Practically two-thirds of American Jews really feel much less safe in the USA than they did a yr in the past, in response to a brand new nationwide survey.
The American Jewish Committee (AJC), a outstanding advocacy organisation, carried out the survey simply as Israel’s conflict on Gaza started on October 7. The variety of American Jews who say they really feel much less safe within the US jumped 22 p.c since final yr’s survey.
“This yr’s examine exhibits us very clearly that anti-Semitism that was actually only a simmering flame is now, particularly since October 7, a five-alarm fireplace,” Ted Deutch, CEO of AJC, instructed The Related Press information company.
The survey launched on Tuesday discovered one-quarter of American Jews mentioned they’ve been the goal of anti-Semitism previously yr. Virtually half of American Jews responding to the survey mentioned they’d altered their behaviour throughout the previous yr to keep away from anti-Semitism – altering what they wore, what they posted on-line or the place they went so different individuals wouldn’t know they have been Jewish.
“I reside in a rural space and my house is almost certainly the one Jewish house in a 30-mile radius,” a 62-year-old lady was quoted as saying within the survey report. “We don’t inform individuals and out of doors the house don’t present that we’re Jewish.”
That reticence is “an unlimited problem for the Jewish group,” Deutch mentioned. “However it actually represents a problem for all of our society.”
The survey comes as Jewish and Muslim civil rights and advocacy teams have reported massive will increase in harassment, bias and bodily assaults towards their members within the wake of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Brian Levin, founding director of the Middle for the Examine of Hate and Extremism at California State College, San Bernardino, mentioned he has seen a surge in anti-Jewish and Islamophobic web searches since final yr, together with “eliminationist” and homicidal language.
Levin, who just isn’t affiliated with the AJC survey, mentioned anti-Jewish hate crimes hit a document excessive final yr in a number of massive cities. “As Jews are understandably feeling extra insecure, police and social science information again up why,” he mentioned.
The AJC started its survey 5 years in the past, after the Tree of Life synagogue massacre in Pittsburgh, the deadliest anti-Semitic assault on American soil. Since then, most Jews and greater than half of People say they suppose anti-Semitism has elevated, in response to the AJC.
This yr’s major survey collected information from 1,528 Jewish adults within the US, whereas its companion survey collected information from 1,223 American adults. The surveys, carried out by the polling agency SSRS, had margins of error of three.5 p.c and three.6 p.c, respectively.
Jews aged between 18 and 29 have been extra more likely to report being the sufferer of anti-Semitism. As universities grapple with anti-Semitism, a few quarter of Jewish faculty college students or current graduates reported hiding their Jewish id or refraining from talking about Israel on campus.
Most American Jews (85 p.c) say the assertion “Israel has no proper to exist” is anti-Semitic. A 52-year-old male respondent is cited within the report as saying, “Criticising Israel’s political policies [ex: treatment of non-Jews in the country, Palestinians for example] just isn’t anti-Semitic. Saying that Israel shouldn’t exist, on account of these practices, is anti-Semitic.”
Most People who witnessed anti-Semitism noticed it on-line or on social media, however solely 5 p.c mentioned they reported it. Multiple in 5 American Jews mentioned an internet incident made them really feel bodily threatened.
“So it’s not simply a few of the memes or jokes,” mentioned Holly Huffnagle, the AJC’s US director for combatting anti-Semitism. “That is actual, vitriolic anti-Semitism that’s affecting them, that’s making them really feel bodily unsafe.”
There’s a rising consciousness of anti-Semitism. Most American Jews and three-fourths of most people now consider anti-Semitism is an issue within the US, in response to the AJC. That quantity will increase for non-Jews who know somebody who’s Jewish. About 90 p.c of People mentioned everyone seems to be answerable for combating anti-Semitism.
“That’s a excellent news piece,” Huffnagle mentioned. “I believe the query is, ‘How will we empower most people who sees the issue now in methods they hadn’t 4 years in the past?’”
Final yr, the Biden administration launched a national strategy to combat anti-Semitism, and the AJC is encouraging additional motion on these suggestions. Deutch, a former Democratic member of Congress, mentioned they’ll hold working with the federal government to implement the nationwide technique.
“However finally,” Deutch mentioned, “we’re actually trying to our pals, our allies in different religion communities, in our locations of labor, in our faculties, to face with us, to grasp how we really feel and to work collectively to struggle anti-Semitism and in flip to struggle hatred of every kind.”
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