Navigating Ethnic Identity at a Time of Crisis: A mixed-methods study of Jewish identity in California after October 7, 2023

In the aftermath of October 7, 2023 and the ensuing war in the Middle East, which had far-reaching effects throughout the United States, many Jewish Americans faced the challenges of re-navigating their Jewish identity and finding group support and community. The study described herein of Jewish parenting and socialization began just before these events and therefore captured the social psychological challenges and changes that took place during this tumultuous time. During 2023–2024, we collected 218 quantitative surveys and performed 30 in-depth qualitative interviews with Californian residents who identify as Jewish and have a child between the ages of 2 and 18. Quantitative findings reveal that greater concerns, experiences, and perceptions of antisemitism were associated with greater engagement and identification with Jewish religious and ethnic identity. October 7 was found to be a precipitating event that increased engagement and identification with Jewish religious and ethnic identity and community. Qualitative findings indicate a sense of collective trauma, dissonance, and re-evaluation of group support and identity among liberal California Jews. Other themes relate to reconnecting or strengthening parent and child Jewish identity and communities, and others to decreasing involvement or membership in Jewish communities and events due to fear of discrimination or hostility.