Stand Up to Jewish Hate: The US Antisemitism Landscape Survey
Nationwide Survey Reveals All Types Of Prejudice Are On The Rise
The Foundation to Combat Antisemitism | Nov 19, 2024
In 1963 Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” It is precisely this mutuality that we have identified in FCAS’ nationwide tracking survey on Jewish hate and all forms of hate.
Prejudice, in various forms, is largely moving in parallel lines, on the rise since late 2023. In the same timeframe, fewer Americans believe these types of prejudice are major issues in the US. Interestingly, even as some prejudicial beliefs increase, people seem to be noticing less prejudice around them and talking about it less.
Perceived threats are up across the board
Our ongoing research tracks the trends in antisemitism in the context of other forms of prejudice, and in this summer’s survey, we observed prejudice on the rise against all groups of people that we track.
For example, when asked if specific groups threaten the unity of American society, US adults were more likely to agree with that statement in June 2024 compared to December 2023—across every group on the receiving end of prejudice. The percentage of Americans thinking Jews are at least somewhat a threat rose six points in six months. For Black Americans, it rose five points. For transgender people, it was three points. Growth was visible for all groups.
There are of course variations in these trends, particularly before December 2023. Between June and December of 2023, some perceived threats increased and some decreased. We will continue to monitor whether and how all forms of prejudice move in lockstep over time.
Younger Americans are more likely to perceive growing threats from all groups. On average, their belief in these perceived threats increased six points in six months, double that of Americans 50 and older. Negative movement in 18-to-29-year-olds was observed across all types of prejudice, though lower for prejudice against white people and Evangelical Christians.
Yet Americans don’t see prejudice as a growing problem
Even as prejudicial beliefs toward different groups are increasing this year, Americans don’t think prejudice has become a more serious problem in this country. In fact, prejudice was perceived as less of a major issue this summer compared to last December. For example, 46% of adults consider racism against Black Americans to be a major problem in the US, down from 48% last December. This slight decrease is visible across almost all types of prejudice, including Hispanic, Asian, Muslim, Jewish, and LGBTQ+. Prejudice against women is the exception, with a consistent 38% believing it’s a major problem.
Younger Americans stand out in this area as well. 18-to-29-year-olds are generally more likely to label different forms of prejudice as major problems, but the seriousness of the problem is dropping for them just like other age cohorts.
Americans don’t see prejudice as a growing problem in part because they report not hearing prejudice as often in their own lives. For example, 40% of people say they’ve heard a friend, family member, or colleague say something that felt biased or prejudiced against Hispanic people; that’s down 2 points from last December. We see similar trends for other forms of prejudice—with the exception of prejudice against Jews, a topic we will return to.
If people aren’t hearing prejudice as often, it could mean one or both of the following:
Americans are more aware of prejudice and less likely to express it in their social circles.
Americans are more inured to prejudice and not noticing when it’s spoken as much as they used to notice it.
Similarly, Americans are talking less about many kinds of prejudice. People report having fewer conversations about most forms of racism and antisemitism, though conversation has increased slightly about prejudice against Hispanic people and LGBTQ+ people.
In general, despite an increase in prejudicial beliefs, Americans are noticing prejudice less and talking about it less, and it seems to them less of a problem than it did late last year.
Jewish hate moves with all hate but is also unique
In a time when all prejudice is growing, antisemitism largely aligns with that trend. But there are also notable differences that exist, occurring in the context of how the Israel-Hamas war has affected many Americans’ attitudes toward Israel and in some cases attitudes toward Jews in general.
First, prejudice against Jews grew slightly faster than most other forms of prejudice. From last December to this June, the two groups facing the most growth in perceived threat were undocumented immigrants (+7 percentage points) and Jewish people (+6). In addition, the number of people considering antisemitism a major problem is dropping faster (-3 percentage points) than for other forms of prejudice in the same time period. This trend is visible across age groups.
These differences particularly stand out because more Americans report hearing people say things that feel prejudiced against Jews. 30% of US adults say they have heard such words from a friend, family member, or colleague, up just one percentage point since last December, but at a time when that data point was decreasing for every other form of prejudice. Antisemitism stands out.
At the same time, the number of conversations people are having about antisemitism is decreasing faster than conversations about any other form of prejudice.
So, people are feeling and hearing more prejudice against Jews, but talking about it less and thinking its seriousness is decreasing. No doubt the war is driving at least some of these changes. It is likely in this politicized time that even though people are hearing Jewish hate more, because of the controversies and strong opinions about the war, fewer people feel comfortable talking about it.
Jewish hate also stands out when we look at Americans’ likelihood to speak out when they do see prejudice. For all kinds of prejudice, 70-80% of US adults report they would say something in the moment or after the fact when hearing something prejudiced. That number is steady or growing for all kinds of prejudice except one: antisemitism, for which the percentage dropped from 75% to 73% in six months. That decline is primarily driven by 18-to-29-year-olds.
If these trends continue, it is clear that all the armies of hate, including Jewish hate, are on the move. Fighting each of them is important. But fighting all of them is essential.
Methodology
“Stand Up to Jewish Hate: The U.S. 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 U.S. adults plus an augment of 600 respondents for demographic analysis, weighted to match the U.S. 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, contact us at [email protected]