Reply To: Pew Research Study: The Good and the Bad

And it’s 71% among the non-Orthodox, who comprise 90% of the American Jewish community.

Emil Fackenheim wrote of a 614th mitzvah: not to give Hitler, y”S, a posthumous victory. While the Nazis destroyed 6 million Jewish bodies, the non-Orthodox in America are doing what the Nazis couldn’t accomplish- they’re destroying the Jewish soul, Jewish memory, and Jewish continuity.

The issue with aliyah and Israel that I have is that most Israelis are not religious. While they mostly end up marrying other Jews and identifying as Jews, secularism and irreligiosity are rampant there. Many Israeli high school kids don’t know “Shema Yisrael, H’ Elokeinu, H’ Echad.”

In spite of our actions (or lack thereof), G-d does promise to guard us and preserve us. The only thing that will preserve us, though, other than Divine providence, is creating strong Jewish identity, grounded in Torah and halakha.