Alternate Title
How Much Antisemitism Is There in the United States? Incidences vs. Impacts
Keywords
antisemitism, Anti-Defamation League
Abstract
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) (www.adl.org), founded in 1913, is one of the nation's premier civil rights organizations and was formed to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all. Every year since 1979, the ADL has published an Audit of Antisemitic Incidents in the US (https://www.adl.org/resources/report/audit-antisemitic-incidents-2023). The Audit receives significant publicity and is important in communicating the problem of serious antisemitic incidents and the year-to-year increases in such incidents. But, based on surveys of American Jews, the Audit underestimates the extent to which American Jews are being impacted by antisemitism. Survey data suggest that tens of thousands of incidents occur each year that do not get reported to ADL and that these incidents directly impact almost one million American Jews annually. This research suggests that reporting the number of antisemitic incidents should be prominently accompanied by a report of the percentage and number of American Jews who report personally experienced antisemitism in the past year. Such a strategy would doubtlessly improve communication regarding the extent of the problem. This paper examines the level of antisemitism in the US by examining the development of Jewish organizations to combat antisemitism and data from the ADL, as well as data from surveys, particularly from local Jewish community studies, the Pew Research Center, and the American Jewish Committee. Since October 7, more detailed surveys of the impact of antisemitism have been completed, including one by the author of this paper (https://combatantisemitism.org/press-release/3-5-million-american-jews-have-experienced-antisemitism-since-october-7-new-survey-reveals/). Asking questions in a much more detailed manner than had been the case in earlier surveys showed that, by one year after October 7, 2023, 3.5 million American Jews had personally experienced antisemitism. (This should not be viewed as an increase from the one million referenced below, but as a result of more extensive questioning.)
Recommended Citation
Ira Sheskin, How Much Antisemitism Is There in the United States? Incidences vs. Impacts, 19 FIU L. Rev. 921 (2025), https://doi.org/10.25148/lawrev.19.3.15.
Included in
Human Geography Commons, Jewish Studies Commons, Race and Ethnicity Commons, Social Welfare Law Commons
