The number of Americans with anti-Semitic views has hit the highest level in decades, with the total of believers in anti-Jewish stereotypes and conspiracy theories doubling since 2019, a new survey showed Thursday.
The Anti-Defamation League poll paints a staggering image of widespread prejudice –including among younger Americans.
According to the survey, 85% of Americans believe at least one anti-Jewish trope; in 2019, that number was 61%. The poll also found 20% of Americans believe six or more tropes compared with 11% in 2019, according to the ADL.
Other findings were that 70% of Americans believe Jewish people stick together more than other groups — and that 50% think Jewish people go out of their way to hire Jewish candidates rather than non-Jewish prospects, the ADL reported.
About one in five surveyed said they feel Jews have too much power in American and are “more willing” than others to use “shady practices to get what they want,” the ADL said.
Additionally, one third of Americans said they feel Jewish people don’t share their values, the survey reported.
For all questions posed by the ADL, at least 3% — nearly 8 million — felt the statements were “mostly or somewhat true.” About 5.8% of adult Americans are Jewish, according to the ADL.
While the survey found young adults are less likely to believe anti-Jewish tropes than older people, the difference is substantially less than in previous surveys, the ADL said. Young adults were also found to hold significantly more anti-Israel beliefs than older adults, with 21% and 11% agreeing with five or more anti-Israel statements respectively.
The poll highlighted that 90% of Americans agree Israel “has a right to defend itself against those who want to destroy it;” 79% agree Israel is a “strong US ally in the Middle East.”
It also found 40% of Americans at least slightly agree Israel “treats Palestinians like Nazis treated the Jews,” while 17% said they feel uncomfortable around people “who openly support Israel.”
The survey is the latest in a study the ADL has been conducting in the US since the 1960s to understand anti-Semitism, and how it differs from other forms of prejudice.
A total of 4,007 adults took the survey online in September and October through AmeriSpeak, a randomly sampled panel of US households maintained by NORC — National Opinion Research Center — at the University of Chicago. There was no margin of error reported.
