Steven Windmueller

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Dec 1, 2024, 10:38 PM

The Restart: Rethinking the American Jewish Organizing Model

As I have written elsewhere, 21st Century American Judaism represents a fundamentally different experience, requiring us to reconsider how we as a community are organized. We find ourselves with a 19th Century communal legacy model, serving a 21st Century...

Dec 1, 2024, 12:11 AM

Rethinking American Jewish Liberalism: Reflections on a Movement

In the aftermath of this election, America's Jewish liberals are facing a major political test. Indeed, can such a constituency operate beyond this moment in light of an array of challenging factors that may limit its ability to have...

Nov 20, 2024, 12:05 AM

How This Election Is Reshaping the American Jewish Political Story

With Donald Trump’s election, the liberal agenda that has defined much of American Jewish political practice will need to be recalibrated. The results of the 2024 election won't just shift political power in this nation to the right, as this...

Nov 12, 2024, 3:20 AM

JNF: A Case Study in Community Building and Israel Philanthropy

We can identify some 36,000 Israel-directed charities and nonprofit institutions operating within the Jewish State and an additional number of American-based organizations supporting Israeli society. A 2012 study assessing giving to Israel focused on Jewish philanthropy estimated that 774 organizations...

Nov 10, 2024, 12:49 AM

The American Jewish Voter: 2024 Post-Election Reflections

In the aftermath of the past Tuesday's presidential election, we can identify a number of generic and more definitive trends and outcomes that have implications for America's Jews. In this essay we will be examining some distinctive findings. One of...

Oct 21, 2024, 7:53 PM

Reflections and Projections: The Jewish Vote and the 2024 Campaign

As we move within two weeks of this election, we are likely to see the last efforts by both parties to reframe their messages and target segments of the voting public, while seeking to maximize their political positions. Where Does...

Oct 16, 2024, 6:36 PM

When Jews Come Together: A Difficult Dinner Conversation

I just returned from a depressing evening, where our monthly dinner group seemed to be unable to break our focus on the forthcoming election, now just twenty days away. Normally, our “Old Men’s Group” (OMG) takes up a fascinating...

Oct 7, 2024, 12:19 AM

The Contemporary American Synagogue: High Holy Day Reflections

At this season of our renewal, synagogues are very much in our consciousness. Our sanctuaries hold special meaning for us, especially at this sacred and special time of the year. A 2020 Pew study found that 20% of US Jews...

Sep 23, 2024, 7:44 AM

Rosh Hashanah Reflections: Encountering our Challenges and Uncertainties

As rabbis prepare their high holy day sermons and as Jewish agency executives craft their New Year messages, various themes frame the agenda for 5785. In some measure these are all one message, and then again, we realize the...

Sep 18, 2024, 10:03 PM

Are Jewish Voters on the Move? What the Latest Polls Are Telling Us

The Harris-Trump election is proving to be a particularly fascinating election in connection with new data involving some shifting Jewish voter trends. Are more Jews moving into the Republican column? The Jewish Voter Shift? We are seeing a shift in...

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About Me

Steven Windmueller, Ph.D. is an Emeritus Professor of Jewish Communal Service at the Jack H. Skirball Campus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles. Prior to coming to HUC, Dr.Windmueller served for ten years as the JCRC Director of the LA Jewish Federation. Between 1973-1985, he was the director of the Greater Albany Jewish Federation (now the Federation of Northeastern New York). He began his career on the staff of the American Jewish Committtee. The author of four books and numerous articles, Steven Windmueller focuses his research and writings on Jewish political behavior, communal trends, and contemporary anti-Semitism.

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