Talking Across the Divide: Intergenerational Interactions as a Site of Learning in American Jewish Families

American Jewish families today are navigating something profound: parents and their young adult children often hold differing views of what it means to be Jewish, especially when it comes to their perspectives about Israel, the Israeli- Palestinian conflict, and other issues in American Jewish life. This generational divide has become a source of significant concern in Jewish communities, yet surprisingly little is known about how these tensions actually play out in families.

This study examines how Jewish parents and their children (ages 18-26) talk and negotiate their differences. Through in-depth separate interviews with family members and analysis of their digital conversations, including texts, emails, and social media posts, the research explores what happens when generations disagree: What do they say to each other? How do they manage conflict? When do they stay silent, and when do they speak up? What allows some families to sustain connection despite disagreement,  while others struggle?

By focusing on family interactions rather than surveys, this study treats the family itself as a vital site of Jewish learning and identity formation. It recognizes that how families talk—and don't talk—about difficult topics shapes not just individual relationships but broader questions about Jewish identity, community, and values.

The findings will provide Jewish educators and communal leaders with research-based insights for fostering intergenerational dialogue and creating more inclusive Jewish spaces. Rather than viewing generational disagreement as a crisis to be solved, this study asks: What can families teach us about sustaining Jewish connection amid difference? How can communities support families navigating these challenges? Ultimately, this work offers a new lens for understanding how American Jews are making meaning, forming identity, and imagining Jewish futures at a time of profound cultural change and moral complexity.

This study is supported, in part, by a grant from the CASJE Small Grants Program (2025). The study is conducted by a research team at CUNY BMCC. For more information please download the study flyer above or contact the research team at jewishfamiliesresearchgmail [dot] com (Jewishfamiliesresearch[at]gmail[dot]com)

Sharon Avni is Professor of Academic Literacy and Linguistics at BMCC at the City University of New York (CUNY). Her scholarship focuses on how American Jews use, learn, and talk about languages, and the different ways in which language practices inform Jewish education. She has two book manuscripts due out in 2026: Speaking of Hebrew: What Language Does for American Jews (Wayne State Press) and Judaism Mediated: Learning About Jewishness through the Cultural Arts, co-authored with Laura Yares (NYU Press). Her co-authored book Hebrew Infusion: Language and Community at American Jewish Summer Camps was the winner of the 2020 National Jewish Book Award in Education. She is a research affiliate at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education at Brandeis University