Antisemitism in the United States rose exponentially last year, according to a survey of more than 4,000 adults conducted from September through October 2022 published Thursday by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
Click here for the full report.
According to the report, 20 percent of the respondents, representing as many as 52 million people in the United States, agreed with six or more of the 11 anti-Jewish statements in the survey.
More than three-quarters of Americans (85 percent) believe at least one anti-Jewish trope, as opposed to 61 percent found in 2019.
Twenty percent of Americans believe six or more tropes, which is significantly more than the 11 percent that ADL found in 2019 and is the highest level measured in decades.
Many Americans believe in Israel-oriented antisemitic positions – from 40 percent who at least slightly believe that Israel treats Palestinians like Nazis treated the Jews, to 18 percent who are uncomfortable spending time with a person who supports Israel.
The disturbing findings of the report included the following facts:
- 20 percent said Jews have “too much power” in the US
- 21 percent agreed Jews “don’t care about anyone other than themselves”
- 53 percent said Jews will go out of their way to hire other Jews
- 18 percent said they are uncomfortable spending time with a pro-Israel person.
The results revealed “substantial beliefs that Jews are too powerful, selfish and insular,” the ADL said in a statement.
There was a nearly 40 percent correlation between belief in anti-Jewish tropes and anti-Israel belief, meaning that a substantial number of people who believe anti-Jewish tropes also have negative attitudes toward Israel, the ADL warned in the executive summary of its report.
While young adults (between the ages of 18 and 30) showed less belief in anti-Jewish tropes (18 percent believe six or more tropes) than older adults (20 percent believe six or more tropes), the difference was substantially less than measured in previous studies.
Young adults held significantly more anti-Israel sentiment than older adults, with 21 percent and 11 percent agreeing with five or more anti-Israel statements, respectively.
