Illuminating the Path to Vibrant American Jewish Communities

Jacob B. (“Jack”) Ukeles directed or co-directed twenty studies of American Jewish communities and more than 150 other planning, policy research, and management projects while serving as president of Ukeles Associates, Inc. 1986 - 2018. Over an eight-year period, he also served as the principal advisor to the CEO of JDC, an international relief organization.  In the 1980s, he was a senior executive at New York Jewish Federation. He taught urban planning at the University of Pennsylvania, policy analysis/management at Columbia University, and was the first Chair of Urban Affairs and Policy Analysis at the New School for Social Research. He has a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania and was a Fulbright scholar in India.

• Preface.- Acknowledgements.- Chapter 1. Introduction.- Chapter 2. A Classification of American Jewish Communities.- Chapter 3. Porous Boundaries and Borderland Jews.- Chapter 4. Intermarriage.- Chapter 5. The Erosion of the Center.- Chapter 6. The Orthodox Resurgence.- Chapter 7. Are There Poor Jews?.- Chapter 8. The Impact of Cost on Living a Jewish Life.- Chapter 9. How Jewish Are Young Jewish Adults?.- Chapter 10. Baby Boomers: Generation in Transition.- Chapter 11. Seniors: Maximizing Autonomy.- Chapter 12. The Mosaic Within: Jewish Diversity and Inclusion.- Chapter 13. Jewish Geography: The Spatial Dynamics of Jewish Life.- Chapter 14. Performance-driven Culture: Enabling a Vibrant Jewish Community.- Chapter 15. Compilation of Strategic Options.- Index.

“Illuminating the bath to vibrant American Jewish communities: Linking data to policy is unique in the social scientific literation in that it addresses a social policy audience … he combines his experience in both planning and social research to create a book that can serve as ‘a road map to use of data, analysis, and strategic thinking to inform Jewish communal policies at the local level’.” (Bruce A. Phillips, Contemporary Jewry, November 14, 2024)