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Hebrew school enrollment across US down by nearly half since 2006, report says
(JTA) — Living in Brooklyn, surrounded by synagogues and Jewish schools, Rachel Weinstein White and her husband hoped to find a place where their children could receive a Jewish education for a few hours each week.
But they knew they didn’t want to enroll at a traditional Hebrew school associated with a local synagogue. For one thing, White wasn’t interested at the time in participating in prayer services, the main offering of most congregations. Plus, her husband is Black and not Jewish, and they were not sure how well he or their children would be welcomed.
So about eight years ago, she started her own program together with a few families, setting up a cooperative and hiring a teacher in an early version of the “learning pods” that would become a pandemic fad.
“It was just this incredible, magical year,” White said. “So many people started hearing about our little class and asked to join that it became necessary to create a second class. … It just kind of grew organically from there.”
Today the school, Fig Tree, enrolls about 350 children across three locations and plans are underway to expand further. In hour-long classes on Sundays and weekday afternoons, children learn about Jewish holidays and history, engage in art and creative play, explore their local Jewish communities and learn basic Hebrew, in a program that culminates in a b’nai mitzvah year. It overlaps significantly with traditional Hebrew schools, but outside the usual setting — a synagogue classroom — that has become a cultural shorthand among American Jews for rote, uninspiring Jewish education.
That dynamic may be why Fig Tree is an outlier in a stark trend revealed in a new report: Enrollment in supplemental Jewish schools — those that students attend in addition to regular schooling in public or secular private schools — is down by nearly half over the last 15 years.
Even as the estimated number of Jewish children in the United States rose by 17% between 2000 and 2020, enrollment in Hebrew schools fell by at least 45% between 2006 and 2020, according to the report by the Jewish Education Project, a nonprofit that promotes educational innovation and supports Jewish educators in a wide array of settings.
The report identifies pockets of growth, mostly in the small number of programs like Fig Tree that operate outside of or adjacent to synagogues, and in schools operated by the Hasidic Chabad-Lubavitch movement. But overall, according to the report, just 141,000 children attend supplemental Jewish schools in the United States and Canada, down from more than 230,000 in 2006 and 280,000 in 1987.
Some of the decline in Hebrew school enrollment is countered by increasing enrollment in Jewish day schools, where students study Jewish topics for at least part of every day. The number of U.S. children attending Jewish day schools has risen by roughly the same amount, 90,000, that Hebrew school enrollment has fallen since 2006, according to the report, though a significant portion of the increase stems from population growth in Orthodox communities, where the vast majority of students attend day schools.
Miriam Heller Stern, a professor at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion who was tapped to help design the study, said the results suggest that, as with many aspects of religious life today, Hebrew school enrollment cannot be counted on as an act of obligation or tradition.
“There’s this idea that parents send their kids to Hebrew school because they went to Hebrew school and that’s a rite of passage in North America, but that may be a myth,” she said. “People don’t want to push their kids to have to do the same thing they did, necessarily, anymore.”
The report speculates about what has fueled the enrollment decline — from demographic changes to shifts in how American Jews think about countering antisemitism to increased access to Jewish learning online — and also about what has allowed some schools to thrive. It notes that all of the supplemental schools that responded to its census said their schools help children feel connected to the Jewish people.
“We believe that many factors have led to the decline in enrollment of students in supplemental schools in the last decade,” said David Bryfman, the Jewish Education Project’s CEO. “However, it’s also a myth that all supplemental schools don’t work.”
The group is planning a series of online sessions with some of the dozens of researchers and practitioners involved in the report, with one goal the sharing of success stories identified by the survey. Of the six identified in the report, a common theme is urging experiential, community-based learning. Some of the promising models explicitly position themselves as infusing Jewish content into child care, filling a pressing need for American families.
Still, it may be hard to counter the demographic realities of contemporary American Jews: Just a third of U.S. Jews in a 2020 survey said someone in their household was a member of a synagogue. That was the case even for the majority of non-Orthodox Jews who said they identified with a particular denomination, a marker of traditional engagement.
The waning of synagogue affiliation is borne out in the Jewish Education Project’s report, which found that more than 700 supplemental schools shuttered between 2006 and 2020 — most outright, though as many as 200 have survived in a new form after merging.
Temple Solel, a small Reform congregation in Fort Mill, South Carolina, shut down its Hebrew school in recent years. The volunteer-run program had up to eight students at a time, according to Russ Cobe, a lay leader.
