, respectively). However, they also reported higher rates of loneliness compared to those without relatives abroad (22% compared to 19%, respectively).