Census offers warning

Editorial

Results of the 2006 census continue to trickle out, and last week's announcement of the numbers drew gasps from Jewish community members. But calmer heads prevailed among those who have a familiarity with the census figures.

The headlines reporting the story suggested that Canadians who describe their ethnicity as "Jewish" declined significantly since 2001. In Montreal, the number fell by 15 per cent, by 13 per cent in Toronto and by about 10 per cent nationally. Numbers for Vancouver stayed essentially the same.

Numbers may not lie, but they can mislead. The confusion arises from the fact that "Jewish" is both an ethnic identity and a religious one. In the major censuses, which occur in years ending in one – the last comprehensive census was in 2001 – ask respondents to identify their religion as well as their ethnicity. The mid-term censuses, taking place in years ending with six – the 2006 census tabulations are being released in thematic segments – use a less thorough questionnaire. The 2006 census asked for ethnicity, but not religion.

Sociologists and analysts from Jewish and non-Jewish perspectives acknowledge that this causes confusion. If you ask people their religion, then ask ethnicity, they may be more inclined to answer "Jewish" to the second question. But without asking the census question about religious identity, some Jewish respondents to the ethnicity question may answer "Russian," "Israeli" or "French."

So the fearsome statistics suggesting that self-identified Jews have declined by 10 per cent across Canada, while not good news, is almost certainly not as drastic as it appears. When the full census is completed in three years, the numbers will probably look better.

Still, the trend is not promising. Despite a significant influx of new Jewish Canadians in recent years, especially from the former Soviet Union and, less so, from South America and Israel, the reality is that the demographic trend of our community is not positive.

While almost every cultural group in this country is growing, simply maintaining our numbers is probably the best for which the Jewish community can hope. In Vancouver, the number of people answering "Jewish" in the 2006 census was 21,465, compared with about 22,500 in 2001. Given the confusion around the ethnic identity question, this small decline probably indicates that Vancouver's Jewish community is actually growing, albeit perhaps not in leaps and bounds. We will have to wait five years for a more accurate impression.

But this is a reminder, if we needed one, that this is no time for complacency. Whatever the real numbers, our community is aging, and younger generations are not identifying as closely with their Jewishness as their grandparents do or did. This is a problem our community has struggled with for years already. Engaging younger Jews has been a challenge for synagogues and communal agencies.

The Jewish day school system, while growing and expanding with healthy vigor in British Columbia, does not have the capacity to ensure that the thousands of young Jews, who could be engaged in the community, are. Many young Jews and their parents do not want the Jewish day school experience, or cannot afford it. Certainly, Jewish education is a cornerstone of continuity, but it is limited in its reach to a few hundreds students a year.

There are countless efforts to engage young Jews. Birthright Israel – which sends thousands of young Jews from Canada and elsewhere to Israel for free, 10-day experiences – is one of the most monumental. Each of the synagogue streams has a youth movement, as do cultural organizations, there are many Jewish camps and, increasingly, Jewish nonprofit organizations are developing young leadership groups.

Amid all these numbers and challenges is a particularly notable one: 85 per cent. According to studies by Hillel International, the Jewish campus organization, fully 85 per cent of young Jews attend some form of post-secondary institution.

Here in Vancouver, Hillel is currently in the midst of a capital campaign to build a new facility at the University of British Columbia. By replacing the 60-year-old hut with a new Hillel House, the Jewish student organization will ensure that it can remain at the heart of the UBC campus until 2084. The campaign is still looking to raise another $2 million, at least, but construction is set to begin this summer.

All of these initiatives deserve our support. Ideally, young Jews in coming years will have a buffet of options from which to select in order to affiliate with their Jewishness.

The 2006 census numbers may not be as serious as they appear, but we must not kid ourselves. Ensuring that all Jewish Canadians identify deeply and proudly with our collective tradition is an uphill battle. It's a battle to which we must give our community's best efforts. That is a commitment to the past as well as to the future.

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