NEW RESEARCH CASTS LIGHT ON WHAT TEENS THINK

TEENAGERS and parents think of their Jewishness in terms of “universal” values and practices, such as protecting the environment, having family meals or respecting people who are different.

That ranks higher than religious observance or connections with Israel.

Generally, teenagers are positive about Israel, particularly after going on the year-9 trip there with their school, according the UJIA/Pears research. But they appear broaderminded than parents, 51 per cent believing Jews should be free to criticise Israel compared with 46 per cent of adults.

Generally, their Jewish attitudes chime with those of their parents except in one question. Whereas 73 per cent of parents felt their future to be “bound up with that of the Jewish people”, only 39 per cent of children felt likewise That could be because children’s Jewish experience is more local.