A majority of American Jews have changed their behavior out of fear of antisemtism, a new report has found. Some 56% of American Jews report changing their behavior over the past 12 months out of concern for their safety, according to the American Jewish Committee's State of Antisemitism in America Report for 2024, which was released on Wednesday. It is the first analysis of American Jews and U.S. adults to look at the impact of antisemitism during the first full year following October 7, 2023, and the war between Hamas and Israel.
AJC began polling American Jews in 2019 and both groups in 2020, to provide what it calls a "richer and unique understanding" of how experiences with antisemitism in the United States have changed over time.
Some 77% of American Jews reported that they feel less safe as a Jewish person in the U.S. because of the October 7 attacks. Meanwhile, the 56% American Jews report changing their behavior over the past 12 months out of concern for their safety is a sharp increase from previous years – jumping from 38% in 2022 to 46% in 2023 to 56% in 2024.
“Antisemitism has reached a tipping point in America, threatening the freedoms of American Jews and casting an ominous shadow across our society,” said AJC CEO Ted Deutch. “This is an all-hands-on-deck moment for leaders across the U.S. We must act now to protect Jews – and America – from rising antisemitism. That one-third of American Jews have been the target of antisemitism in the past year should raise red flags for every American and our leaders.”
The 2024 survey asked American Jews to assess how much of an antisemitic threat certain groups or issues – the extreme political right, the extreme political left, extremism in the name of Islam, and Christian nationalism – pose in the United States today. Roughly one-third of American Jews say each of those four represents a very serious antisemitic threat: extremism in the name of Islam (33%), Christian nationalism (33%), the extreme political left (33%), and the extreme political right (33%). Roughly three-quarters or more say that each group or issue represents at least a slight antisemitic threat.
Meanwhile, the vast majority (90%) of American Jews say antisemitism has increased either a lot (61%) or somewhat (29%) since the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, and one-third (33%) of American Jews say they have been the personal target of antisemitism – in person or virtually – at least once over the last year.
Among the incidents that they suffered were antisemitic remarks in person (23%); antisemitic remark or post online or on social media (17%); antisemitic vandalism or messages left on their property (6%); physical attack (2%).
Three-quarters (78%) say they did not report any of the antisemitism they experienced, with more than half (54%) saying they didn’t think anything would be done if they reported.
At the same time, nearly three-quarters of Jewish adults (73%) say Jews in the U.S. are less secure than a year ago. By comparison, 63% said the status of Jews was less secure in 2023, up from 41% who said the same in 2022, and 31% who said the same in 2021.
Meanwhile, a majority (60%) of Jewish respondents say antisemitism has increased a lot in the past five years, up from 50% in 2023.
A quarter (25%) of Jewish adults report that a local business has been targeted with antisemitism in the past year and one-third (30%) say the Jewish institutions they are affiliated with have been the target of antisemitism in the past five years, an increase from the previous years in which roughly a quarter said the same.
The 2024 survey asked Jewish adults whether they have considered, in the past five years, leaving the United States for another country due to antisemitism: 13% say they have considered it.
Among the behaviors that American Jews surveyed said they changed over the last year over fears of antisemitism are: Avoiding publicly wearing or displaying things that might identify them as a Jew (40%); avoiding posting content online that would identify them as a Jew or reveal their views on Jewish issues (37%); avoiding certain places, events or situations out of concern for their safety or comfort as a Jewish person (31%).
Some 43% of American Jews say they are very (7%) or somewhat (37%) worried that they will be a victim of antisemitism in the next year. This fear increases when asked about loved ones, with roughly half of American Jews (52%) saying they are very (14%) or somewhat (39%) worried that a family member, such as parents, a spouse or partner, or children will be a victim of antisemitism in the next 12 months.
The data also points to an increase in institutional affiliation in the year since the October 7 attacks. The 2024 survey found that 31% of American Jews say they are not affiliated with any Jewish institutions, down seven percentage points from 2023. This suggests that American Jews may be seeking community and spaces in which they can express their full identities.
On the topic of Israel, 81% of American Jews say that caring about Israel is very (51%) or somewhat (30%) important to what being Jewish means to them.
U.S. adults also recognize and understand the connection between Jewish identity and Israel, with 85% saying the statement “Israel has no right to exist” is antisemitic, the same percentage of American Jews who say the same
While 23% of U.S. adults believe it is either completely (8%) or somewhat (15%) acceptable to protest against Israel by boycotting American Jewish individuals or Jewish events, a large majority of the public is has recognized a connection between antisemitism and demonization of Israel. Nearly eight in 10 (77%) U.S. adults say it is unacceptable to protest against Israel by boycotting American Jewish individuals or Jewish events. In addition, when asked which places in the U.S. are acceptable to conduct protests against the Israeli government, fewer than one in 10 U.S. adults say it is acceptable to conduct protests at an Israeli business or restaurant (6%), a Jewish business or restaurant (5%), a synagogue (5%), or a Jewish day school (4%).
Antisemitic rant on Stopantiseitism site on X
(צילום: מתוך דף ה-X של StopAntisemitism)
U.S. adults were also asked to choose between two characterizations of Hamas, even if neither exactly matched their opinion. Some 20% of U.S. adults surveyed say Hamas is a militant resistance group that works primarily in the best interest of the Palestinian people, compared to 80% who express the opinion that Hamas is a terrorist organization that works primarily in its own best interest.
Nearly four in 10 (38%) acknowledge that the information they see on social media informs their views on the war a lot (9%) or some (29%). Another four in 10 (40%) say that information informs their views a little. Only a quarter (23%) say that what they see or hear on social media does not at all inform their views on the war.
The survey also found that younger American Jews are more likely to have experienced antisemitism than their older counterparts and that 35% of American Jewish college students report experiencing antisemitism at least once during their time on campus with roughly half (48%) saying that they have felt uncomfortable or unsafe at a campus event because they are Jewish; avoided wearing, carrying or displaying things that could identify them as Jewish; or avoided expressing views on Israel on campus or with classmates because of fears of antisemitism.
The 2024 survey also asked Jewish students about their learning environments. One-third (33%) of current and recent students say that student life and/or student activities promoted antisemitism at least once; 32% say the same about faculty on campus, and 24% share that sentiment regarding class curricula.
The surveys of American Jews and U.S. adults were conducted for the nonpartisan American Jewish Committee by the independent research firm SSRS. The Jewish American survey collected data from a nationally representative sample of 1,732 Jews, ages 18 or older from October 8 - November 29, 2024. Most respondents participated via a self-administered web survey and the remainder were interviewed on the phone. The U.S. adult survey collected data from a nationally representative sample of 2,056 general population adults, 18 or older, from October 10 - November 25, 2024, via the SSRS Opinion Panel. The margin of error for Jewish respondents is +/-3.3 percentage points and for total U.S. adult respondents is +/-3.0 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
“The good news is more people are aware of antisemitism as a societal problem,” said Holly Huffnagle, AJC U.S. Director for Combating Antisemitism. “The vast majority (90%) of U.S. adults believe that antisemitism affects society as a whole and everyone is responsible for countering it. A whole-of-society problem necessitates a whole-of-society approach. It’s encouraging that one-third (34%) of U.S. adults have spoken out against antisemitism, but we need everyone to recognize they can no longer stand on the sidelines. They must be part of the solution. We are working to turn allyship into real, tangible solutions as we continue to confront this staggering surge in antisemitism that has only increased since the horrific events of October 7.”