Over 90% of American Jews concerned by antisemitism – survey

‘Antisemitism in US more prevalent today than it was 5 years ago’

More than 90% of Jews in the United States – the biggest Jewish population hub in the world outside Israel – are concerned about the current state of antisemitism in America, while 42% of Jews have faced antisemitism directly or through family and friends in the last five years, a new Ruderman Family Foundation survey has found.

According to the survey, the vast majority of American Jews (94%) say they have recognized at least some antisemitism in the US in the past five years, while 75% believe that there is more antisemitism today in the US than there was five years ago.

Some 82% of American-Jewish respondents, though very diverse in their beliefs and culture, said they believed that what happens to American Jewry affects them personally and imposes a shared fate on Jews in America.

A third of Jews between the ages of 18-39 say they have personally been subjected to antisemitism, while 60% say they know a family member or a friend who has. Jews over 60 years old were more likely to have seen “a lot” of antisemitism (62%) than younger Jews (47%).

The survey, conducted in two parts, examined 2,500 Jewish American adults in December 2019 and a further 1,000 Jewish adults from October-November 2021, just months before the recent Colleyville synagogue attack.

“Our survey reinforces the urgent need for American leadership to formulate new strategies to confront the surge of antisemitism and increasing hate crimes against the Jewish community,” said Jay Ruderman, president of the Ruderman Family Foundation. “Antisemitism is a threat to American society as a whole and only in tackling this issue as one unified nation will it ever be truly addressed.”

Other topics pertaining to American Jewry were addressed in the survey. Respondents believed that US political parties remain supportive of Israel, with 69% saying this was the case for the Democratic Party and 71% for the Republican Party.

Respondents were a bit more split on the topic of Israel, however, with 34% saying the relationship between American Jews and Israel has deteriorated in the last two years as a result of political tensions or alleged human rights abuses. Interestingly, however, 41% of respondents were unaware that Israel’s Arab citizens have voting rights, with 27% incorrectly asserting that Arab citizens cannot vote and 14% stating they were unsure on the topic.

Knowledge of Israel was surveyed as well, with 59% correctly identifying Naftali Bennett as Israel’s prime minister – though 16% thought that former premier Benjamin Netanyahu still holds the position and 20% were unable to recall.