Steven M. Cohen
Encyclopedia
Steven M. Cohen is a sociologist whose work focuses on the American Jewish Community
. He is currently a Research Professor of Jewish Social Policy at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and the Director of the Berman Jewish Policy Archive @ NYU Wagner.
. He made aliyah
(immigrated to Israel) in 1992. He is married to Rabbi Marion Lev-Cohen. They live in both Jerusalem and New York
. He has two children.
Cohen's early intellectual influences include Leonard (Liebel) Fein, Calvin Goldscheider and Charles S. Liebman
.
in 1970 and his Ph.D. from Columbia University
's Department of Sociology in 1974. His doctoral dissertation was on "Interethnic Marriage and Friendship".
Past professorial and research positions include Queens College CUNY, Brandeis University
, Hebrew University, the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
, and the Melton Centre for Jewish Education. He has also served as Director of the Synagogue Studies Institute of Synagogue 3000 and Director of the Florence G. Heller-JCCA Research Center.
Cohen's research centers on the North American Jewish Community
, with focus on the issues of Jewish continuity, intermarriage, and generational change. He has produced work under the auspices of various academic institutions and Jewish organizations and foundations such as the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies, the Florence G. Heller-JCC Association Research Center, the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Jewish Agency for Israel
Jewish Education Committee, and the Jewish Federations of North America.
He has been producing studies, articles, and books since he received his Ph.D. in 1974.,.
attachment is changing across generational lines, generally finding that while younger Jews still care, they feel less political connection to Israel
than their older peers.
In his 2007 article, "A Tale of Two Jewries: The `Inconvenient Truth' for American Jews," Cohen argued that inmarried and intermarried Jews form two distinct halves of the Jewish community and that the Jewish future, he argues, rests with the inmarried. Based on a 2010 study he produced for the Foundation for Jewish Camp, he challenged the idea that a lack of welcome is what is deterring interfaith households from participating in Jewish life: "There is no longer a stigma attached to walking into a synagogue
with a non-Jewish spouse, but what remains a problem is that that husband or wife then does not have access to what is going on once he or she is there.". Consequently, he has challenged the value of investing in outreach to the intermarried and prefers a strategy of encouraging Jewish in-marriage and the conversion of non-Jewish spouses and partners to Judaism.
Some of Cohen's major critics on this issue include Kerry Olitzky
of the Jewish Outreach Institute, Ed Case of InterfaithFamily.com
, Len Saxe of Brandeis University
's Cohen Center, and Bethamie Horowitz of the Mandel Foundation.
American Jews
American Jews, also known as Jewish Americans, are American citizens of the Jewish faith or Jewish ethnicity. The Jewish community in the United States is composed predominantly of Ashkenazi Jews who emigrated from Central and Eastern Europe, and their U.S.-born descendants...
. He is currently a Research Professor of Jewish Social Policy at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and the Director of the Berman Jewish Policy Archive @ NYU Wagner.
Biography
Cohen was born April 3, 1950, in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Toby (Fassman) Cohen and Max Cohen, and the grandchild of four East European-born grandparents. Raised in a home marked by strong Jewish ethnicity and nominally Orthodox affiliation, his family kept kosher in the home only. He attended Erasmus Hall High School and then Columbia CollegeColumbia College
Columbia College may refer to one of several institutions of higher education in North America:In Canada* Columbia College , in Calgary* Columbia College , a two-year liberal arts institution in Vancouver...
. He made aliyah
Aliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
(immigrated to Israel) in 1992. He is married to Rabbi Marion Lev-Cohen. They live in both Jerusalem and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. He has two children.
Cohen's early intellectual influences include Leonard (Liebel) Fein, Calvin Goldscheider and Charles S. Liebman
Charles Liebman
Charles S. Liebman was a political scientist and prolific author on Jewish life and Israel. A professor at Bar-Ilan University, he previously served on university faculties in the United States....
.
Academic Background
Cohen received his BA from Columbia CollegeColumbia College
Columbia College may refer to one of several institutions of higher education in North America:In Canada* Columbia College , in Calgary* Columbia College , a two-year liberal arts institution in Vancouver...
in 1970 and his Ph.D. from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
's Department of Sociology in 1974. His doctoral dissertation was on "Interethnic Marriage and Friendship".
