Research Updates

Research from Academic and Non-Academic Institutes

Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies and Steinhardt Social Research Institute at Brandeis University

Book Chapter

Saxe, L., Wright, G., Hecht, S. (2022). The COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Potential Impact on Jewish Young Adults’ Relationship to Israel and Jewish Identity. In Kenedy, R.A., Rebhun, U., Ehrlich, C.S. (eds.) Israel and the Diaspora: Jewish Connectivity in a Changing World. Studies of Jews in Society, vol. 3. Cham: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80872-3_5

Journal Articles

Wright, G., Volodarsky, S., Hecht, S., Saxe, L (in press): Student Satisfaction and the Future of Online Learning in Higher Education: Lessons from a Natural Experiment. Online Learning.

Reports

Aronson, J.K., Brookner, M.A., & Saxe, L. (October 2021). 2020 Greater MetroWest NJ Jewish Community Study. Waltham, MA: Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies, Brandeis University.

Aronson, J.K., Brookner, M.A., Saxe, L., Bankier-Karp, A., Boxer, M., Seeskin, Z.H., & Dutwin, D. (June 2022). 2021 Study of Jewish LA. Waltham, MA: Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies, Brandeis University.

Boxer, M., Brookner, M.A., Feinberg, M., Magidin de Kramer, R., Mangoubi, D., Martin, A., Nussbaum, D., Pasternack, E., Seeskin, Z., Dutwin, D., Aronson, J.K., & Saxe, L. (March 2022). 2021 Kansas City Jewish Community Study. Waltham, MA: Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies, Brandeis University.

Boxer, M., Pasternack, E., Mangoubi, D., Nussbaum, D., Brookner, M.A., Magidin de Kramer, R., Aaronson, H., Feinberg, M., Aronson, J.K., & Saxe, L. (December 2021). 2020–21 Central Florida Jewish Community Study. Waltham, MA: Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies, Brandeis University.

Tighe E., Nussbaum, D., Mandell, J., Magidin de Kramer, R., & Levine, D. (May 2022). American Jewish Population Estimates 2020: Politics and Partisanship. American Jewish Population Project at the Steinhardt Social Research Institute, Brandeis University.

Wright, G., Hecht, S., Volodarsky, S., & Saxe, L. (April 2022). Birthright Israel during COVID-19: Program Impact on Summer 2021 Participants. Waltham, MA: Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies, Brandeis University.

Opinion Essays

Saxe, L. (February 3, 2022). Who Counts? Jewish Journal. https://jewishjournal.com/commentary/opinion/344778/who-counts/

Saxe, L. & Wright, G. (October 23, 2021). Digital Education Should Only Endure If It Can Replicate Campus Benefits. Times Higher Education. https://academic-cms.prd.the-internal.com/blog/digital-education-should-only-endure-if-it-can-replicate-campus-benefits

The Haredi Research Group

The Haredi Research Group (HRG) took rise in the spring of 2021 in response to two related developments in 2020 within the Haredi community, initially in the United States: first, the crisis of and response to the COVID-19 pandemic; and second, the striking and seemingly sudden political transformation of the Haredi community into a pro-Trump voting bloc in the 2020 presidential election. These two features of the “Haredi moment” called for further attention—and for efforts at understanding the deeper roots of the responses.

We began by bringing together a group of U.S.-based historians, sociologists, and literature scholars but soon realized that the phenomena of interest to us were larger—and certainly required an Israeli perspective. Our team has now expanded to some 30 scholars (and a number of journalists) who are roughly divided between the United States and Israel. Our research to date has been conducted in three pods—history-culture, qualitative social science, and quantitative sociology. We have produced our first research products in the form of long and short reports on the “Haredi Moment” of 2020. We imagine a number of offshoots of that report in the short term (videos, podcasts, etc.), as well as many other long-term collaborative undertakings (including securing a significant multi-year grant).

To learn more about Haredim and about the Haredi Research Group, see https://www.harediresearchgroup.org/. You’ll find links to a shorter and a longer report on “The Haredi Moment” there, as well as information about Haredi demographics, the researchers involved in this group, and whom to contact for more information.