Article, The Jewish Community of Las Vegas by Jerry Countess, September 1987

THE JEWISH COMMUNITY OF LAS VEGAS Jerome D. Countess September, 1987 The information on which this article is based stems from two principal sources: a 1980 demographic study of the Jewish population of Las Vegas prepared by Dr. Bruce Phillips, a demographer and Associate Professor of Jewish Communnal stu?dies, Hebrew Union College; and the more subjective experience of the author, Executive Vice President of the Jewish Federation of Las Vegas from 1975 through 1986. The demographic study took well over a year to prepare and was completed at the end of 1981. The subjective details were accumulated through personal observation and participation in most of the important political, social, organizational, civic, communal and (occasional) religious events that involved the Jewish community over that period of eleven years. There are two general observations I'd make before dis?cussing specific details. One is that the Jewish community, measured by any yardstick - social, fraternal, political, civic, business or religious - is not a monolithic community. There are at least as many divisions in the Jewish community, on any -continued- Jewish Community of Las Vegas Page 2 scale of measurement, as there are in the general community, with the likelihood that on some issues there are more. This observation, like most rules, however, is subject to one exception: attitudes towards the State of Israel. Any real or perceived substantive threat to the safety or security of the State of Israel is the one issue likely to overcome major areas of difference in the Jewish community. Until that threat has been resolved there is likely to be relatively cohesive action between the various groups, with secular and religious organizations, social and fraternal ones and even a large body of otherwise unidentified Jews all work?ing together. Each of the major crises in Israel ince its creation in 1948 has seen that "coming together", often under the guidance of the national United Jewish Appeal and the local Jewish Federations, but also in thousands of individual efforts as well as those emanating from other organizations. National Jewish communal sources place the known Jewish popu?lation in the United States as being somewhere between 2.5% and 3.0% of the total population. I have found that ratio to be a sound yardstick for estimating the size of the Jewish population in this city. Unofficial estimates from city managers mention a population of -continued- Jewish Community of Las Vegas Page 3 a little over 600,000 in the greater Las Vegas area (North Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Henderson and Boulder City). The Federation's monthly newspaper, the Jewish Reporter, goes to over 8,000 Jew?ish families. National Jewish communal sources use a figure of 2.6 to describe family size. Multiplying the 8,000 families on our Reporter mailing list by the 2.6 national measurement gives us 20,800 Jewish individuals for the Las Vegas area. If we use the national estimate of somewhere between 2.5% and 3.0% for the ratio of Jews to total population, we get be?tween 15,000 and 18,000 individuals, based on city estimates of 600,000+ individuals in the area. The difference between the two estimates is not as clear cut as it might seem at first glance. We know from experience that there is a body of people in the community which, in general, does not publicly identify itself as Jewish. In each of the crises involving Israel (mentioned above), however, these people have come forth in astonishing numbers to offer volunteer support as well as cash contributions. With the crisis past, many of these people tend to retreat back into anonymity, at least with regard to further Jewish involvement. As a practical matter the Federation tends to plan its pro?grams and prepare for the needs of a base of 20,000 individuals. Thus far that has proven to be a reasonably accurate measurement. -continued- Jewish Community of Las Vegas Page 4 We have only estimates for the size of the Jewish popula?tion in the northern part of Nevada. There is some exchange of communal data, particularly between the Reno community and the Jewish Federation of Las Vegas. From that rather informal ex?change we think that the 2.5% to 3.% national estimate of Jew?ish population is probably accurate for the northern part of the state. That has not, of course, been verified by any fom-mal study, as far as we can tell. With that as an overall perspective, let me begin to de?scribe the Jewish community of Las Vegas as I have seen it through firsthand observation and personal participation from 1975 through 1986. First I would like to present some of the highlights of the demographic study: One out of every five Jews in Las Vegas is under the age of eighteen. Las Vegas has a smaller proportion of Jews in the 18-34 age group and a larger proportion in the 35-49 group than does either of our neighbor communities, Denver and Los Angeles, two cities our demographer, Dr. Phillips, used for the purposes of comparison. Las Vegas has fewer one-person households and more four and five-person households than either Denver or Los Angeles. Evidence compiles over the last five years, however, indicates this figure is changing and there are now a larger number of both one-person and single-parent families. continued- Jewish Community of Las Vegas Page 5 Less than 40% of all Las Vegas Jewish households include children. (The Denver proportion of households with children is 28.40%; the Los Angeles proportion is 28.30%.) When this study was prepared, single-parent families made up one out of ten Jewish families with children. We believe that figure is considerably higher today. However, the proportion of married couples with children more than doubles among Jewish households over the age of 30. Singles are most likely to be under 30 and over 50, but they are different kinds of singles: the over-50 singles tend to be widowed while the under-30 singles have never been married Married couples without children make up over half of the households headed by a person over 50. These are presumeably "empty-nesters" whose children have grown