Past professorial and research positions include Queens College CUNY, Brandeis University
Brandeis University
Brandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
, Hebrew University, the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
Jewish Theological Seminary of America
The Jewish Theological Seminary of America is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism, and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studies.JTS operates five schools: Albert A...
, and the Melton Centre for Jewish Education. He has also served as Director of the Synagogue Studies Institute of Synagogue 3000 and Director of the Florence G. Heller-JCCA Research Center.
Cohen's research centers on the North American Jewish Community
American Jews
American Jews, also known as Jewish Americans, are American citizens of the Jewish faith or Jewish ethnicity. The Jewish community in the United States is composed predominantly of Ashkenazi Jews who emigrated from Central and Eastern Europe, and their U.S.-born descendants...
, with focus on the issues of Jewish continuity, intermarriage, and generational change. He has produced work under the auspices of various academic institutions and Jewish organizations and foundations such as the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies, the Florence G. Heller-JCC Association Research Center, the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Jewish Agency for Israel
Jewish Agency for Israel
The Jewish Agency for Israel , also known as the Sochnut or JAFI, served as the organization in charge of immigration and absorption of Jews from the Diaspora into the state of Israel.-History:...
Jewish Education Committee, and the Jewish Federations of North America.
He has been producing studies, articles, and books since he received his Ph.D. in 1974.,.
Young Leadership and Generational Change
In recent years, Cohen has worked on understanding how Jewish leaders in their 20s and 30s are changing Jewish life, practices, and values. His earlier work on the Baby Boomers, served a point of contrast for his analysis in his later work on the younger generation and their approach to religious, institutional, political, and cultural norms. He has also done work on how IsraelIsrael
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
attachment is changing across generational lines, generally finding that while younger Jews still care, they feel less political connection to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
than their older peers.
Selected Research on Changing Jewish Leadership, Values, and Practices
- "Interview with Steven M. Cohen - Highly Engaged Young American Jews: Contrasts in Generational Ethos", Jerusalem Center for Public AffairsJerusalem Center for Public AffairsThe Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs is a public policy think tank devoted to research and analysis of critical issues facing the Middle East. The center is located in Jerusalem, Israel...
, September 15, 2010 - Cohen, Steven M.. Kelman, Ari Y.. "Uncoupled: How our Singles are Reshaping Jewish Engagement". Jewish Identity Project of Reboot. 2008
- Cohen, Steven M.. "Changes in American Jewish Identities: From Normative Constructions to Aesthetic Understandings - Interview with Steven M. Cohen". Changing Jewish Communities, No 30. Jerusalem Center for Public AffairsJerusalem Center for Public AffairsThe Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs is a public policy think tank devoted to research and analysis of critical issues facing the Middle East. The center is located in Jerusalem, Israel...
(JCPA). 16 March 2008 - Cohen, Steven M.. Kelman, Ari Y.. "The Continuity of Discontinuity: How Young Jews Are Connecting, Creating, and Organizing Their Own Jewish Lives". 21/64. 2007
- Benjamin, Mara. Cohen, Steven M.. Wertheimer, JackJack WertheimerJack Wertheimer is a Professor of American Jewish History at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, the flagship yeshiva of Conservative Judaism. He is the former Provost of JTS, and was the founding director of the Joseph and Miriam Ratner Center for the Study of Conservative Judaism...
. "Peoplehood in the Next Gen". Sh'ma: A Journal of Jewish Responsibility. Jewish Family & Life (JFL Media). October 2006: 2--4. - Cohen, Steven M.. Kelman, Ari Y.. "Cultural Events and Jewish Identities: Young Adult Jews in New York". UJA-Federation of New York. February 2005
- Cohen, Steven M.. "Changing Conceptions of Jewish Collectivity Among Young Adult Jews and Their Implications for Jewish Education: A Dual Research Project". Jewish Agency for IsraelJewish Agency for IsraelThe Jewish Agency for Israel , also known as the Sochnut or JAFI, served as the organization in charge of immigration and absorption of Jews from the Diaspora into the state of Israel.-History:...
