Tree of Life: A Study of Jewish American Reactive Identity, Community, and Politics

The effects of hate crimes on individual social and emotional responses have often been studied, but less has been said about their impact on community engagement. Using survey data from Brandeis University's Cohen Center, news articles, and reports, I interrogated the ways in which the Tree of Life shooting in Pittsburgh caused the local Jewish community to change their interactions with community institutions or politics. Rates of (and zeal for) synagogue membership and engagement, organization membership and activity participation, and volunteerism and donations increased following the shooting. Involvement in political advocacy and civic action also swelled, particularly with respect to issues relevant to the safety and identity of Jewish people, but predominantly among left-leaning people. Drawing upon surveys of American Jewish self-identification and secondary sources tackling the question of the changing nature of Jewish identity, I place the changes demonstrated in Pittsburgh within an intellectual tradition of understanding Jewishness as dynamic and multifaceted.