and left the house?hold. With regard to inter-marriage, a pattern is clear: younger (under 40) marriages are more likely to involve marriage to a non-converted Jew than those over 40. The question of Jewish identity and upbringing increasingly poses a challenge to a community interested in Jewish survival. Under the age of 60 there is a general trend toward the professions, which is similar to the situation in the compari?son communities. Lawyers, like physicians, are more likely to be found amoung the younger rather than the older cohorts. -continued- Jewish Community of Las Vegas Page 6 Altogether, professionals, including those in other categories, make up over 15% of the Jewish population. Outside the professional field, the largest single employer of Jewish males is the gaming industry. Depending on the age group, between 15% and 20% of all Jewish individuals work in the hotel, gaming or convention business. Business, in general, is the second largest employer, with about 18% of all full-time em?ployed Jewish males being in business. Jewish women are following a pattern seen nationwide amongst other Jewish communities, a trend whereby Jewish females are taking on occupational patterns similar to those of Jewish males. The trend toward the professions is matched by a trend to?wards higher education. The study found the most affluent age groups among the respondents were those households where the respondent is be?tween 30 and 49 years. Divorced and widowed households without children are the least affluent households. In 1981, 41% of respondents in that group had incomes under $10,000. Over half of all the current Jewish households moved to Las Vegas within the last five years. That is the finding of our 1981 survey. (It is also the finding of a recent city sur?vey concerning the population as a whole.) The older the re-sondent, the longer he or she is likely to have lived in the -continued- Jewish Community of Las Vegas Page 7 community. It is a personal observation that in recent years Las Vegas has seen a much larger percentage of suburban-oriented married couples with children move into the community than in the past. Close to 40% of all recent movers - moved to their current residence directly from out of town.* Of that number, 18% came directly to Las Vegas from the West Coast, Los Angeles in particu?lar. This suggests that escalating housing costs (and congestion, especially in Los Angeles) may have played a significant role in that move. Overall, just less than 30% of all Jewish households in Las Vegas include an elderly person. Since 46% of all elderly over the age of 75 are living in households with non-elderly persons, it suggests the possibility these older persons are residing with an adult child. There is also an indication that the "well elderly" are the ones most likely to move to Las Vegas from somewhere else. There is also clear evidence of the arrival of a group of early retirees between the ages of 58 and 63. In an informal discussion with city demographers we were told this group was moving into Las Vegas at a rate 10% faster than the population as a whole while the population of those 65 years and older was increasing at a rate 12% faster than any other age group. While these early *A recent statement by a senior member of the city's judicial system highlights the difficulty of accurate population measurement 28% of the population in Las Vegas moves every 90 days. -continued- Jewish Community of Las Vegas Page 8 retirees do not pose a problem to the community now, they may prove to be a significant problem in the next decade or two when they begin to require community care. The statistics gathered in the survey from which the above information is an abstract, quantify typical demographic infor?mation - population age, employment, distribution and household composition. They tell an observer something about the community. There is also personal experience, based on a different kind of empirical data. As Director of the Federation I've had the op?portunity to learn about - and deal with - just about every kind of problem or event affecting both the Jewish and non-Jewish community. The following observations about the Jews and Jewish institutions in Las Vegas, therefore, have some validity. There are some thirty Jewish organizations in Las Vegas. This grouping includes houses of worship of the three major re?ligious movements in Jewish life - Orthodox (Congregation Shaarei Tefilla), Conservative (Temple Beth Sholom and Temple Emanu-el) and Reform (Congregation Beth Am and Congregation Ner Tamid) . It also includes siqgle bodies representing major national Jewish organizations or bodies with several chapters which meet at different times to accomodate the differing needs of mem?bership . As examples of non-religious groups, there are a B'Nai B'rith Men's Lodge and also a B'nai B'rith Women's group. ORT, the -continued- Jewish Community of Las Vegas Page 9 Organization for Rehabilitation and Training, has several chap?ters - the Oasis Chapter, the Las Vegas Chapter and the Southern Nevada Business/Career Chapter. Some of the religious organizations have Senior groups; most have Sisterhoods and some have both, as well as a Men's Club. This communal/fraternal grouping also includes the Jewish Family Service Agency, the Hebrew Academy and a Jewish Singles Group. Above all these groups, acting in an "umbrella" capacity, is the Jewish Federation of Las Vegas. The initial impetus for its creation was to establish an organization that would be the single major fundraising mechanism for the Jewish Community. Prior to its incorporation in 1966, local Jewish bodies as well as committees representing national organizations that had no active life in this community would compete against each other for Jewish support in fundraising drives and dinners. Fre?quently these events took place either simultaneously or so close to each other in time that they worked to defeat their obj ectives. The Jewish Federation, called the Combined Jewish Appeal in its early years, was created so there would be only one major fund-raising drive in the Jewish community. The proceeds from that campaign were then to be divided among the