. Department of Jewish-Zionist Education. Research and Development Unit. 25 August 2002 - Cohen, Steven M.. Eisen, ArnoldArnold EisenArnold M. Eisen, Ph.D. is Chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary. Prior to this appointment, he served as the Koshland Professor of Jewish Culture and Religion and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at Stanford University...
. "The Sovereign Self: Jewish Identity in Post-Modern America". Jerusalem Letter/Viewpoints No. 453. Jerusalem Center for Public AffairsJerusalem Center for Public AffairsThe Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs is a public policy think tank devoted to research and analysis of critical issues facing the Middle East. The center is located in Jerusalem, Israel...
(JCPA). 1 May 2001
Selected Research on Changing Connections to Israel
- Cohen, Steven M.. Kelman, Ari Y.. "Beyond Distancing: Young Adult American Jews and Their Alienation from Israel". Jewish Identity Project of Reboot. 2007
- Abrams, Sam. Cohen, Steven M.. "Israel Off Their Minds: The Diminished Place of Israel in the Political Thinking of Young Jews". http://bjpa.org. 27 October 2008
- Chazan, Barry. Cohen, Steven M.. "What We Know About American Jewish Youth and Young Adults: Some Implications for Birthright Israel". Journal of Jewish Communal Service. Jewish Communal Service Association of North America. 2000
- Cohen, Steven M.. "Did American Jews Really Grow More Distant from Israel (1983-1993)? A Re-consideration". Magnes Press (Jerusalem). 1996
- Cohen, Steven M.. Israel in the Private Sphere of Jewish Identity". Charles R. Bronfman Centre for the Israel Experience. January 1996
- Cohen, Steven M.. "Attitudes of American Jews Toward Israel and Israelis: The 1983 National Survey of American Jews and Jewish Communal Leaders". Institute on American Jewish-Israeli Relations. September 1983
Intermarriage and Jewish Continuity
Cohen has been a strong proponent of in-marriage among Jews: "Intermarriage does indeed constitute the greatest single threat to Jewish continuity today." His criticisms of intermarriage and its consequences for American Jews have inspired discussion and controversy.In his 2007 article, "A Tale of Two Jewries: The `Inconvenient Truth' for American Jews," Cohen argued that inmarried and intermarried Jews form two distinct halves of the Jewish community and that the Jewish future, he argues, rests with the inmarried. Based on a 2010 study he produced for the Foundation for Jewish Camp, he challenged the idea that a lack of welcome is what is deterring interfaith households from participating in Jewish life: "There is no longer a stigma attached to walking into a synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
with a non-Jewish spouse, but what remains a problem is that that husband or wife then does not have access to what is going on once he or she is there.". Consequently, he has challenged the value of investing in outreach to the intermarried and prefers a strategy of encouraging Jewish in-marriage and the conversion of non-Jewish spouses and partners to Judaism.
Some of Cohen's major critics on this issue include Kerry Olitzky
Kerry Olitzky
Rabbi Kerry M. Olitzky is the Executive Director of the Jewish Outreach Institute, a United States independent organization dedicated to bringing Judaism to interfaith families and the unaffiliated.-Career:...
of the Jewish Outreach Institute, Ed Case of InterfaithFamily.com
InterfaithFamily.com
InterfaithFamily.com, Inc. is a nonprofit organization that helps and provides resources for couples with one Jewish partner and one non-Jewish partner and their families. InterfaithFamily.com, Inc...
, Len Saxe of Brandeis University
Brandeis University
Brandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
's Cohen Center, and Bethamie Horowitz of the Mandel Foundation.
Selected Scholarship on Intermarriage and Jewish Continuity
- Cohen, Steven M.. "Seeking a Third Way to Respond to the Challenge of Intermarriage". Central Conference of American RabbisCentral Conference of American RabbisThe Central Conference of American Rabbis , founded in 1889 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, is the principal organization of Reform rabbis in the United States and Canada, the CCAR is the largest and oldest rabbinical organization in the world....
