February 12, 2025
Antisemitism in America has reached a tipping point and Americans have less trust in the way democracy is functioning in the U.S. Those recent findings from AJC’s State of Antisemitism in America 2024 Report – the largest report of its kind and the first analysis of the impact of antisemitism on American Jews and the U.S. general public for the full-year following Hamas’ October 7, 2023, massacre of Israelis – are not unrelated.
The rise of antisemitism often corresponds with an increase in general polarization and division and broader threats to democracy. Here are five key takeaways from AJC’s State of Antisemitism in America 2024 Report.
1. The State of Antisemitism in America Has Reached Shocking Levels.
For the first time in the six-year history of AJC’s State of Antisemitism in America Report, a majority of American Jews – 56% – report changing their behavior out of fear of antisemitism, a sharp increase from 38% in 2022 to 46% in 2023. Forty percent of American Jews say they have avoided publicly displaying things that might identify them as a Jew out of fear of antisemitism—up from 26% in 2023.
Likewise, a majority (60%) of U.S. Jews say antisemitism has increased a lot in the past five years, up from 50% in 2023.
“The most painful and frightening thing about this is that it almost seems like the antisemitism was there all along, people just needed an excuse to vocalize it openly,” said a 39-year-old woman from the South. “At this point, there isn’t really a space in which it feels safe to say the words ‘I’m Jewish.’”
One in three (33%) American Jews say they have been the personal target of antisemitism – in person or virtually – at least once over the last year. Of those who experienced antisemitism, a large majority (78%) said that they did not report it, with more than half (54%) saying they didn’t think anything would be done about it.
And, for the first time, the 2024 survey asked Jewish adults whether, in the past five years, they have considered leaving their home in the United States due to antisemitism. Thirteen percent said yes, and 24% of Orthodox Jews said yes.
2. October 7 Isn’t in the Past for American Jews.
The anti-Jewish hate that engulfed the world at the end of 2023 wasn’t just a moment in time. It is still present and threatens the freedoms of American Jews daily. A large majority of American Jews – 77% – said they feel less safe as a Jewish person in the U.S. because of the October 7 terror attacks on Israel.
Nine in 10 (90%) American Jews say antisemitism in the U.S. has increased since Hamas’ October 7 massacre of Israelis.
Seventy percent of American Jews say the Jewish institutions with which they are affiliated have increased security measures since October 7, 2023.
“I can’t even go to a temple without security standing there when I walk in,” said a 50-year-old woman in the Midwest. “I don’t even want to wear my Jewish Star necklace anymore. I’m scared I’ll stand out. I took my mezuzah down from my front door.”
Amidst the challenges for Jews in the U.S., there’s been an uptick in institutional affiliation since the October 7 attacks, indicated by 31% of American Jews who said they are not affiliated – down seven percentage points from 2023 (38%).
3. The Impact of Rising Antisemitism on Young American Jews.
Because of their interactions on social media and in daily life, young American Jews, including college students, report facing more antisemitism than their elders. However, their peers in the U.S. general public are less likely to see it as a problem. Only 59% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 said it was a serious or somewhat serious problem, compared to 96% of American Jews in that age bracket.
Four in 10 (41%) young American Jews between the ages of 18 and 29 say they have been the target of antisemitism at least once in the past 12 months, compared to 31% aged 30 or over. Of American Jewish college students, 35% reported experiencing antisemitism at least once during their time on campus.
Roughly half (48%) said they had felt uncomfortable or unsafe at a campus event because they are Jewish; avoided wearing, carrying or displaying things that could identify them as Jewish; or avoided expressing views on Israel on campus or with classmates because of fears of antisemitism.
One-third (33%) of American Jewish college students said that student life or student activities had promoted antisemitism at least once; 32% said the same about university faculty, and 24% recalled classroom curriculum materials that furthered antisemitism.
“We have to defend our right to exist on college campuses,” said an 18-year-old woman from the South. “A year ago, we didn’t have to until after October 7.”
“The protests at the various college campuses in particular have made college-aged students very scared,” added a 21-year-old woman on the West Coast.
4. Most American Jews see a strong connection between Israel and their Jewish identity.
While Hamas and its worldwide supporters have spread antisemitic hate and fear around the world, many Jews have chosen to reject this division. They continue to embrace their identity and connection to Israel.
Eighty one percent of American Jews said that caring about Israel is very (51%) or somewhat (30%) important to what being Jewish means to them.
Meanwhile, the same majority of the American public and American Jewry (85%) agreed that the statement “Israel has no right to exist” — the foundational core of anti-Zionism — is antisemitic. Finally, most Americans seem to understand that blaming Jews for Israel’s actions is wrong. Seventy-seven percent of U.S. adults say it is unacceptable to protest against Israel by boycotting American Jewish individuals or Jewish events.
Still, a quarter of Jewish adults (25%) report that a local business has been targeted with antisemitism in the past year and three in ten (30%) say the Jewish institutions they are affiliated with have been the target of antisemitism in the past five years, an increase from previous years with a clear effect on the climate.
“I was in Israel a couple weeks ago and felt safer there—a country at war where citizens are regularly running to bomb shelters and safe rooms—than I have in New York in the last year,” said a 31-year-old woman from the Northeast.
5. The data demands action.
Though AJC’s report measures perceptions of antisemitism, it tells a deeper story about American society.
As we continue to see increasing extremism erode the fabric of our communities, a large majority of American Jews (72%) and most U.S. adults (66%) said they have less trust in the way democracy is functioning in the United States as compared with five years ago.
Indeed, increases in antisemitism often accompany a rise in general polarization and division and indicate broader threats to democracy. Polarization pushes people to the extremes.
On the bright side, over the past five years of this survey, awareness among the general public has also increased. Seventy-two percent of U.S. adults say antisemitism is a problem in the U.S. today—up 12 percentage points from 2021. Similarly, almost six in ten (59%) U.S. adults today say antisemitism in the U.S. has increased in the past five years, compared to only 44% who said the same in 2021.
And almost nine in 10 of those adults (88%) said they were concerned by the increase.
Ninety percent of Americans believe that antisemitism affects society as a whole; everyone is responsible for combating it, and one in three (34%) U.S. adults report speaking out against antisemitism.