organizations that created it, with a major portion going to the United Jewish Appeal. -continued- Jewish Community of Las Vegas Page 10 There was a tacit understanding with the other Jewish bodies in the community that the Federation had a "primacy" period lasting several months (usually January 1 through March 31st) during which no other organization, with the exception of Hadassah, could run a major fundraising event. This policy is subscribed to and supported by all the major national Jewish organizations. Over the years the function of that single-purpose organi?zation changed dramatically. As the community grew larger, other needs became apparent. There was no central voice, in those early years, to deal with incidents of anti-Semitism, organized or unintentional. Conflicts over church/state separa?tion, for example, still an important issue in national politics, have existed on the local level, as well. An illustration of such a conflict that has continued over a long period of time is the scheduling of school examinations on a day when Jews have their most important religious holidays such as Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashonah and Passover. The Federation, through its creation of a Community Relations Committee, with assistance from many individuals in the larger group of organi?zations, has been dealing with that matter for over a decade. It has proven to be largely a problem of education and of pro?viding the appropriate information rather than a battle against ill will. It is a problem that is likely never to disappear completely since the body of educators changes constantly. -continued- Jewish Community of Las Vegas Page 11 A particular example of such a conglict, which occurred more than a decade ago, was the scheduling of the once-a-year state examination for a Dental License. Originally it had been scheduled to be held on the day of Yom Kippur, considered by most Jews as the single most important religious holiday of the year. Any representative of the Orthodox or Conservative Jewish move?ments, interested in becoming a dentist in this state, would be presented with the terrible dilemma of either violating his deepest religious beliefs or foregoing the opportunity to prac?tice his profession. When this information was brought before the appropriate authorities, the examination was rescheduled. As the years passed, other needs became apparent. There was no mechanism for training younger people for leadership in the Jewish community, regardless of the organization to which they belonged. The Federation instituted a leadership develop?ment program that has provided such training to more than four hundred individuals during the past decade. Many of those graduates now sit on the boards and committees of the Federation as well as of most other Jewish organizations in the community. In some cases the Federation initiated programs because no other organization in the community had the resources or manpower to do it. In some cases, the Federation's role as a secular organization that was concerned with the needs of all the Jews, locally and worldwide rather than the narrower para?meters of smaller, sirgle-purpose local organizations, propelled -continued- Jewish Community of Las Vegas Page 12 the Federation into a leadership role it had not anticipated. A few examples follow. It was Federation leadership that pushed for the creation of the Jewish Family Service Agency, an organization providing counselling referral and programs for individuals and families with a wide variety of human problems. Through its contact with the community as a whole, the Federation recognized the extent of those problems and the need for making assistance available to the entire Jewish community. The Federation's initiative and its recruitment of a score of knowledgeable volunteers led to the formation of that agency. The Federation has been the major source of funding for the Jewish Family Service Agency since its creation nearly a decade ago. The Holocaust Committee of the Federation has created a resource library on Holocaust materials that includes books, brochures, film strips, tapes and films. These materials are used by organizations across the state, largely non-Jewish, and provide information, often on a daily basis, to Clark County teachers and students. A High School curriculum providing a unit of credit on the background of the Holocaust through a variety of multi?media sources, has just been completed. It was put together in a cooperative arrangement with the Nevada Humanities Com?mittee, the Jewish Federation and the Clark County School -continued- Jewish Community of Las Vegas Page 13 District. It is the property of CCSD and is being made available to school systems throughout the country. It has been reported on favorably by leaders of the Catholic and Protestant communi?ties and by educators with special expertise on the subject of the Holocaust. Other school systems across the United States have learned about it and have made inquiries on how to acquire it. Any financial benefits from such a distribution will accrue to the Clark County School District, to be used for other edu?cational purposes. Over the years the Federation hs led this Jewish community in efforts to help Jews worldwide. Israel is not the sole bene?ficiary of those efforts. Under national guidance the Federa?tion has helped raise funds and other resources for Jewish and non-Jewish victims of disasters around the world. The Federa?tion provided assistance after the earthquakes in Mexico and Central America last year and two years ago, and in Italy, three years ago. The Federation prvided financial resources to aid Jews trapped in Iran after the Shah's death and the rise of Khomeini and participated vigorously in the national Jewish effort to help rescue Ethiopian Jews. Federation members joined in the international protest of the Soviet violation of human rights and acted on behalf of all the oppressed people in Russia, not the Jews alone. Several years ago the Federation provided the -continued- Jewish Community of Las Vegas Page 14 funds for the Jewish Family Service Agency to successfully resettle half a dozen Russian Jewish families