U.S. Jews feel less secure after Hamas attacks, nearly half change behavior: Survey

Nearly half of U.S. Jews say they have changed their behavior for fear of attacks, with more than 40% saying they avoid doing anything that identifies them as Jewish, a new annual survey of antisemitism says.

The American Jewish Committee, an advocacy nonprofit, reported Tuesday that 46% of U.S. Jews it surveyed said they had changed their behavior and 63% said they feel “less secure than a year ago.” In 2022, about 43% said they felt less secure.

According to the survey, 78% of U.S. Jews who had heard a little about the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks in southern Israel said that news made them feel less safe as a Jewish person in the United States.

In addition, 4 in 10 Jewish college students said they had experienced antisemitism on campus and 1 in 5 said they were excluded from an event or a group because they are Jewish.

“With nearly half of American Jews reporting they changed their behavior in the past year because of fear of antisemitism, we need to take action — now,” the nonprofit’s CEO, Ted Deutch, said in a statement. “This isn’t a new problem, but the explosion of antisemitism since October 7 demands that we take collective action now.”

The advocacy group first conducted the survey the year after the 2018 attack on the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, where 11 people were killed and six others injured.

In the latest survey, 46% of U.S. Jews said they are less likely to wear items that reveal their Jewish identity, go to certain places or attend certain events out of fear for their comfort or safety as a Jewish person.

An AJC spokesman said the survey did not ask respondents to specify the events or places being avoided. They said the poll didn’t ask what specific behavioral changes Jews have made in response to rising concerns about antisemitic attacks.

Those Jews concerned about antisemitic acts said they were less likely to post content online that would reveal themselves as being Jewish or show their attitudes on Jewish issues, the survey reported.

Meanwhile, more than 90% of U.S. Jews and adults said combating antisemitism is everyone’s responsibility and anti-Jewish attitudes impact “society as a whole.” A similar percentage said it’s important for Jewish communities to increase cooperation with other religious and ethnic groups.

Nathan Diament, executive director of public policy for the Orthodox Union, one of the nation’s largest organizations of Orthodox Jews, called the findings “deeply concerning,” adding that federal efforts such as the Nonprofit Security Grant Program for religious institutions are a helpful countermeasure.

“We welcome the Senate’s Supplemental today, which allocates $400 million for the NSGP program to help synagogues and schools protect themselves, as one step in the right direction,” Mr. Diament said in an email. “Jewish Americans have the right to live freely and safely, and it is incumbent upon our leaders to support us in ensuring this.”

Independent research firm SSRS conducted the survey for the nonpartisan AJC. Polling originally was planned to launch during the week of Oct. 9, but it was paused after the Hamas attacks to adjust the questionnaire to gauge awareness of and impact of the incursion in the U.S.

Two surveys were conducted: 1,528 U.S. Jews were polled Oct. 5-Nov. 21, of which 1,412 were interviewed after the Oct. 7 attacks. Most Jewish respondents participated via a self-administered web survey, while the balance was interviewed by telephone.

The U.S. adult survey collected data from 1,223 members of the general population who participated via the SSRS Opinion Panel Oct. 17-24.

The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level for Jewish respondents and plus or minus 3.9 points for U.S. adult respondents. It is online at https://www.ajc.org/AntisemitismReport2023.