(CCAR). March 2008 - Cohen, Steven M.. "A Tale of Two Jewries: The "Inconvenient Truth" for American Jews". Steinhardt Foundation for Jewish Life. November 2006
- Cohen, Steven M.. "Engaging the Next Generation of American Jews: Distinguishing the In-Married, Inter-Married, and Non-Married". Journal of Jewish Communal Service. Jewish Communal Service Association of North America. 2005
- Cohen, Steven M.. "Non-Jews in Jewish Families". American Jewish CommitteeAmerican Jewish CommitteeThe American Jewish Committee was "founded in 1906 with the aim of rallying all sections of American Jewry to defend the rights of Jews all over the world...
(AJC). 2005 - Cohen, Steven M.. "The Conversion Illusion" in Jewish Identity and Religious Commitment: The North American Study of Conservative Synagogues and Their Members, 1995-6. Jewish Theological Seminary of AmericaJewish Theological Seminary of AmericaThe Jewish Theological Seminary of America is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism, and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studies.JTS operates five schools: Albert A...
(JTS) Press. 1997: 29-35 - Cohen, Steven M.. "Intermarriage and the Jewish Future". American Jewish CommitteeAmerican Jewish CommitteeThe American Jewish Committee was "founded in 1906 with the aim of rallying all sections of American Jewry to defend the rights of Jews all over the world...
(AJC). 1997: 10-19. - Cohen, Steven M.. "Why Intermarriage May Not Threaten Jewish Continuity". Moment Magazine. December 1994
Selected Critiques of Cohen's Position
- Weiner, Julie. "Steven M. Cohen Promotes "Meaningless Jewish Associations"", The New York Jewish Week: In the Mix, December 14, 2010.
- Case, Ed. "What I Would Like To Be Thankful For". InterfaithFamily.comInterfaithFamily.comInterfaithFamily.com, Inc. is a nonprofit organization that helps and provides resources for couples with one Jewish partner and one non-Jewish partner and their families. InterfaithFamily.com, Inc...
:Network Blog. November 24, 2010. - Berkenwald, Leah. ""Being welcoming" is an end unto itself". Jewish Women's Archive: Jewesses With Attitude. August 12, 2010
- Golin, Paul. "Continued Confusion About Intermarriage". Jewcy.com, August 5, 2010
- Weiner, Julie. "Steven M. Cohen: The Single Greatest Threat To Intermarried Jews? (Just Kidding, Steve -- Please Don't Sue For Libel!)" The New York Jewish Week: In the Mix, July 28, 2010
- Olitzky, Kerry MKerry OlitzkyRabbi Kerry M. Olitzky is the Executive Director of the Jewish Outreach Institute, a United States independent organization dedicated to bringing Judaism to interfaith families and the unaffiliated.-Career:...
. Case, Ed. "There is Still Work to Be Done on Welcoming Intermarried Families." EJewish Philanthropy, August 10, 2010 - Golin, Paul. "Cohen Is Splitting the Jewish Community". The Jerusalem Post (Online Edition). Jewish Outreach Institute, The Jerusalem PostThe Jerusalem PostThe Jerusalem Post is an Israeli daily English-language broadsheet newspaper, founded on December 1, 1932 by Gershon Agron as The Palestine Post. The daily readership numbers do not approach those of the major Hebrew newspapers....
. 7 February 2007
Other Work
Cohen's research spans many areas, including the composition of the Jewish professional workforce, issues of gender and sexuality equity in the Jewish workplace, religious communities, and educational institutions, and the impact of various educational programs. His 2010 study, "Profiling the Professionals: Who's Serving Our Communities?", revealed that a twenty thousand dollar wage gap disparity persists between the salaries of men and women working for Jewish organizations.Selected Other Research
- Cohen, Steven M.. "Profiling the Professionals: Who's Serving Our Communities?". Berman Jewish Policy Archive @ NYU Wagner, Jewish Communal Service Association of North America. Fall 2010
- Aviv, Caryn. Cohen, Steven M.. Veinstein, Judith. "Welcoming Synagogues Project: Preliminary Results from the 2009 Synagogue Survey on Diversity and LGBT Inclusion". Jewish Mosaic: The National Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity,The Institute for Judaism and Sexual Orientation at Hebrew Union College-JIRHebrew Union CollegeThe Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion is the oldest extant Jewish seminary in the Americas and the main seminary for training rabbis, cantors, educators and communal workers in Reform Judaism.HUC-JIR has campuses in Cincinnati, New York, Los Angeles and Jerusalem.The Jerusalem...