in this community - at no cost to this city or state. In the past decade we have worked with our Congressional representatives in support of humanitarian concerns nationally and around the globe. We work with other national Jewish organi?zations like the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, the American Jewish Committee and the American Jewish Congress to protect civil rights in this country for everyone. Through our monthly newspaper, the Jewish Reporter, we provide a communica?tions link to the entire Jewish community in the city. After a report like this it could seem that with the Federa?tion and the large number of Jewish organizations in the commu?nity, every conceivable need has been addressed. Unfortunately that is not the case. The question is not why there are so many organizations but why there aren't more - to provide the services and programs presently non-existent, to maintain the health of the community today and to prepare for problems clearly visible on the horizon as we move toward the decade of the nineties. By way of contrast, in Los Angeles there are fifty-six major Jewish community organizations - not counting religious institutions or chapters of national groups. There are several homes for the aged, services for the mentally and physically -continued- Jewish Community of Las Vegas Page 15 handicapped, orphanages, half-way houses, Big Brother and Big Sister groups and an array of organizations and institutions, each prepared to serve particular needy groups. In Las Vegas there is no home for the aged - indeed, no Jewish housing at all, either for the well elderly or those needing special care. There is no Jewish Community Center, in most Jewish communities considered the essential element for the enhancement of Jewish life around which adult Jewish educa?tion, recreation, arts and crafts, sports and social activities are focused. There is not enough meeting-room space for the various Jewish organizations. Temple Beth Sholom, the Conservative Temple with the largest building, is besieged with requests for meeting room space by other, secular groups every evening. There is no kosher butcher in the community. On several occasions a kosher butcher shop has been opened. None has succeeded. That failure to provide a method to observe kashruth (the body of law prescribing the whole process of keeping kosher) has created problems for some Jews and may even have contributed to a decision by others not to live here. It's a problem that affects a relatively small number of Jews and there i_s relief for those who observe kashruth through the purchase of kosher foods from Los Angeles and Phoenix. -continued- Jewish Community of Las Vegas Page 16 Nevertheless, it is symptomatic of so relaxed and tolerant a lifestyle in our Jewish community that it contributes to the concerns of leadership over the problems of Jewish identity. Another symptom of that problem is that in spite of the growth of the overall community (and an equivalent growth in the Jewish community) - one in which the population has doubled in the last decade and doubled in the decade before that - the fundraising campaign upon which current and future programs depend for financial support has not kept pace with the needs of a continually expanding community. The financial plateau on which that campaign has settled over the last three or four years actually diminishes the funds available for those purposes as costs rise. Like the city itself, therefore, Jewish life in Las Vegas is beset by contradictions. On the one hand there is a com?fortable, easygoing lifestyle, a relatively high standard of living and a community which, by and large, welcomes all its minorities. On the other hand, the number of Jews affiliated with any Jewish organization in the city is not substantially larger today than it was a decade ago, although the population has doubled. Only about three of every ten Jews contribute to anything Jewish in Las Vegas. -continued- Jewish Community of Las Vegas Page 17 But, eleven years ago there were only two Jewish religious organizations in the city - the Conservative Temple Beth Sholom and the relatively new Reform Congregation Ner Tamid. Temple Beth Sholom was the established religious institution with a large Sanctuary, Social Hall and school facilities. Ner Tamid's small congregation met in rented space on the premises of different churches. Today there are five religious institutions and Congrega?tion Ner Tamid has a fine, large building on a substantial piece of property. Five years ago there were less than six hundred people who made gifts to the Federation's campaign. This year there are nearly three thousand such gifts. One final example of the way the Jewish community of Las Vegas has changed over the last decade must be described. Per?haps it is the most significant change. Eleven years ago, 87% of the funds raised in the campaign came from the hotels, either from the hotels themselves, as hotel gifts, or from large contributions from hotel executives as well as from many Jewish people who worked in the hotels. In 1986 about 4% of the campaign funds were raised from the hotels and just under 5% came from hotel personnel. In -continued- Jewish Community of Las Vegas Page 18 9 # spite of that extraordinary drop in campaign income from that source, the campaign today, even at its unsatisfactory level, is more than double what it was eleven years ago. There are, clearly, benefits that have accrued to the Jewish community from this shift. It has spread leadership over a much broader base, giving a much larger proportion of the population a chance to participate; and moving away from the hotel influence has helped bring more typical community issues into the focus of attention. As in life, the operative word in the Jewish community in Las Vegas, therefore, is "change". The community is in a period of realignment of leadership. That process, when com?pleted, could lead to a major step forward. Certainly the growth of the community is going to require an expansion of services and agencies to meet its traditional responsibilities. The emergence of a new, energetic group of leaders may be able to meet that challenge. XXX