A recent survey revealed that a significant number of Jewish Americans are concealing their identities in public, and only one in five feels very safe. This came from a new poll conducted by the Washington Post.
Among those surveyed, 47% believed that there is “a lot” of anti-Semitism in the United States, while 48% felt there was “some degree” of it. Furthermore, 26% expressed that they feel the country is “not very” safe, and 51% noted they feel “somewhat” safe.
In another poll from September, 42% of Jewish Americans indicated they refrain from wearing or displaying anything that signifies their Jewish identity in public. This marks a notable rise from the previous poll where only 23% said they didn’t identify openly as Jewish.
There seems to be skepticism surrounding the Trump administration’s efforts to combat anti-Semitism on college campuses. About 42% of respondents viewed these actions as “not at all” effective, with 25% considering them “somewhat” effective, and merely 6% thinking they are “very” effective.
Concerns also emerged regarding the administration’s primary goal in addressing anti-Semitism in universities. While 35% believed it was aimed at “reducing” anti-Semitism, a larger 45% suspected the goal was to “make the university more politically conservative,” and 21% thought there was “another goal.”
The poll indicated strong disapproval of President Trump’s performance, with 64% expressing dissatisfaction. In contrast, only 14% approved of his actions.
Conducted just before the recent peace agreement and ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the poll found that 48% of Jewish Americans do not support the war in Gaza, whereas 46% do. Furthermore, 91% of respondents attributed responsibility for the conflict to Hamas, followed closely by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at 86%.
Interestingly, 72% of those surveyed stated that criticizing Israel is not inherently anti-Semitic. Additionally, 67% felt that Israel’s actions toward Gaza do not qualify as anti-Semitic. However, 71% indicated that holding American Jews accountable for Israel’s actions in Gaza is anti-Semitic.
This Washington Post poll took place from September 2-9 and included 815 respondents, with a margin of error of 4.7 percentage points.
