A growing number of Jewish Americans are reporting they feel unsafe and less secure, according to a new report released by the American Jewish Committee.
The annual report, The State of Anti-Semitism in America, said that a majority of Jewish Americans — or nearly 56% — have changed their behaviors out of fear of antisemitic attacks. More than three-quarters of American Jews said they feel less safe as a Jewish person living in this country because of the Oct. 7 attacks, according to the report based on surveys last fall.
In all, 73% of American Jews said they feel less secure in the U.S., a dramatic increase from the 31% reported four years ago, according to the report.
“Antisemitism has reached a tipping point in America,” said Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee. “That one-third of American Jews have been the target of antisemitism in the past year should raise red flags for every American and our leaders,”
In this digital age where it seems as though everyone has a social media account and mobile phones, a large portion of Jewish Americans have reported concealing certain items online to prevent any targeted attacks, the report said. Nearly one-third of respondents said they have been the target of at least one antisemitic attack in-person or online in the last year.
“ We take those numbers and we’ve been working through our Center for Education Advocacy with those who are responsible for educating future generations, university presidents, school administrators, principals of high schools and middle schools,” said Rabbi David Levy, regional director of AJC New Jersey.
He added: “I have spent an incredible amount of time working with our New Jersey superintendents and principals to try to make our schools a place, not just that is safe and secure and free of hate, but places that educate our young people in how to be better citizens and in how to build the kind of society that we hope they’ll all be part of, where people don’t have to be fearful of hate, where hate doesn’t have a place in New Jersey.”
