New AJC Survey: Rise in Fear Among American Jews

Nearly a quarter of American Jews were targeted with antisemitism over the past year, according to two new surveys conducted by the American Jewish Committee (AJC), one surveying American Jews and another surveying the general public.

The AJC’s  State of Antisemitism in America 2021 report found that seventeen percent of American Jews said they were subjected to antisemitic comments in person, 12% said they were they subjected to antisemitic comments online and 3% said they were physically attacked for being Jewish.

The rise in fear has caused nearly one-third of American Jews to alter their daily lives. 

The rise in fear has caused nearly one-third of American Jews to alter their daily lives. Twenty-two percent said they avoided wearing Jewish paraphernalia in public out of fear of being subjected to antisemitism; 17% said they avoided certain public places and events out of fear of antisemitism while 25% said they kept quiet about their Jewishness or views on Jewish issues online to avoid antisemitism.

The report included four stories from American Jews who experienced antisemitism over the past 12 months. The first involved a 23-year-old Los Angeles-based woman named Aubrey who received an Instagram message in December 2020 that read, “Shut up, Jew.” The person who sent it was her brother’s friend, so she hasn’t reported it to the police; she now uses her Instagram to highlight  stories of Jews who also have experienced antisemitism.   

It was the antisemitic attack at a Melrose Avenue restaurant  last May that jolted Remi Franklin into action. The 37-year-old Brazilian Jiu Jitsu artist organized fellow martial arts artists and military veterans from across the country to escort observant Jews to school and shul. Dubbed “Shabbat Angels” by a local rabbi, they heard anti-Israel protesters shout “all Jews should die” and “Hitler was right” as they walked.  

“They thought twice when we yelled back, because I wasn’t silent,” Franklin said. “We did the best we could to make sure people were protected. We became a high-level version of deterrence.”

Ari Hoffman, a Seattle resident, told the AJC that he was subjected to antisemitic threats online when he ran for city council in 2019 and the  council was silent about it; additionally, he noted that “in September, the council narrowly defeated a bill that would have ended a training program.” Hoffman said he now brings a gun every time he goes to synagogue.

Overall, 90% of American Jews view antisemitism as a problem and 72% feel less safe in the United States.  

Overall, 90% of American Jews view antisemitism as a problem and 72% feel less safe in the United States. Ninety-one percent view the far-right as a threat and 71% view the far-left as a threat. Fifty-three percent approved of President Joe Biden’s handling of antisemitism while 28% disapproved; those numbers were more divided on the Democratic Party’s handling of antisemitism, as 45% approved while 40% disapproved. The majority of American Jews voiced disapproval of how the Republican Party has handled antisemitism, as 65% disapprove while  20% approve. Eighty-two percent view the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement as antisemitic and 50% think that antisemitism has increased on college campuses over the past five years.

“There remains a steady and consistent undercurrent of anxiety among American Jews when it comes to their sense of safety, security and well-being in America,” American Jewish Committee Los Angeles Regional Director Richard S. Hirschhaut told the Journal. “This is a direct consequence of the jarring and horrific tragedy of the Tree of Life synagogue massacre three years ago. That event represented the most egregious horrific single act of antisemitism in American Jewish history and we continue to feel its reverberations as reflected in [the] findings of this latest survey.”

The AJC’s survey on the general public showed that non-Jews are considerably less informed on the issue of antisemitism than American Jews, as 60% said that antisemitism was a problem. Only 44% said they thought antisemitism has increased in the country over the past five years and 59% said they hadn’t witnessed any antisemitic incidents in person or online. Additionally, 53% said they were unaware about the spike in antisemitic incidents during the Israel-Hamas conflict in May and 52% said they weren’t familiar with BDS, although 66% did say they view BDS as antisemitic.

Hirschhaut said he wasn’t surprised by the gap of knowledge about antisemitism. “American Jews are more attuned to the presence of antisemitism. Our collective antennae are raised to identify the signs and the signals of antisemitism. That is a sensibility that we have sadly had to hone and sharpen as a community … while the general public may not be as sharply attuned to expressions of antisemitism, we of course know there are other communities across America who have faced their own scourge of hate and bias in recent years.” He added that there was initially an “eerie quiet” from allies of the Jewish community during the spike in antisemitic incidents in May following Israel’s response to Hamas rockets. This is due to what Hirschhaut  described as a “certain fog” and “paralysis” resulting from media coverage of the conflict. 

“It required at that time some heart-to-heart conversations with traditional allies and friends to say, ‘We as a Jewish community are hurting and in pain. Where are you?’” Hirschhaut said, “and once we spoke out, those expressions of support were forthcoming and often with a tremendous sense of embarrassment for the initial silence.”

The surveys show that both American Jews and the general public “overwhelmingly” agree that anti-Zionism is antisemitism.

Hirschhaut did say there is “cause for genuine optimism.” The surveys show that both American Jews and the general public “overwhelmingly” agree that anti-Zionism is antisemitism. “More than eight in ten who were polled from both camps see anti-Zionism as equivalent to antisemitism. That is a very heartening statistic… perhaps we’ve been effective in making this point that legitimate criticism of Israeli policies is fair game… but that’s a completely different dynamic than calling into question the very legitimacy of the state of Israel.”

To help ameliorate the growing antisemitic climate in the U.S., Avi Mayer, AJC’s Managing Director of Public Affairs, suggested that American Jews become more connected to non-Jews, pointing to the fact that the survey showed that non-Jews were more likely to be aware about the issue if they were connected with Jews.

“Efforts to familiarize Americans of all backgrounds with Jewish life, with the different facets of contemporary Jewish identity, and with American Jews as individuals and as a community will help ensure that the positive trends of the past year continue and that negative trends are held at bay,” Mayer wrote. “This must be a true communal endeavor, showcasing American Jewry in all its diversity and telling our story in a way that is compelling and authentic. While such an ambitious undertaking may take some time to develop and implement, and even longer to show tangible results, it cannot and should not wait.”

“We should know our neighbors. We should find ways to share what hurts us, what causes us pain.” —Richard S. Hirschhaut

Hirschhaut called Mayer’s suggestions “an American ideal value. We should know our neighbors. We should find ways to share what hurts us, what causes us pain. Ultimately, being good citizens of this rich mosaic that is America is about building empathy.”