By Debra Rubin

Amid statistics showing a large upsurge in anti-Jewish hate in the United States over the last year, the American Jewish Committee’s (AJC) annual report on antisemitism reported some unexpected news—a majority of Americans are aware it is a problem and want to do something about it, and agree that denying Israel’s right to exist is a form of antisemitism.

The survey of both Jews and the general public also highlighted some sobering findings in the year since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel: 77 % of Jews say they feel less safe since the attack and one-third of American Jews have been personally targeted either in person or online by antisemitism.

Young Jews ages 18-29 were more likely to experience antisemitism than older Jews, and their peers were more likely to harbor antisemitic beliefs because of the disinformation shared on social media, which the survey found is the primary source for news for many in this age group.

However, on a positive note it found that 95 % of Jews and 90 % of the general public agreed that antisemitism affects society as a whole and everyone is responsible for combating it.

In a virtual program on Feb.13, three AJC leaders unpacked what the survey’s results signify and actions both the Jewish community and other concerned Americans can take to help.

Holly Huffnagle, the national director for combating antisemitism, said the poll was particularly important because it was the first survey to encompass the full year since the terrorist attack and AJC’s survey is the only one that has been collecting such data from both the Jewish community and general public over a five-year span. The data found will be used to target specific groups such as law enforcement, legislators or educators over the next year.

“In the five years I’ve had the privilege and responsibility for working on this report we’ve never seen numbers like this,” she said. “We’ve actually spoken about how 2023 was an outlier, but last year, that was the outlier. What 2024 did was in some ways showed a new normal. Not only did the numbers hold, but actually got worse.”

She said social media is where most of the public has been exposed to antisemitism, with 83 % of Jews ages 18-29 experiencing it there, with the connection spurred by the overwhelmingly negative content about the war.

“Over the last two decades it parallels the increase of social media use and the ability to spread misinformation, antisemitism and conspiracy theories at exponential rates,” added Huffnagle.

Four in 10, or 41 %, of young people reported being targets of antisemitism in the last year while the number was 31% for those over 30.

She said while all the social media companies have strong policies about such matters as Holocaust denial or stereotypes of Jews, they are not always enforced.

She said Congress needs to make “serious reforms” to existing laws to make it easier for people to report incidents of antisemitism and hold social media companies accountable.

“We are connected to Israel in powerful ways,” said Dr. Laura Shaw Frank, director of the Center for Education Advocacy. “Often we hear, ‘I’m not antisemitic, I just hate Zionists,’ but these statistics show that a very large percentage of American Jews hold Zionist ideals.”

She noted when people say, “‘Zionists are not welcome,’ or even more frightenedly, and we’ve actually heard this, ‘Zionists should die,’ they really mean Jews should die.”

Despite that, Shaw Frank said the AJC found 85 % of the general American public agrees that saying Israel doesn’t have a right to exist is antisemitic.

“We really need this large majority of Americans to stand up at this moment,” and drown out the “very loud” minority, she added.

Huffnagle said in “some very good news” the survey found almost eight in 10 adults found boycotting such Jewish authors or events such as concerts or speaking engagements unacceptable. Likewise, a “huge plurality” of Americans said it was unacceptable to protest in front of synagogues, day schools or Jewish businesses.

Huffnagle said one of the of the biggest telltale signs of the unease felt by the community is that 46 % said they had avoided wearing or displaying anything that identified them as Jewish and 31 % said they had avoided going to some places out of fear for their safety and comfort Another 37 % said they avoided posting something online out of fear.

“In just 24 months we found that 56 % of American Jews have changed their behavior in at least one of the three ways out of fear of antisemitism,” she noted. “Last year it was 46 % and in 2022 it was 38 %. Of all the things we discovered, this was the most painful for me to see. One in three Jews, 33 %, were personally targeted by antisemitism ”

While 25 % of American Jews said they have seen a business in their neighborhood targeted by antisemitism, Huffnagle said the number rises to 42 % in Orthodox neighborhoods.

Julie Rayman, managing director of policy and political affairs, said AJC had been in contact with the Small Business Administration, which was interested in the data collected about such attacks.

One of the most troubling areas that the survey revealed was the rise of antisemitism on college campuses.

Shaw Frank said 68% of American parents reported antisemitism on campus was important in choosing a college for their children and for good reason: One in three Jewish college students reported being excluded from an activity or student life because they were Jewish while almost half said they felt uncomfortable or unsafe on campus, causing them to avoid wearing anything identifying them as Jewish or express views on Israel. Another one-third said student life or student activities had promoted antisemitism or promoted an environment hostile to Jews.

“We heard all kinds of stories like the dance troupe that won’t let Zionists be a part of it,” said Shaw Frank.

She said other startling findings include 24% of Jewish students reporting class curricula had advanced or promoted antisemitism and helped create a hostile learning environment for Jews while 32% said faculty had fueled antisemitism.

“We know from many anecdotes we have received that there is definitely a lot of antisemitism being promoted by faculty at universities,” said Shaw Frank. “We know colleges and universities must address faculty antisemitism but we don’t want anyone to think we want to shut down a professor who’s simply critical of the policies or actions of the government of the state of Israel like they may be critical of the actions of any government around the world. But, it is truly frightening that nearly a third of Jewish students say antisemitism is coming from their professors.”

She said the AJC has worked with administrators and college presidents to update codes of conduct to include time, place and manner restrictions and is calling on colleges and universities to provide Jewish identity and antisemitism training to students and faculty. It has a plan of action that has been widely shared.

With Purim coming, Shaw Frank drew a comparison between Queen Esther, who was also a diaspora Jew, and the modern American community.

“Whether we are Jewish or not, every one of us has a palace, a place where we can make change, where we have influence, where we have access to decision-makers,” she said, noting AJC’s website has action plans on many topics. “We need to use our influence. … Every person should be thinking, ‘Who do I know? Who can I talk to? How can I stand up in this moment?’”

Debra Rubin has had a long career in journalism writing for secular weekly and daily newspapers and Jewish publications. She most recently served as Middlesex/Monmouth bureau chief for the New Jersey Jewish News. She also worked with the media at several nonprofits, including serving as assistant public relations director of HIAS and assistant director of media relations at Yeshiva University.