41% of US Jews feel less secure than last year - AJC report

WASHINGTON – Forty-one percent of American Jews say their status in the United States is less secure than it was a year ago, according to the American Jewish Committee’s State of Antisemitism in America Report for 2022. In the AJC’s 2021 report, 31% gave that answer.

This is the fourth annual report that assesses and compares Jewish and general population perceptions of and experiences with antisemitism in the US. 

The independent research firm SSRS conducted the surveys, which included interviews with samples of 1,507 Jews, ages 18 or older, and 1,004 responders from the general population. The interviews were conducted over the phone and online. The margin of error was about 3.5%.

The survey found that 38% of all Jewish respondents reported that they have altered their behavior at least once in the past year due to fears of antisemitism. For example, 27% avoided posting content online that would enable others to identify them as Jewish or reveal their views on Jewish issues, and 23% avoided wearing or displaying things that might enable others to identify them as Jewish. About 16% avoided “certain places, events or situations due to concerns about their safety or comfort as Jews.”

How much has antisemitism in the US increased?

“No Jew in the United States, especially the younger generation, should ever feel unsafe for expressing their Jewish identity,” AJC CEO Ted Deutch said in a statement. “Yet rising antisemitism is having a deeply disturbing effect on American Jews and American society in general. We look forward to working with the White House in developing effective strategies for a whole-of-government approach to combat Jew-hatred once and for all.”

Four out of five Jews believe antisemitism has increased over the past five years, the survey found. Online platforms continue to be a major source of antisemitism.

Overall, 69% of US Jews experienced antisemitism online, either as a target or by seeing antisemitic content, in the past 12 months, the survey found. Twenty-six percent of Jews said they were the target of antisemitism in 2022, including 20% who reported being the target of antisemitic remarks in person and 13% who were targeted online or on social media.

Meanwhile, there is growing recognition that antisemitism is not just a problem for Jews to deal with. Nine out of 10 responders in both groups surveyed agreed that antisemitism affects American society as a whole.

On the other hand, both groups were less aligned when asked whether antisemitism is taken less seriously than other forms of hate and bigotry. About 48% of Jews believed this was the case, compared with 34% of the general population.