EXTREMISM5 Key Takeaways from State of Antisemitism in America Report 2022

For too many American Jews, being Jewish no longer feels as safe as it once did. And the younger those American Jews are, the more they experience that threat firsthand.

An American Jewish Committee (AJC) study released this week sheds light on that heartbreaking reality and more. How affected are American Jews by rising antisemitism? Does the general public understand the weight they carry?

Based on parallel surveys of American Jews and the U.S. general public on their perceptions and experiences of antisemitism in the U.S, AJC’s State of Antisemitism in America Report 2022 is the most comprehensive of its kind. 

Here are five key takeaways from the report.

1. More Jews Feel Less Secure in America
Over four in ten (41%) of American Jews feel their status is less secure than it was a year ago. That’s up 10 percentage points from 31% who reported feeling less secure in 2021. That sense of security has eroded, they say, primarily due in large part to the rise in antisemitic attacks, crimes, and violence; and how acceptable antisemitism and racism have become. 

To prevent antisemitism from becoming normalized, Americans must speak out against antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories, which affect all of us. 

“One best practice in fighting antisemitism is when leaders of other communities do the speaking. People are more likely to listen to those they know, those they trust, and those who are like them,” said Holly Huffnagle, AJC’s U.S. Director of Combating Antisemitism. “This is why we need white evangelical leaders to disavow white supremacy and antisemitic conspiracy theories like QAnon. We need Black leaders to condemn Louis Farrakhan’s antisemitism. We need Muslim leaders to condemn antisemitism or antisemitic tropes when they appear in their own communities and Latino leaders to speak out against antisemitism in their communities.”   

Nine in 10 American Jews (89%) think antisemitism is a problem in the U.S., and eight in 10 (82%) say it has increased in the past five years. 

The hostage situation inside a synagogue in Colleyville, Texas in January 2022 also has raised anxiety levels. For American Jews who had heard something or a lot about Jews being taken hostage in Colleyville, the majority said it made them feel a great deal (18%) or a fair amount (33%) less safe as a Jewish person in the United States, and over a third (36%) said it made them feel a little less safe.