Study reveals Covid’s ‘extraordinarily disruptive’ impact on UK Jewish life
Institute of Jewish Policy Research says it was “particularly difficult” for Britain’s Jews because “so much of Jewish life depends on social interaction and assembly”.
Analysts polling thousands of British Jews about their Covid lockdown experiences say Jewish communities handled the pandemic well but that online synagogue prayer services were unpopular, writes Adam Decker.
While lockdown posed challenges for everyone, the authors of a new report by the Institute of Jewish Policy Research (JPR) say it was “particularly difficult” for Britain’s Jews because “so much of Jewish life – particularly Jewish religious life – depends on social interaction and assembly”.
The restrictions on liberty quickly forced many aspects of Jewish life online, they say, including cultural events, services, charitable fundraisers and private religious occasions such as weddings and bar or bat mitzvahs.
Noting a “sudden proliferation of online Jewish content” catering for everything from prayer services to learning, the report addresses “the challenges this posed to more halachically-observant Jews”, who do not use electronic devices on Shabbat.
Less than one-in-10 Orthodox Jews say they live-streamed services on Shabbat, compared to half of all progressive Jewish respondents, yet up to 39 percent of Orthodox Jews say they streamed services either side of Shabbat.
The polling data, from last summer, was taken from 4,150 people who identify as Jewish in some way, and reveals that in the three months before lockdown, around 54 percent said they attended at least one Jewish religious service. The closure of UK places of worship from March to July 2020, however, forced synagogues to “reimagine” services, with 42 percent saying they subsequently attended at least one service online.
A year later, in the first half of 2021, only 31 percent of respondents were physically back in synagogues, despite the buildings reopening.
JPR said this showed “the overarching picture of how people were experiencing prayer services remained fundamentally changed, with a substantial proportion taking place online, and synagogues far emptier than before”. Respondents said the online activities they would most likely continue post-lockdown were educational programmes and lectures, while the least likely to be taken forward were online prayer services, which enthused less than a third of those polled.
The authors said this “highlights the fundamentally social dimension of Jewish prayer services which does not appear to translate to the online environment as easily”. Jews aged in their 60s were shown to be the most reluctant to return to face-to-face gatherings, while religious Jews were almost 50 percent more enthusiastic about in-person meetings than secular Jews.
JPR director Jonathan Boyd said the study “reveals how extraordinarily disruptive the pandemic was to Jewish life, while also pointing to the creativity, adaptability and resilience of Jewish organisations in the midst of the crisis”.
He added that while Jewish communities “managed their way through the turbulence rather well”, it was “still too early to see the lasting impact on Jewish life”.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
