Stand Up to Jewish Hate: The US Antisemitism Landscape Survey
FCAS Study Reveals Jewish Hate Is Escalating In The United States
The Foundation to Combat Antisemitism | Sept 26, 2024
Antisemitism has been on the rise in the United States for years, but since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza, prejudice against Jewish people in America has accelerated profoundly. That’s the central finding of “Stand Up to Jewish Hate: The US Antisemitism Landscape Survey,” FCAS’ ongoing research on attitudes around Jewish hate.
Central to this research is our unique segmentation of American adults based on their attitudes about:
- Jewish People (e.g., do Jews cause problems, are they a threat?)
- Antisemitism/Prejudice Against Jewish People in the US (e.g., is it a major issue, blown out of proportion?)
- Anti-Jewish Tropes (e.g., Jews are penny pinchers, run the media, are more loyal to Israel than to the US)
Through a series of questions capturing direct beliefs and unconscious biases, we have uncovered the following segments among US adults.
Haters
11% of US adults
Blatantly prejudiced against Jews (and often other groups) and tend to be outspoken about it.
Leaning Haters
14% of US adults
Less informed or misinformed, influenced toward all kinds of prejudice and exhibiting antisemitic beliefs.
Unengaged
47% of US adults
Less aware of antisemitism. Many notice other forms of prejudice but don’t see antisemitism the same way.
Leaning Allies
20% of US adults
Largely aware of antisemitism and many will say something against it when they encounter it.
Allies
8% of US adults
Well informed and aware of antisemitism, already activated to stand up to Jewish hate.
This research shows a significant shift toward Jewish hate among US adults in the last year. In that time, Allies have declined by almost half and Haters have grown dramatically. Many Americans have moved one step toward hate, so Unengaged gained some former Leaning Allies and lost some to Leaning Haters. This shift quantifies the Jewish hate that has been visible in so many people’s lives, in public conversations online (as tracked by FCAS’ Command Center), and in real-world incidents.
The drivers of this shift toward hate have changed over time. In late 2023, this negative trend manifested largely through a rising belief in anti-Jewish tropes—insidious stereotypes about Jews that reveal conscious and unconscious negative bias.
By June 2024, this type of indirect antisemitism became more overt. For example, 21% of US adults believed Jews are at least somewhat of a threat to the unity of American society, nearly doubling in one year. Many Americans also considered other groups a threat, but the perceived threat of Jews increased more than almost all other groups year-on-year. In addition, in June 2023, when asked if Jewish people cause problems in the world, 81% of Americans disagreed; a year later that was down to 69%.
The shift toward Jewish hate has escalated across multiple dimensions, as shown in these examples
Americans have also become more skeptical about the seriousness of prejudice against Jews. 58% of Americans believed that antisemitism is not a problem or just a minor problem in this country. 39% thought that this issue was blown out of proportion, up 9 points in a year. And 46% said Jewish people are more than capable of handling antisemitism on their own, up 6 points.
This overall shift toward hate was visible across demographic groups, but especially among younger Americans. In our classification, 25% of all American adults were Haters or Leaning Haters; for 18-to-29-year-olds, it was 32% (up 13 points in one year). 30% of those younger Americans believed Jews are at least somewhat a threat to the unity of American society.
Notably, it’s not just 18-to-29-year-olds moving toward Jewish hate. Americans in their 30s and 40s shifted at a similar rate, resulting in a corresponding loss of Allies and rise in Haters. This trend cuts across generations.
This escalating antisemitism is occurring amid a storm of external forces and events. The October 7 attack and the ensuing war sparked intense debate in the US, flaming up in the form of protests, university encampments, and uproar on social media. The war further polarized many Americans’ attitudes on Israel and Gaza, increasingly making any statement about antisemitism sound like a political belief rather than a universal belief about prejudice.
Recommended actions
At the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, we are focused on reaching the segment of Unengaged Americans, those individuals who are sitting on the sidelines, and moving them to stand up against Jewish hate and all hate. Through this research and our national media campaigns, FCAS has identified three key messages that reach this audience:
- Build empathy: Messages that put the listener in the shoes of someone else (see examples below) have a greater chance of breaking through.
- “If you were experiencing hate simply for who you are, wouldn’t you want someone to stand up for you?”
- “Take a second and imagine what prejudice really feels like. Then imagine if it was you experiencing that prejudice.”
- The role of hate in growing violence: Reminders of this relationship raise the stakes on the importance of fighting hate before it erupts.
- “Hate feeds violence and gives it permission to grow.”
- “Protests go too far when they result in hate or violence against Jewish people.”
- All hate rises together: Unengaged Americans who see Jewish hate in the context of other forms of hate are more likely to stand up to it.
- “Hate is a slippery slope—those who hate one group of people usually also hate other groups of people.”
- “When hate rises for one group of people, it starts rising for all groups of people.”
These messaging themes from our research have remained consistent over time and have guided the work of FCAS. Our TV ads tell positive stories that build empathy, are grounded in data, and model how to stand up. This research shows their measurable impact on changing hearts and minds. Unengaged Americans who recalled seeing any FCAS ad are 26% more likely to strongly agree antisemitism is an issue in today’s world. They are 35% more likely to be familiar with recent antisemitic events. And they are 35% more likely to stand up for Jews experiencing antisemitism. Pushing back against the rising tide of antisemitism isn’t just possible, it’s more important than ever.
FCAS campaign impact among our target audience of "unengaged"
26%
increase in people who strongly agree that antisemitism is an issue in today’s world.
35%
increase in people who are familiar with recent antisemitic events.
35%
increase in people who are very likely to stand up on behalf of a Jewish person experiencing antisemitism.
Note: These correlations suggest, but do not definitively prove causation in ad impacts.
Methodology
“Stand Up to Jewish Hate: The US Antisemitism Landscape Survey” is semi-annual research on Americans 18 and older conducted by the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism and VML. This ongoing study tracks Americans’ attitudes and actions around antisemitism in the context of recent events. The most recent survey, fielded June-July 2024, included a nationally representative sample of 8,000 US adults plus an augment of 600 respondents for demographic analysis, weighted to match the US population.
About FCAS
The Foundation to Combat Antisemitism was founded in 2019 by Robert Kraft to stand up to Jewish hate and all hate. We uniquely reach unengaged non-Jewish Americans, moving them to become allies through empathy-building national mass media and social advertising. We partner and convene diverse leaders and groups to create awareness and understanding, and our Command Center monitors the digital landscape 24/7 to understand where and how hate is spreading and completes national research on this topic.
For more information about this research, email us at [email protected]