Antisemitic views spike sharply in U.S. in just three years -- especially among young

Antisemitic views have risen sharply among Americans in just three years, according to a new study.

More than three-quarters of Americans, or 85 percent, believe at least one anti-Jewish trope, compared to 61 percent in 2019, and 20 percent believe in six or more such views -- nearly double the 11-percent finding in that same period, the Anti-Defamation League found in a new study conducted with the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago (NORC) and the One8 Foundation.

"Unlike in years past, researchers found that young people seem to hold similar levels of belief in anti-Jewish tropes compared to older adults," the report found. "This report also shows that anti-Israel sentiment, including anti-Israel sentiment rooted in antisemitic conspiracy theories, is held by broad swaths of the population. Analysis further revealed that while belief in traditional anti-Jewish tropes and anti-Israel sentiment are discrete, they overlap in substantial ways."

Researchers polled more than 4,000 people between September and October and found 70 percent believe Jews stick together more than other Americans and 53 percent say Jews in business go out of their way to hire other Jews, which were the two most prevalent antisemitic views, while 39 percent say Jews are more loyal to Israel than the United States and 38 percent think Jews always like to be at the head of things.

"While young adults (between the ages of 18 and 30) show less belief in anti-Jewish tropes (18 percent believe six or more tropes) than older adults (20 percent believe six or more tropes), the difference is substantially less than measured in previous studies," the report found. "Additionally, young adults hold significantly more anti-Israel sentiment than older adults, with 21 percent and 11 percent agreeing with five or more anti-Israel statements, respectively."

The ADL and its research partners intend to conduct additional surveys to track antisemitic attitudes among different political, ideological, racial and ethnic groups to determine the similarities and differences in their biases against Jews and other minorities.

This report didn't identify any root causes in the increase in anti-Jewish bigotry, but other studies have found antisemitic hate crimes have risen since Donald Trump entered politics in 2015, and rapper Kanye West has become as well known for his hateful comments about Jews as his recent music output.