Anti-Semitism and safety fears surge among US Jews, survey finds

Number of American Jews who say they feel less secure in the US has jumped 22 percent from last year’s survey.

Nearly two-thirds of American Jews feel less secure in the United States than they did a year ago, according to a new national survey.

The American Jewish Committee (AJC), a prominent advocacy organisation, conducted the survey just as Israel’s war on Gaza began on October 7. The number of American Jews who say they feel less secure in the US jumped 22 percent since last year’s survey.

“This year’s study shows us very clearly that anti-Semitism that was really just a simmering flame is now, especially since October 7, a five-alarm fire,” Ted Deutch, CEO of AJC, told The Associated Press news agency.

The survey released on Tuesday found one-quarter of American Jews said they have been the target of anti-Semitism in the past year. Almost half of American Jews responding to the survey said they had altered their behaviour during the past year to avoid anti-Semitism – changing what they wore, what they posted online or where they went so other people would not know they were Jewish.

“I live in a rural area and my home is most likely the only Jewish home in a 30-mile radius,” a 62-year-old woman was quoted as saying in the survey report. “We don’t tell people and outside the home do not show that we are Jewish.”