In a survey released last month by the Jewish Federations of North America, nearly 9 in 10 American Jews and more than 6 in 10 Americans overall said they believed there was more antisemitism in the U.S. now than five years ago. Asked to consider “just the last few weeks,” one-third of the general population, but more than 7 in 10 Jews, said they believed antisemitism was on the increase not just nationally, but in their local communities.
Four in 10 American Jews said they worried “very much” or “all the time” about their personal safety because of their race, religion or other characteristics, a level more than twice as high as the general population, according to the survey, conducted by the New York-based Benenson Strategy Group. Strikingly, the share was higher among younger Jews than older ones.
“I think it’s important to recognize in this moment how vulnerable and fearful many Jews feel,” UCLA political science professor Dov Waxman said in a recent roundtable discussion about antisemitism convened by The Times.