“We sort of hit a point where we weren’t able to sustain it,” Cobe said. “We only had a couple of people teaching and students from a wide range of ages and they wouldn’t show up every week. Also, our wheelhouse seems to be retirement age and above. We don’t have a lot of young families.”
Hebrew school mergers offer one possible approach to countering the enrollment decline. Two synagogues, one Reform and one Conservative, located half a mile apart in Oak Park, Michigan, established a joint school about seven years ago and called it Yachad, which means “together” in Hebrew.
“One day a week we meet at the Conservative congregation and one day a week we meet at the Reform congregation, so we are keeping our kids involved in both,” said Gail Greenberg, Yachad’s director. “My goal is to make it at the highest common denominator. For example, all of our food is kosher so anyone who wants to eat here can.”
The arrangement appears to be working. Last year, about 90 students were enrolled, and this year, enrollment is at 128, including 26 new kindergarteners, with even larger numbers expected in the future.
Another set of programs has grown dramatically in recent years: those affiliated with the Chabad movement, which tend to operate even when small and cost less than synagogue programs. Since 2006, the study says Chabad’s market share in terms of enrollment has grown from 4% to 10%, and in terms of the number of schools from 13% to 21%.
Those figures might represent an undercount, according to Zalman Loewenthal, director of CKids, the Chabad network of children’s programs. While the study says there are some 300 Chabad programs in the United States, Loewenthal said he is aware of at least 500 and perhaps as many as 600 — a number driven up in the last decade amid a push by Chabad to launch more Hebrew schools. His count is based on the number of customers purchasing the curriculum offered by his organization, which is also new in the last decade and in his view has contributed to improved quality among Chabad Hebrew schools.
In general, non-traditional approaches to Jewish education may be attractive at a time when American families have packed schedules and competing needs, according to Stern.
“People want to be able to have bite-sized pieces just like you sign up for a six-weeks art class, they might want a six-weeks Jewish class,” she said. “In this atmosphere, some communities are finding ways to be more modular and more flexible, and meet people’s needs in different ways.”
Stern also said, referring to six programs highlighted in the study as success stories, that the future calls for programs to offer an “immersive” experience, meaning that children become part of a community.
“They are getting something beyond just knowledge,” Stern said. “They’re also getting connection and belonging, which provides the foundation for something bigger in their lives.”
Stern said she thought the report pointed to gaps in the way American Jewish communities allocate their resources.
“Supplementary education really was abandoned as a communal priority,” she said. “Individual communities had to find ways to fund it on their own. And I think that is part of why we’re seeing a decline.”
Bryfman said he’s optimistic, both about the power of supplemental schools and the potential for them to generate new support from Jewish donors.
The Jewish Education Project had sought outside funding to pay for its study and failed, he said. But now that the numbers are clear, he is beginning to see interest from philanthropies.
“I don’t want to count the dollars before they’re granted,” Bryfman said. “But the study is already beginning to have the desired effect of bringing more resources to the field.”
Fig Tree isn’t set up to benefit in a possible future of increased charitable investments in Jewish education. That’s because the school is set up as a business — an expression of confidence in its growth and to insulate itself from the vagaries of philanthropy.
“It’s a very unusual model for the Jewish education and I would argue a self-sustaining one,” White said. “We don’t have to rely on fundraising… and we’re not beholden to some of the other requirements that a nonprofit would necessitate, which allows us to be nimble.”
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Hamas Expands European Reach, Posing ‘High Likelihood’ of Terror Attack in Next Six Months, Intel Report Warns
Palestinian Hamas terrorists stand guard at a site as Hamas says it continues to search for the bodies of deceased hostages, in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip, Dec. 3, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stringer
Hamas operatives have pushed far beyond Gaza, embedding themselves across Europe — and now posing a growing threat inside the United Kingdom, where covert arms caches and active attack plots have put intelligence services on high alert, according to a new report.
Even though Hamas has traditionally focused its operations in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank, the Palestinian terrorist group has been steadily cultivating foreign attack capabilities — a trend highlighted in a new report obtained by The Daily Mirror, which warns of a looming threat of Hamas-led attacks in Europe.
Intelligence assessments indicate that the terrorist group, backed for years by Iran, Qatar, and Turkey, has been gradually expanding its presence in Europe through a network of charities, NGOs, and criminal gangs, with Israeli diplomatic missions, Israel-linked businesses, and Jewish religious sites among its top targets.
