24 | JANUARY 14 • 2021 

J

ust a little over half of 
Americans know the 
meaning of “antisem-
itism” - while 46% of the 
general public are not familiar 
with the term at all. 
 More than six in 10 
Americans believe antisemi-
tism in this country is a prob-
lem compared to 88 percent of 
Jewish Americans who agreed 
with this statement two years 
in a row. 
These are two main findings 
in The State of Antisemitism 
in America 2020 — a first-ev-
er survey released by the 
American Jewish Committee 
(AJC) that examines the per-
ceptions of non-Jews about 
antisemitism.
The study also included a 
parallel survey of American 
Jews asking similar questions 
as well as inquiries on wheth-
er they had been impacted 
directly by antisemitism in the 
past year. 
Although acts of hatred or 
bias against Jews may have 
slipped from the headlines 
since the onset of the pandem-
ic and the election, antisemi-
tism is not a Jewish problem, 
the AJC says: It is an American 
one and needs to be addressed.
To assure the most ironclad 
data and methodology, AJC 
hired the SSRS Opinion Panel 
— the same firm that conducts 
surveys for CNN and Pew 
Research. SSRS conducted the 
study this year via telephone 
Sept. 9-Oct. 4. National rep-
resentative samples included 
1,334 Jews and 1,010 general 

population adults ages 18 or 
older. The margin of error for 
the survey of American Jews 
is plus or minus 4.2%, and for 
the survey of U.S. adults, it is 
3.7%. 
Among the general popu-
lation: 
 • 53% say they are familiar 
with the term antisemitism 
and know what it means. 
Nearly half of Americans do 
not, with 21% saying they have 
never heard the word and 25% 
saying that, while they have 
heard of it, they are unsure 
what it means.
 • 63% of U.S. adults say that 
antisemitism is a problem in 
the U.S. today while 33 per-
cent say it is not a problem. 
43% said antisemitism has 
increased over the last five 
years. 
 • 48% report having wit-
nessed an antisemitic attack, 
be it online in social media or 
physical attacks against Jewish 
individuals or Jewish buildings 
or homes of Jews. 
Among the Jews surveyed: 
 • 88% — the exact per-
centage of last year’s survey 
— believe antisemitism in 
the U.S. today is very serious 
(37%) or somewhat of a prob-
lem (51%). 
 • 82% say antisemitism has 
increased during the last five 
years.
 • 31% have avoided going 
to Jewish places or events out 
of concern for their safety. 
 • 24% say they have avoid-
ed publicly wearing, carrying 
or displaying items that might 

AJC surveys Jews’ and non-Jews’ opinions on antisemitism.

STACY GITTLEMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

What Our 
Neighbors Think of Us

IN 
THED
JEWS

AJC
AJC

