PHILADELPHIA (BP) – Nearly 80 percent of American Jews felt less safe after the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, and fearing antisemitism, many changed their public behavior, the American Jewish Committee (AJC) said Feb. 13 in its new report on antisemitism.
Specifically, 78 percent of American Jews said the attack made them feel less safe here because of their Jewish identity, and 46 percent changed their behavior afterwards, the AJC said in releasing its findings. The 46 percent was an increase from the previous year’s 38 percent.
The AJC, a global nonpartisan advocacy group for Jewish people, was only two days into its study when the terrorist attack occurred. Researchers then revised the survey and fully launched it Oct. 17. Consequently, it was conducted in light of the attack, AJC said in releasing its findings.
Overall, 63 percent of American Jews said the demographic is less secure in the U.S. than a year ago, an increase from 41 percent who said so in 2022, and more than double the 31 percent in 2021.
The feelings track with Anti-Defamation League findings that antisemitic incidents rose 360 percent in the U.S. in the three months following the Hamas attack, including 56 physical assaults, 554 incidents of vandalism, 1,347 incidents of verbal or written harassment, and 1,307 rallies ripe with antisemitic rhetoric.
Many antisemitic events have occurred on college campuses. Among current or recent college students, 24 percent said they felt uncomfortable or unsafe at a campus event because they are Jewish. About 25 percent said they have avoided actions that would openly identify them as Jewish.
The AJC voiced a call to action concurrent with its report.
“If, before Oct. 7, antisemitism was a slow-burning fire, it has now become a five-alarm emergency that requires all of us to douse its flames,” AJC CEO Ted Deutch said of the findings. “With nearly half of American Jews reporting they changed their behavior in the past year because of fear of antisemitism, we need to take action – now.”
The State of Antisemitism in America Report, conducted by the SSRS research company, assesses and compares Jewish and general population perceptions of, and experiences with, antisemitism in the U.S. Researchers surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1,528 Jewish adults, conducted a companion survey of 1,223 adults from the general U.S. population, and compared and analyzed the two sets of findings.
The American public in general is becoming more aware of antisemitism, the survey found, with 92 percent saying antisemitism affects society as a whole and that all of society is responsible for combatting it. More than half, 56 percent, of the general public said antisemitism in the U.S. increased from the previous year.
The general public and American Jews largely agree that anti-Zionism, the belief that “Israel has no right to exist,” is antisemitic. Of American Jews, 85 percent expressed the belief, on par with the 84 percent of the general public who said the same.
Deutch, a former U.S. Congressman from Florida, wrote a Newsweek opinion article calling for legislation to counter antisemitism. Specifically, he urged the Biden Administration and Congress to enact concrete measures to achieve the goals the White House expressed in the May 2023 U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, which outlined a multifaceted strategy to be achieved under existing law.
Most American Jews and most of the general public included in the AJC study had never heard of the report.
The strategy “can’t be seen as just a list of suggestions. These are requirements that must be urgently followed through and built upon,” Deutch wrote. “The White House must appoint a national coordinator to help lead the interagency process that is working to implement the strategy and guarantee that its benchmarks for government and societal action are being met. Simultaneously, Congress must enact legislation to ensure the comprehensive execution of every action item outlined in the strategy to protect Jews in this country.”
American Jews number about 7.6 million and comprise about 2.4 percent of the U.S. population, according to the American Jewish Population Project of Brandeis University. Included are 4,873 adults who consider themselves Jewish by religion, 1,174 who are Jewish with no religion, and 1,583 Jewish children.
The AJC has 25 regional offices in the U.S. and global offices in the Asia Pacific, Europe, Africa, Israel/Middle East and Latin America. The advocacy group maintains partnerships with affinity groups in 36 countries.
AJC’s full report is available here.
