| Dear John, |
Today, two years after the massacre of 11 Jews inside the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, we are releasing AJC’s first-ever State of Antisemitism in America Report, revealing deep anxiety among American Jews and a disturbing lack of awareness among the general public of the severity of antisemitism in the United States:
- Nearly half of all Americans do not know what antisemitism is, with one in four (25%) saying they have heard of it but don’t know what it means and an astounding one in five (21%) saying they have never heard the word.
- More than four out of every five Jewish respondents (82%) say antisemitism has increased over the past five years, compared to only 43% of U.S. adults who say the same.
- More than one in three American Jews (37%) say they have been victims of antisemitism over the past five years. Nearly one in three (31%) say they have avoided certain places or events out of concern for their safety, up from one in four (25%) in AJC’s 2019 survey.
This groundbreaking report is based on AJC’s second annual survey of American Jews on their perceptions and experiences of antisemitism in America and the first-ever survey of the U.S. general public conducted on the subject. |
| I am including an overview of some of the key findings below. For the full results, along with expert analysis, go to AJC.org/AntisemitismReport2020. |
| I also invite you to read this new op-ed by Holly Huffnagle, AJC’s U.S. Director of Combating Antisemitism, about the findings and what they mean for AJC’s multipronged efforts to counter rising Jew-hatred in America. |
| Please join me and Holly for an-depth review of the survey results and a conversation on the state of antisemitism in America this Tuesday, October 27 at 12 PM ET. Register now. |
| We have work to do and we need your help. In the coming days, you will receive more information about AJC’s multipronged efforts to combat antisemitism and how you can join us. In the meantime, please forward this email and share the report so that we can spread awareness and mobilize our fellow Americans to confront Jew-hatred in all its forms. |
| In partnership, |
Avi Mayer
AJC Managing Director
Global Communications |
|
| What Is or Is Not Antisemitic |
| A large majority of both American Jews (85%) and the U.S. general public (75%) agreed that the statement “Israel has no right to exist” is antisemitic, indicating that large majorities of both Jewish and non-Jewish Americans consider anti-Zionism—the belief that Israel has no right to exist—to be a form of Jew-hatred. |
| 84% of the Jewish and 55% of the general respondents said the statement “the government only supports Israel because of Jewish money” is antisemitic, while 76% of Jews and 50% of U.S. adults said the statement “American Jews are more loyal to Israel than to America” is antisemitic. |
| Nearly half (48%) of U.S. adults said they have witnessed at least one antisemitic incident in the past five years. |
| Nearly two thirds (65%) of U.S. adults said it would make no difference in their opinion of a given statement or idea if a Jewish individual or an organization considered it to be antisemitic. Only 25% said that this would make them more likely to consider that idea or statement antisemitic. |
| Jewish Safety and Security |
| A majority of Orthodox (55%), 43% of Conservative, 33% of Reform, 32% of Reconstructionist, and 24% of Secular Jews said they have avoided certain places or events out of concern for their safety. |
| Nearly one out of every four American Jews (24%) said they have avoided publicly wearing, carrying, or displaying items that might identify them as Jews since the Pittsburgh shooting in October 2018. |
| More than one in three American Jews (37%) reported being victims of antisemitism, such as a physical attack or an antisemitic remark online or in person, by mail, or by phone, in the past five years. But, as in 2019, three-fourths of the Jewish respondents (76% in 2020, 75% in 2019) did not report the incident. |
| More than four in ten (43%) Jewish young people between the ages of 18 and 29 said they have either personally experienced antisemitism on a college campus or know someone who has. |
| Overall, 52% of American Jews say the status of Jews in the U.S. is about the same as it was a year ago, while 43% say it is less secure, and only 4% say it is more secure. |
| The Need for Holocaust Education |
| Three-quarters of U.S. adults (76%) report they know a lot (37%) or something (38%) about the Holocaust, while 24% say they don’t know much or know nothing at all. In contrast, 84% of American Jews know a lot about the Holocaust, and 15% say they know at least something. |
| Teaching about the Holocaust is viewed as important by both groups, though to differing degrees. 91% of American Jews and 68% of U.S. adults say it is very important to teach middle and high school students the history of the Holocaust. |
| Political Parties and Antisemitism |
| Results from both surveys indicate that more Americans attribute antisemitic views to the Republican Party than attribute them to the Democratic Party. Majorities of respondents in both surveys say the Republican Party holds a lot or some antisemitic views. More than two-thirds of American Jews (69%) and over half of U.S. adults (52%) say the Republican Party holds at least some antisemitic views, compared to 37% of American Jews and 42% of the general public who say the same about the Democratic Party. |
| Sources of Antisemitism |
| Asked about the threat posed by the three primary sources of antisemitism, 89% of respondents said the extreme political right poses a threat to American Jews, with 49% saying it’s a very serious threat; 61% said the extreme political left, with 16% saying it’s a very serious threat; and 85% said extremism in the name of Islam, with 27% saying it’s a very serious threat. |