. 2009 - Abrams, Sam. Cohen, Steven M.. Veinstein, Judith. "American Jews and the 2008 Presidential Election: As Democratic and Liberal as Ever?". Berman Jewish Policy Archive @ NYU Wagner. 20 October 2008
- Cohen, Steven M.. "Gender-Related Distribution of Federation Professional Positions in 2005". United Jewish CommunitiesUnited Jewish CommunitiesThe Jewish Federations of North America , is an American Jewish umbrella organization representing 157 Jewish Federations and the Network of Independent Communities, 400 smaller Jewish communities across North America. The JFNA was formed from the 1999 merger of the United Jewish Appeal, the...
. Winter 2008 - Cohen, Steven M.. "Gays, Lesbians, and the Conservative Movement: The JTS Survey of Conservative Clergy, Students, Professionals, and Lay Leaders". January 2007
- Cohen, Steven M.. Hradecky, Lauren. "The 2006 Salary Survey of JCC Professionals". November 2006
- Bronznick, Shifra. Cohen, Steven M.. Goldenhar, Didi. Israel, Sherry. Kelner, Shaul. "Creating Gender Equity and Organizational Effectiveness in the Jewish Federation System: A Research-and-Action Project". Advancing Women Professionals and the Jewish Community (AWP), United Jewish CommunitiesUnited Jewish CommunitiesThe Jewish Federations of North America , is an American Jewish umbrella organization representing 157 Jewish Federations and the Network of Independent Communities, 400 smaller Jewish communities across North America. The JFNA was formed from the 1999 merger of the United Jewish Appeal, the...
. January 2004 - Cohen, Steven M.. Hartman Halbertal, Tova L.. "Gender Variations in Jewish Identity: Practices and Attitudes in Conservative Congregations". Contemporary Jewry. Association for the Social Scientific Study of JewryAssociation for the Social Scientific Study of JewryThe Association for the Social Scientific Study of Jewry is a cross-disciplinary organization of individuals whose research concerns the Jewish people throughout the world.-Purpose:...
. January 2001: 37-64. - Cohen, Steven M.. "The Coming Generation of Jewish Communal Professionals". The *Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies (CMJS). 1995
- Cohen, Steven M.. "Profiles of Leadership: A Survey of the 1994 Jewish Agency Assembly". Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI). June 1995
- Cohen, Steven M.. "American Jewish Feminism: A Study in Conflicts and Compromises". Sage Publications, inc.. April 1980
Awards
- 2010 Association for the Social Scientific Study of JewryAssociation for the Social Scientific Study of JewryThe Association for the Social Scientific Study of Jewry is a cross-disciplinary organization of individuals whose research concerns the Jewish people throughout the world.-Purpose:...
annual Marshall Sklare AwardMarshall Sklare AwardThe Marshall Sklare Award is an annual honor of the Association for the Social Scientific Study of Jewry . The ASSJ seeks to recognize "a senior scholar who has made a significant scholarly contribution to the social scientific study of Jewry." In most cases, the recipient has given a scholarly...
. - 2010 Jewish Book CouncilJewish Book CouncilThe Jewish Book Council, founded in 1944, is an organization encouraging and contributing to Jewish literature. The goal of the council, as stated on its website, is "to promote the reading, writing and publishing of quality English language books of Jewish content in North America". It is the only...
Award Winner in the "Education and Jewish Identity" category and finalist in the "Contemporary Jewish Life and Practice" category for "Sacred Strategies: Transforming Synagogues from Functional to Visionary." - 1997 Abraham Cahan Prize in Jewish Journalism, for best article in Jewish journalism in 1996 (with Jack WertheimerJack WertheimerJack Wertheimer is a Professor of American Jewish History at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, the flagship yeshiva of Conservative Judaism. He is the former Provost of JTS, and was the founding director of the Joseph and Miriam Ratner Center for the Study of Conservative Judaism...
and Charles S. LiebmanCharles LiebmanCharles S. Liebman was a political scientist and prolific author on Jewish life and Israel. A professor at Bar-Ilan University, he previously served on university faculties in the United States....
)