AP-NORC Poll Finds Growing Safety Concerns Among Jewish Americans Amid Rise in Antisemitism

WASHINGTON: A majority of Jewish adults in the United States say they feel less safe than they did before the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, with nearly one in three reporting they have experienced antisemitic harassment or violence over the past year, according to a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

The survey found that around 60% of Jewish adults feel less safe than they did before the conflict, while approximately three in ten said they had experienced incidents such as verbal abuse, online harassment, physical assault, or property damage because they are Jewish. Many respondents also reported altering their daily behavior, with about four in ten saying they are now less likely to wear visible symbols of their Jewish identity in public.

The poll also highlighted divisions within the Jewish community over the relationship between criticism of Israel and antisemitism. Roughly half of respondents said that anti-Israel protests do not necessarily constitute antisemitism, while about four in ten disagreed. However, there was broad agreement that acts such as vandalizing synagogues, denying the Holocaust, or holding all Jewish people responsible for the actions of the Israeli government are antisemitic.

Researchers also found a gap between Jewish Americans and the broader U.S. public regarding the understanding of antisemitism, with many non-Jewish respondents expressing uncertainty about what constitutes antisemitic behavior. The findings come amid heightened tensions linked to the ongoing conflict in Gaza and a reported increase in antisemitic incidents across the United States.

The AP-NORC poll surveyed more than 3,000 U.S. adults, including 1,022 Jewish adults, between June 11 and June 17, 2026, providing one of the most comprehensive recent assessments of Jewish Americans’ views on safety, identity, Israel, and antisemitism.