The number of Americans who believe in antisemitic conspiracy theories and tropes nearly doubled since 2019, a survey from the Anti-Defamation League has revealed.
The survey also reported there being a substantially negative anti-Israel sentiment among Americans.
The poll of a representative sample of more than 4,000 US adults asked the extent to which Americans agreed with different statements about anti-Jewish tropes and found that 20% of Americans, as many as 66 million people, agreed with six or more of the 11 anti-Jewish statements used since 1964.
Among the findings: 39% of respondents believe Jews are more loyal to Israel than the US; 20% say Jews have “too much power” in the U; 21% claim that Jews “don’t care about anyone other than themselves”; and 53% say Jews will go out of their way to hire other Jews. These findings reveal substantial belief in anti-Jewish tropes – such as Jews are too powerful, selfish, foreign and clannish.
“Those of us on the front lines have expected such results for a while now – and yet the data are still stunning and sobering: there is an alarming increase in antisemitic views and hatred across nearly every metric, at levels unseen for decades,” said ADL CEO Jonathan A. Greenblatt. “From Pittsburgh to Charlottesville to the near-daily harassment of Jews in our greatest cities, antisemitic beliefs lead to violence. I hope this survey is a wake-up call to the entire country.”
ADL also asked respondents the extent to which they agreed with anti-Israel beliefs and found a high number of Americans harbor extremely negative antisemitic views. The poll found that 23% believe that Israel gets away with anything and controls the media, and 18% say they are uncomfortable spending time with a pro-Israel person.
“These anti-Israel beliefs are not a commentary on Israeli government policies,” Greenblatt said. “They are antisemitism in another form.”
“These anti-Israel beliefs are not commentary on Israeli government policies, they are antisemitism in another form."
Greenblatt
Young adults are more likely to hold antisemitic views
Additional findings include: Only 3% of the population believes every one of the 11 tropes respondents were asked about, which are approximately 10 million Americans – more than the total number of Jews in the US.
In addition, according to the survey, younger adults (under the age of 30) hold significantly more negative sentiments toward Israel and its supporters than older ones. There was a greater belief in anti-Jewish tropes among young adults (ages 18-30) than in prior research. Additionally, young adults hold significantly more anti-Israel sentiment than older ones, with 21% and 11% agreeing with five or more anti-Israel statements, respectively.
“As concerning as these findings are, they also provide helpful direction for developing more effective interventions to fight various types of antisemitism,” Greenblatt said. “We plan to work with our partners from other Jewish communities and civil rights organizations to refine strategies for addressing the root causes of anti-Jewish hate.”
David Dutwin, senior vice president with NORC at the University of Chicago, said “this survey is perhaps the most in-depth study of Jewish hate in the US ever conducted, garnering input from a diverse expert panel in its conception.” He said the survey included in-depth, hour-long, one-on-one interviews with over 100 Americans, and also nearly 4,200 interviews via a comprehensive survey.
“It is fully representative of the US and leverages state-of-the-art survey techniques to generate the most honest and unbiased views of the American public possible,” he concluded.
Since 1964, ADL has regularly conducted a nationally representative survey about attitudes toward Jews. ADL and NORC, in partnership with the One8 Foundation, updated this survey to examine antisemitism more holistically.In addition to analyzing Americans’ belief in classic anti-Jewish tropes, this survey also evaluated sentiment toward the Jewish State of Israel.
This survey was conducted online in September and October 2022.