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The Rappaport Center for Assimilation Research and Strengthening
Jewish Vitality is an independent R & D center, founded
in Bar Ilan University in the spring of 2001 at the initiative
of Ruth and Baruch Rappaport, who identified assimilation
as the primary danger to the future of the Jewish people.
A central working hypothesis of the Center is, that assimilation
is not an inexorable force of nature, but the result of human
choices. In the past, Jews chose assimilation in order to avoid
persecution and social stigmatization. Today, however, this
is rarely the case. In our times, assimilation stems from the
fact that for many Jews, maintaining Jewish involvements and
affiliations seems less attractive than pursuing the alternatives
open to them in the pluralistic societies of contemporary Europe
and America.
To dismiss such subjective disaffection with Jewishness as merely
a result of poor marketing and amateurish PR for Judaism is
an easy way out – which we do not accept. Rather, a concurrent
working hypothesis of the Rappaport Center is, that the tendency
of many Jews to disassociate from Jewishness reflects real flaws
and weaknesses existing in various areas and institutions of
Jewish life today.
The first stage of all research projects of our Center is, therefore,
to analyze an aspect or institution of Jewish life in order
to identify and understand what might be contributing to “turning
Jews off”. However, since assimilation is not a force
of nature, it should be possible to move beyond analysis, characterizing
and formulating options for mending and repair. This is the
second stage of our activities, and these two aspects are reflected
in our name: The Rappaport Center for Assimilation Research
and Strengthening Jewish Vitality.
The Rappaport Center views the Jewish People as a global community
made up of a large number of nodes that link and interconnect
in multiple and complex ways. Recognizing and respecting the
wide variety of contexts and aspects of Jewish life today, we
realize that insights and solutions relevant to specific communities
and institutions are not necessarily directly applicable elsewhere.
Yet the interconnectivity of Jews worldwide, enhanced by modern
modes of communication, means that novel analyses and responses
to problems and issues facing specific Jewish frameworks are
of more than local significance. Thus, work carried out at our
center can be of benefit to all leaders, activists and institutions
motivated – as we are here at the Rappaport Center –
to respond creatively to the challenges of assimilation and
to enhance and strengthen Jewish vitality.
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