The report also notes that the group has not only stockpiled weapons such as AK-47s and ammunition but is increasingly turning to drone warfare, bolstered by backing from Lebanon and Iran and supported by Eastern European crime networks that help it acquire advanced weaponry.
“The Oct. 7, 2023, assault fundamentally altered Israel’s threat perceptions, but also reshaped Hamas’s calculations,” the report says, referring to the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel.
“Following catastrophic damage to its infrastructure in Gaza and significant leadership attrition, the group’s remaining command nodes particularly those in Lebanon began activating contingency plans long under development,” it continues.
“The organization’s leadership now appears more willing to accept the strategic risks of external operations. If Hamas sustains further attrition, external operations may grow in relative importance within the group’s strategy,” the intelligence report adds.
According to the United Kingdom’s domestic counter-intelligence and security agency, MI5, and the Joint Terrorism Analysis Center, the current threat level of a terror attack in the UK is assessed to be “substantial.”
Over the next six months, the report warns, there is a “high likelihood of continued attempts at external operations, particularly in Europe, as Hamas seeks to demonstrate resilience.”
This assessment comes amid multiple intelligence findings showing that Hamas has expanded its terrorist operations beyond the Middle East, leveraging a long-established network of weapons caches, criminal alliances, and covert infrastructure quietly built across Europe over the years.
In October, West Point’s Combating Terrorism Center released a study detailing how Hamas leaders in Lebanon have directed operatives to establish “foreign operator” cells across Europe, collaborating with organized crime networks to acquire weapons and target Jewish communities abroad.
For example, a failed Hamas plot involved an alleged operative in Germany traveling to Lebanon to “receive orders from the Qassam Brigades [Hamas’s military wing] to set up an arms depot for Hamas in Bulgaria,” part of a broader, multi-year effort to cache weapons across Europe.
German authorities foiled the plan, detaining four Hamas members in late 2023 on suspicion of planning attacks.
Earlier this year, the four suspects went on trial in Berlin in what prosecutors described as Germany’s first-ever case against members of the Palestinian terrorist group.
During the investigation, German authorities also found evidence on a defendant’s USB device showing that the Hamas operatives were planning attacks on specific sites in Germany, including the Israeli embassy in Berlin.
Similar weapons depots were established in Denmark, Poland, and other European countries, with Hamas members repeatedly trying to retrieve them to support their operations and plan potential attacks.
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Jerusalem-Based Policy Center Seeks to Forge Inroads With US Lawmakers to Safeguard Israel’s Capital
Thousands of Jews gather for a mass prayer for the hostages in Gaza at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, Jan. 10, 2024. Photo: Yaacov Cohen
Amid increasing uncertainty over the future of the US-Israel relationship, a Jerusalem-based organization committed to safeguarding Israel’s capital city has decamped to Washington, DC in an attempt to make inroads with federal lawmakers in the US.
The Jerusalem Center for Applied Policy (JCAP), a research and policy center, aims to help protect and bolster the security, sovereignty, economy, and international standing of “Israel’s indivisible capital” in the face of “existential challenges,” according to its website.
To expand its mission, JCAP has opened a new office in Washington, DC, where some its principals are currently touring to meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
As part of its work, JCAP seeks to mitigate potential threats from terrorist groups and their sponsors and has adopted the goal of spreading awareness about Islamist propaganda campaigns targeting the West, arguing that malevolent entities are trying to undermine the legitimacy of Western democracies and corrode them from within.
Chaim Silverstein, founder and chairman of JCAP, told The Algemeiner in an interview in Washington, DC this week that protecting Jerusalem is critical to preserving the security and existence of Israel from terrorists. He described Jerusalem as “the heart of Israel,” arguing that adversarial entities understand that “if they harm the head” of the Jewish state, “the rest of the body will implode.”
Silverstein added that Jerusalem is particularly vulnerable because it is home to Israel’s largest Arab population, explaining that countries such as Turkey and Iran have been effectively radicalizing Arab citizens of Israel with the hope of turning them against their home and “Islamicizing” Jerusalem.
“Radical Islamic enemies are trying to destroy Jerusalem,” he said, stressing that they want to “liberate it for Islam.”
Thus, according to Silverstein, JCAP “formulates policy initiatives” to protect Jerusalem from looming threats. The organization maintains a “unique approach” to combatting Islamic extremism, he argued, touting its extensive efforts to monitor and track the Muslim Brotherhood’s global Islamist network. JCAP aims to share the organization’s findings and methodologies with US lawmakers, equipping them with the ability to thwart extremism in their own borders, Silverstein said.
