Sixty-three percent of American Jews have either experienced or heard antisemitic comments, slurs or threats targeting others in the past five years, according to a new report by the American Defence League.
It says nine percent of American Jews indicated that they had been physically attacked in this period because they are Jewish, and 49% are afraid of being attacked in a synagogue.
Forty percent of American Jews heard antisemitic comments, slurs or threats directed at someone else over the last 12 months; an increase of 54% from the previous year.
Thirty-six percent of respondents said they had experienced some form of online harassment. Meanwhile, 31% say they have been called offensive names online and 13% say they have been physically threatened.
As was also the case in 2020, one in three Jewish Americans (33%) who have been harassed report having trouble sleeping. Sixteen percent said they had been financially affected by the harassment.
Fewer respondents report contacting online platforms with their concerns – 29% in 2021, down significantly from 43% in 2020. This may reflect some resignation arising from tech companies’ perceived lack of responsiveness to complaints about online bigotry and hate.
American Jews are, by some margin, the most likely to experience hate by virtue of religion than any other religious grouping.
[Image: https://religionunplugged.com/news/2021/1/26/wxmnjs9qgz8se8su21pju8fg52z41u]