The State of Antisemitism in America 2023: Comparing American Jews and the General Public

American Jewish Committee (AJC) is the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people. Below is a comparison of the Survey of American Jews and the Survey of the General Public from AJC’s State of Antisemitism in America 2023 Report.

The State of Antisemitism in America 2023 Report: Survey of American Jews, conducted by the research company SSRS on behalf of AJC, is based on interviews conducted by telephone and online from October 5 - November 21, 2023, among a nationally representative sample of 1,528 Jews aged 18 or older. Telephone interviews were conducted via SSRS Omnibus callback sample^[1], and online interviews were conducted via the SSRS Opinion Panel^[2] as well as a partner probability panel. The margin of error for total respondents is +/-3.2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. Find the methodology report here. AJC is a non-partisan organization that neither supports nor endorses candidates for elective office.

AJC’s State of Antisemitism in America 2023 Report: Survey of the General Public, conducted by the research company SSRS, is based on interviews with U.S. adults that were conducted from October 17 – October 24, 2023, among a nationally representative sample of 1,223 respondents aged 18 and older via the SSRS Opinion Panel^[3]. The margin of error is +/-3.9 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. Find the methodology report here. AJC is a non-partisan organization that neither supports nor endorses candidates for elective office.

*Please note: Most interviews were completed after the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel and open-ended responses to specific questions indicate that current events were top-of-mind for many respondents. It is important to consider this context when reviewing the survey data.

*Please note: certain sums may not total 100% due to rounding^[4]. An asterisk (*) indicates a number less than 1%.

1.	How much of a problem, if at all, do you think antisemitism is in the United States today?

	American Jews
	93%
A problem
	74%
	General Public
	American Jews
	6%
Not a problem
	19%
	General Public
	American Jews
	-
Not sure
	8%
	General Public
	American Jews
	*
No answer
	0%
	General Public

	American Jews	General Public
A very serious problem	53%	34%
Somewhat of a problem	41%	40%
Not much of a problem	6%	16%
Not a problem at all	1%	3%
Not sure	-	8%
No answer	*	0%

 

2.	Over the past five years, do you think that antisemitism in the United States has…

	American Jews
	86%
Increased
	56%
	General Public
	American Jews
	2%
Decreased
	11%
	General Public
	American Jews
	12%
Stayed the same
	23%
	General Public
	American Jews
	*
Not sure
	10%
	General Public
	American Jews
	*
No answer
	0%
	General Public

	American Jews	General Public
Increased a lot	50%	22%
Increased somewhat	37%	33%
Stayed the same	12%	23%
Decreased a little	1%	6%
Decreased a lot	1%	5%
Not sure	*	10%
No answer	*	0%

 

3.	In your opinion, is antisemitism taken more seriously, less seriously, or is it considered to be the same as other forms of hate and bigotry?

	American Jews
	18%
More seriously
	20%
	General Public
	American Jews
	47%
Less seriously
	33%
	General Public
	American Jews
	34%
Considered to be the same
	47%
	General Public
	American Jews
	1%
No answer
	0%
	General Public

 

4.	Which statement comes closer to your view, even if neither is exactly right?

	American Jews
	95%
Antisemitism affects society as a whole; everyone is responsible for combating it
	92%
	General Public
	American Jews
	5%
Antisemitism does not affect society as a whole; Jews alone are responsible for combating it
	8%
	General Public
	American Jews
	*
No answer
	*
	General Public

 

5.	How much did you hear, if anything, about Kanye West (Ye) making a series of comments about Jewish people during interviews and on social media in the Fall of 2022?

	American Jews
	78%
A lot/ some
	50%
	General Public
	American Jews
	22%
Not much/ nothing at all
	50%
	General Public
	American Jews
	*
No answer
	0%
	General Public

	American Jews	General Public
A lot	40%	17%
Some	38%	33%
Not much	11%	22%
Nothing at all	11%	28%
No answer	*	0%

 

6.	How much did you hear, if anything, about West’s comments leading to real life antisemitic incidents?

	American Jews
	46%
A lot/ some
	46%
	General Public
	American Jews
	52%
Not much/ nothing at all
	54%
	General Public
	American Jews
	1%
No answer
	0%
	General Public

	American Jews	General Public
A lot	12%	7%
Some	35%	39%
Not much	33%	31%
Nothing at all	20%	23%
No answer	1%	0%

 

7.	How much have you heard, if anything, about Jewish American Heritage Month?

	American Jews
	24%
A lot/ some
	28%
	General Public
	American Jews
	76%
Not much/ nothing at all
	72%
	General Public
	American Jews
	*
No answer
	*
	General Public

	American Jews	General Public
A lot	4%	4%
Some	20%	24%
Not much	35%	37%
Nothing at all	42%	35%
No answer	*	*

 

8.	How much have you heard, if anything, about the U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism published by the White House in May 2023?

	American Jews
	17%
A lot/ some
	12%
	General Public
	American Jews
	83%
Not much/ nothing at all
	88%
	General Public
	American Jews
	*
No answer
	0%
	General Public

	American Jews	General Public
A lot	2%	1%
Some	15%	10%
Not much	27%	33%
Nothing at all	56%	56%
No answer	*	0%

 

9a.	How important is it to you, if at all, that public schools invest more resources in teaching age-appropriate lessons about the Holocaust for all students?

