The Jewish View of Intermarriage

In the past, it was taboo for Jews to marry into gentile (non-Jewish) families. In Deuteronomy 7:1-3 it says, "You shall not intermarry with them: do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons. For you will turn your children away from Me to worship other gods…"

Here we can see that the sensitivity towards intermarriage is a product of self-preservation for their faith, and for their race as well. Today there are 13 million Jews all over the world, most of them residing in Israel and America. This represents less than 0.25% of the global population. Anything that threatens this already small number tends to cause some alarm.

However, during the last half century, there has been an increasing trend in intermarriage as revealed by a report published by the National Jewish Population Survey. Before the 70’s intermarriage was only at 13%, but during the 70’s it rose to 28%. In the 80’s it gained even more momentum with 43% of Jews marrying gentiles. During the 90’s, it began to stabilize as 47% of American Jews in that decade were married to non-Jews.

This high rate of intermarriage, however, does not sit well for the more conservative block of the Jewish community. As fewer children are now being raised as Jews, it is seen as a threat to the very existence of the Jewish faith. One factor being blamed for this trend is the lack of supplementary Jewish education and appreciation of their heritage. Among Jews who did not receive any form of Jewish education, 43% eventually intermarry. Meanwhile, those who went to a Jewish Sunday school have a lesser tendency at 29%. Intermarriage is very low among those who attended a yeshiva or Jewish day school at 7%.

Still, for the greater part of the community, “the Jewish taboo on mixed marriages has clearly collapsed,” according to the American Jewish Committee's Survey of American Jewish Opinion. More than half of those surveyed said that they will not mind if their children marry non-Jews, and they also agree that it is racist to oppose mixed marriages. However, a great majority still favor that a rabbi officiate in some way in these intermarriage ceremonies.

A long time ago, it was common for parents to disown and mourn their children for entering into mixed marriages. Now, attitudes have shifted more towards acceptance, but with caution to the younger Jews not to forget their rich heritage.