Intermarriage: what does it mean for the Jews? This question has occupied communal leaders, scholars, and the Jewish media for well over a century. Despite numerous studies on intermarriage, the data at our disposal is fraught with contradictions. Do intermarried families live Jewish lives? Do their children grow up considering themselves “Jewish”? Is intermarriage the result of assimilation? Or does it mean that the Jewish community is transforming itself? And what does this all tell us about gender, ethnicity and religion in the Jewish community and beyond? Using examples from pop culture and contemporary and historical case studies, participants will be invited to consider the facts and myths about and intermarriage and Jewish identity through the lens of gender and ethnicity.
Presented at Limmud Toronto 2017