	American Jews
	91%
Important
	85%
	General Public
	American Jews
	8%
Not important
	15%
	General Public
	American Jews
	*
No answer
	0%
	General Public

	American Jews	General Public
Very important	64%	51%
Somewhat important	27%	34%
Not too important	6%	11%
Not at all important	3%	3%
No answer	*	0%

 

9b.	How important is it to you, if at all, that statewide studies are conducted to assess how effectively public school districts are teaching the Holocaust?

	American Jews
	87%
Important
	81%
	General Public
	American Jews
	13%
Not important
	19%
	General Public
	American Jews
	*
No answer
	0%
	General Public

	American Jews	General Public
Very important	59%	45%
Somewhat important	28%	36%
Not too important	10%	14%
Not at all important	3%	5%
No answer	*	0%

 

9c.	How important is it to you, if at all, that state and local governments include contemporary antisemitism in public school curricula?

	American Jews
	86%
Important
	75%
	General Public
	American Jews
	13%
Not important
	25%
	General Public
	American Jews
	1%
No answer
	*
	General Public

	American Jews	General Public
Very important	48%	30%
Somewhat important	38%	44%
Not too important	10%	17%
Not at all important	4%	9%
No answer	1%	*

 

9d.	How important is it to you, if at all, that state and local governments include Jewish studies within the ethnic studies or history curricula in public schools?

	American Jews
	77%
Important
	72%
	General Public
	American Jews
	23%
Not important
	28%
	General Public
	American Jews
	*
No answer
	0%
	General Public

	American Jews	General Public
Very important	37%	29%
Somewhat important	39%	44%
Not too important	17%	20%
Not at all important	6%	8%
No answer	*	0%

 

10a.	Do you view the statement, “Israel has no right to exist,” as antisemitic or not?

	American Jews
	85%
Yes, antisemitic
	84%
	General Public
	American Jews
	15%
No, not antisemitic
	16%
	General Public
	American Jews
	*
No answer
	*
	General Public

	American Jews	General Public
Yes, antisemitic	85%	84%
No, not antisemitic	15%	16%
No answer	*	*

 

10b.	Do you view the statement, “American Jews stick together more than other Americans,” as antisemitic or not?

	American Jews
	39%
Yes, antisemitic
	34%
	General Public
	American Jews
	60%
No, not antisemitic
	66%
	General Public
	American Jews
	*
No answer
	0%
	General Public

	American Jews	General Public
Yes, antisemitic	39%	34%
No, not antisemitic	60%	66%
No answer	*	0%

 

10c.	Do you view the statement, “Jews in the United States have too much power,” as antisemitic or not?

	American Jews
	91%
Yes, antisemitic
	74%
	General Public
	American Jews
	8%
No, not antisemitic
	26%
	General Public
	American Jews
	*
No answer
	*
	General Public

	American Jews	General Public
Yes, antisemitic	91%	74%
No, not antisemitic	8%	26%
No answer	*	*

 

11.	How important is it, if at all, for Jewish communities and other religious and ethnic communities to increase cooperation with each other?

	American Jews
	94%
Important
	92%
	General Public
	American Jews
	6%
Not important
	8%
	General Public
	American Jews
	*
No answer
	*
	General Public

	American Jews	General Public
Very important	72%	62%
Somewhat important	22%	30%
Not too important	4%	5%
Not at all important	2%	2%
No answer	*	*

 

12.	How much, if anything, have you heard about the recent terrorist attacks in Israel by Hamas?

	American Jews
	98%
Heard about the attack
	96%
	General Public
	American Jews
	2%
Did not hear about the attack
	4%
	General Public
	American Jews
	0%
No answer
	*
	General Public

	American Jews	General Public
A lot	81%	59%
Some	13%	27%
A little	5%	10%
Nothing at all	2%	4%
No answer	0%	*

 

13.	How important is it, if at all, that law enforcement be required to report hate crimes to a federal government database?

	American Jews
	93%
Important
	91%
	General Public
	American Jews
	6%
Not important
	9%
	General Public
	American Jews
	*
No answer
	*
	General Public

	American Jews	General Public
Very important	71%	62%
Somewhat important	22%	29%
Not too important	5%	6%
Not at all important	2%	3%
No answer	*	*

*A hate crime is a crime of prejudice or bigotry that occurs when an offender targets someone because of one or more of their characteristics or religious beliefs.

Currently, law enforcement agencies are not required to report hate crimes to the federal government’s crime reporting database, which tracks detailed information about crimes in the U.S.

 

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View More:

To see the full results from The State of Antisemitism in America 2023: AJC’s Survey of American Jews, click here.

To see the full results from The State of Antisemitism in America 2023: AJC’s Survey of the General Public, click here.

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^[1] This was a prescreened sample from our Omnibus survey, which is a national, weekly dual-frame bilingual telephone survey designed to meet standards of quality associated with custom research studies. Similar to previous surveys, we included samples where someone in the household had been identified as Jewish in a previous Omnibus survey.

^[2] SSRS Opinion Panel members are recruited randomly based on nationally representative ABS (Address Based Sample) design (including Hawaii and Alaska). Additionally, we recruit hard-to-reach demographic groups via our Omnibus survey platform. For more information: https://ssrs.com/opinion-panel/.

^[3] SSRS Opinion Panel members are recruited randomly based on nationally representative ABS (Address Based Sample) design (including Hawaii and Alaska). Additionally, we recruit hard-to-reach demographic groups via our Omnibus survey platform. For more information: https://ssrs.com/opinion-panel/.

^[4] Comprehensive and precise data available upon request. Contact advocacy@ajc.org.