February 29, 2024 — New York, NY
American Jewish Committee’s (AJC) recently released State of Antisemitism in America 2023 Report found that 4 in 10 (44%) current or recent college students were affected by antisemitism during their time on campus.
Respondents, who included current and recent college students or the parent or guardian of a current or recent student, indicated that students experienced or avoided at least one of four behaviors asked about:
- Nearly one-fourth (24%) of Jewish students reported feeling uncomfortable or unsafe at a campus event because they are Jewish.
- These feelings and fears of antisemitism are making students change their behavior: 25% avoided wearing, carrying, or displaying things that would identify them as Jewish and;
- 26% avoided expressing their views on Israel on campus or with classmates.
- Twenty-five percent of students reported being told they could not miss class for Jewish holidays.
Additionally, 20% of current and recent students reported feeling or being excluded from a group or event because they are Jewish— up from 12% in 2022. More than half of these students felt or were excluded more than once. Separately, 17% felt or were excluded from a group or an event on campus because of their assumed or actual connection to Israel.
“Even before October 7, we observed that antisemitism was rising on campuses around the country. The anti-Israel antisemitism we saw after Hamas’ terror attack against Israelis only made this already-brewing crisis worse,” said AJC CEO Ted Deutch. “It is unacceptable that even one, let alone 20% of Jewish college students, felt excluded from an event because of who they are. Campus administrators need to do better for their Jewish students and ensure they are not only physically safe on campus, but that the Jewish community and Jewish culture on campus are supported and given the resources they need to grow and thrive.”
AJC has released Confronting Campus Antisemitism: An Action Plan for University Students and Confronting Campus Antisemitism: An Action Plan for University Administrators to help campuses respond to rising antisemitism and implement The U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism.
AJC’s survey soft-launched on October 5, with the goal of fully launching the following week. However, fieldwork was paused following the October 7 attack. In response, the questionnaire was adjusted to add survey items to measure awareness of the attacks and their impact on feelings of safety in the U.S. The revised survey launched October 17.
The surveys of American Jews and U.S. adults were conducted for the nonpartisan American Jewish Committee by the independent research firm SSRS. The Jewish American survey collected data from a nationally representative sample of 1,528 Jews, ages 18 or older from October 5 - November 21, 2023 (with 1,412 respondents interviewed after October 7). Most respondents participated via a self-administered web survey and the remainder were interviewed on the phone. The U.S. adult survey collected data from a nationally representative sample of 1,223 general population adults, 18 or older, from October 17 - October 24, 2023, via the SSRS Opinion Panel. The margin of error for Jewish respondents is +/-3.2 percentage points and for total U.S. adult respondents is +/-3.9 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
AJC is the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people. With headquarters in New York, 25 offices across the United States, 14 overseas posts, as well as partnerships with 38 Jewish community organizations worldwide, AJC’s mission is to enhance the well-being of the Jewish people and Israel and to advance human rights and democratic values in the United States and around the world. For more, please visit www.ajc.org
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