By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
If art reflects life, then the progression of films from the 1920s era version of “The Jazz Singer” to more recent films such as “Keeping the Faith” and “The Fokkers” reflects the growing acceptance of interfaith marriages between Jews and Christians.
Snippets from films ranging from “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Annie Hall” and “The Way We Were” to “Keeping the Faith,” and “Meet the Parents” shown Saturday night at Har Sinai Temple in Hopewell Township vividly illustrated those points.
Sponsored by the synagogue’s Interfaith Family Outreach Committee, the event also included a panel discussion featuring Rabbi Stuart Pollack of Har Sinai Temple, educator Rabbi Vicki Tuckman, social worker Linda Kanner of the Jewish Family and Children’s Service and Cynthia Lucia, who teaches English at Rider University and who also is the director of the school’s Film and Media Studies Program.
Some of the film clips aired Saturday showed the outright rejection of the Jewish child who strayed from the family’s expectation to marry another Jew “The Jazz Singer” and “Fiddler on the Roof” while others, such as “Annie Hall” and “The Way We Were,” focused on the anxieties and difficulties that often accompany an interfaith relationship.
While it is hard to be an objective critic of the montage of films that were shown, Ms. Kanner said, Hollywood reflects what is taking place in society. A growing number of Jews are involved in some aspect of an interfaith relationship either directly, or through family members who are in such a relationship.
For example, of those Jews who are 62 years or older, the intermarriage rate is about 13 percent. But among the younger generation those Jews who are under 40 years old the intermarriage rate is about 47 percent, according to the 2009 Jewish Population Study of Greater Philadelphia.
Ms. Kanner said that when “The Jazz Singer” and “Fiddler on the Roof” were filmed in the 1920s and late 1960s, respectively the intermarriage rate was extremely low. It was not an accepted practice.
In “The Jazz Singer,” the father disowns the son and says that in his eyes, his son is dead because of his romantic involvement with a non-Jew, Ms. Kanner said. The most dramatic moment in “Fiddler on the Roof” occurs when the father, whose daughter wants to marry a non-Jew, deliberates and then decides he cannot accept it, even though she pleads with him. He walks away from her.
”The father feels he has to choose (between his religion and his daughter),” Ms. Kanner said.
But by the time “Annie Hall” and “The Way We Were” were filmed in the 1970s, interfaith marriages were growing, but still not common place, she said. The film producers wanted to show the audience the stark differences between the white Anglo-Saxon Protestant woman portrayed by Diane Keaton and the very Jewish/ethnic character played by Woody Allen, she said.
Commenting on “The Way We Were,” Rabbi Tuckman said the character played by Barbra Streisand thinks the rift between herself and the character played by Robert Redford was caused by her Jewishness. In the film, she says, “I don’t fit in (on) Beekman Place,” referring to an exclusive neighborhood in Manhattan.
Moving on to “Keeping the Faith,” which was made several years ago, Ms. Kanner said it reflects the growing acceptance of interfaith relationships. In the film, the mother, who is played by Anne Bancroft, rejects her older son when he marries a non-Jew.
She is not happy when her younger son, played by Ben Stiller, seems to be following in his brother’s footsteps through his relationship with a non-Jew. But she realizes that she cannot afford to lose her younger son, and accepts his choice of a mate, Ms. Kanner said.
”She sees it is not a choice. It is a compromise. She chooses the opposite of Tevye,” Ms. Kanner said.
Rabbi Pollack said there is more compromise, and noted that the United States has become a more pluralistic society since the 1920s. The lines are not as sharply drawn between ethnic groups, he said.
While Rabbi Pollack, Rabbi Tuckman and Ms. Kanner looked at the film clips through the lens of religious leaders and counselors, Dr.Lucia who teaches at Rider University and heads its Film and Media Studies Program viewed them through the eyes of an academic.
”’Fiddler on the Roof’ is fascinating,” Dr. Lucia said. When Tevye’s daughter tells him she is going to marry a non-Jew, the camera closes in on his face to show his confusion. Does his loyalty lie with his religion or with his family? How far can he be pushed?
”There is a wonderful moment when he picks up his cart (after he stopped to listen to his daughter) and moves on. Suddenly, she is much farther from him. He chooses his faith. There is an image of her alone and isolated. It creates sympathy for her,” Dr. Lucia said.
But it doesn’t have to be a choice, Rabbi Pollack said. It is a challenge, but the integrity of Judaism can be maintained within an interfaith marriage. The Reform movement within Judaism calls for acceptance and inclusion of the non-Jewish partner, making that person feel like a full-fledged member of the congregation, he said.

