Over half US Jews have experienced anti-Semitism in past 5 years — ADL survey

Well over half of Jewish Americans have either experienced or directly witnessed some form of anti-Semitic incident in the last five years, according to a new poll released by the Anti-Defamation League.

The poll finds that 63 percent of respondents have either experienced or heard anti-Semitic comments, slurs or threats targeting others — an increase from 54% in the 2020 survey.

Nine percent of American Jews indicated in the survey they had been physically attacked in the last five years because they are Jewish — up slightly from 2020, but still within the margin of error.

“In the aftermath of major antisemitic attacks in Pittsburgh, Poway, Jersey City and Monsey, American Jews are reporting that they feel less safe in the U.S. today than they were just a decade earlier,” says ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt in a statement. “Looking back on the past five years, which were bookended by the antisemitism in Charlottesville in 2017 and the hateful symbols on display during the breach of the US Capitol on January 6, it is understandable that the level of anxiety is rising and concerns about communal safety are on everyone’s minds.”