JCAP aims to enhance “Jerusalem’s international standing through proactive diplomacy while countering the influence of hostile international agitators,” its website states, adding that the goal is “advancing strategic partnerships and advocacy to reinforce Jerusalem’s role as Israel’s united and sovereign capital.”
In addition to information about terrorist cells, JCAP also wants to spread awareness about the pervasive influence campaign waged by Qatar against Israel and Western countries. According to Silverstein, Qatar has attempted to soften its image through elevating its prominence in sports, entertainment, and academia while simultaneously spreading misinformation regarding Israel’s domestic policies and military campaign in Gaza. Moreover, he argued that this influence campaign aims to spark chaos within the borders of Western countries such as Canada, Australia, and the US.
US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines warned in 2024 that actors tied to adversarial governments such as Iran have encouraged and provided financial support to rampant protests opposing Israel’s defensive military operations against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in Gaza.
Meanwhile, analysts have revealed in recent reports that Qatar, a longtime supporter of Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood’s global network more broadly, has spent tens of billions of dollars to influence US policy making and public opinion in Doha’s favor. At the same time, the country has provided the Hamas-run government in Gaza with an estimated $1.8 billion and allows the terrorist group to host an office in Doha.
JCAP acknowledged that the popularity of Israel has declined precipitously in the US, complicating efforts to forge strong ties with certain American lawmakers. Nonetheless, the organization said it believes that US policymakers will understand that their national security interests are intertwined with Israel’s. The organization suggested that despite the souring reputation of the Jewish state among younger US voters, the American military and defense industry still recognize that Israel is a valuable asset. Moreover, the group claimed that their mission — focusing more on Jerusalem rather than Israel writ large — helps to emphasize the shared Christian-Jewish Biblical heritage of the land rather than politics.
Amid the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, many recent polls have shown a precipitous decline in support of Israel among Democrats and, increasingly, even Republicans, especially younger voters.
Though JCAP claims to stay neutral on domestic US issues, it explicitly identifies as “pro-Trump,” praising US President Donald Trump’s policies toward Israel. The group hopes to form inroads with the Trump administration and Republicans to help guide policies on Israel.
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Irish Three-Time Eurovision Winner Backs Ireland’s Withdrawal From Song Contest Over Israel’s Participation
Irish-Australian singer Johnny Logan sings during a rehearsal for the first semi-final in the supporting program of the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) 2024. Photo: Jens Büttner/dpa via Reuters Connect
Ireland’s three-time Eurovision winner Johnny Logan said he supports the country’s national broadcaster in its decision to pull out of the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest after organizers said Israel will be allowed to participate.
Johnny Logan said he was “proud” of RTÉ’s decision and thinks the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes the competition, should have Israel “removed” from next year’s Eurovision contest, set to take place in May in Vienna, Austria. “I really feel that in this case, RTÉ definitely made the right decision,” he said on RTÉ’s radio news program “This Week.”
“I don’t think that Israel should be allowed to hide under the umbrella of the Eurovision … make it look as though, everything’s OK, business as usual, because it’s not. I think most people in Ireland would agree with that,” Logan added. “I think that the EBU should have made a decision regarding Israel, a decision removing them from the show and taking that decision away from individual countries. But being as it is. I really think that what Ireland, what RTÉ, have done is exactly the right thing to do. I support them 100 percent.”
The EBU ruled last week that Israel can compete in next year’s contest, despite backlash over Israel’s participation because of its military campaign against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip. Following the EBU’s decision, the national broadcasters of Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, and Slovenia confirmed their withdrawal from the competition. Logan called on the national broadcasters of other countries to also boycott the 2026 Eurovision because of Israel’s involvement.
“And it’s not about the Israeli people, it’s about the people in charge of Israel, the governments that have been making these decisions,” he added. Logan said he believes Israel being allowed to participate “adds a kind of respectability to the way they’ve behaved.”
Logan noted that the Eurovision Song Contest has turned political in the past, and cited as an example Russia being removed from the competition following its invasion of Ukraine. “They did it with Russia in the Eurovision. They say that the Eurovision is nonpolitical but the reality of it is when it is necessary it becomes political,” Logan said. “The Eurovision has been really good to me, but I do feel very strongly about it.”