31% of Jewish Americans Avoid Publicly Displaying Their Faith, Survey Finds

As the nation prepares to remember the 11 victims killed in the mass shooting at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue last Oct. 27, a survey released days before the anniversary of the incident revealed that many Jewish Americans do not feel comfortable wearing anything that would signify that they are Jewish.

The American Jewish Committee (AJC), a national Jewish advocacy organization recently conducted its 2019 Survey of American Jews on Antisemitism in America. The results showed a growing fear by the Jewish communities in the United States.

Based on telephone interviews of 1,283 Jewish individuals over the age of 18 surveyed between Sept. 11 and Oct. 6, nearly a third of individuals polled (31%) admitted to having “avoided publicly wearing, carrying or displaying things that might help people identify them as Jews.”

The survey concluded that 88% of those polled felt that anti-Semitism is a problem, with 38% of those believing it is a serious problem.

Almost 50% of those polled said they are affiliated with a Jewish institution that has been a target of anti-Semitism. Those include anti-Semitic graffiti, attacks and threats.

Nearly 60% of survey participants said Jewish institutions that they are affiliated with have hired security guards.

Since the election of President Donald Trump in 2016, divisions among different groups of people have splintered further.

More than three-quarters of those surveyed said that Trump is doing an unfavorable job in office, and 62% of survey participants said they strongly disapprove of how Trump is handling the threat of anti-Semitism in the U.S.

Related Article: Principal Who Didn’t Want to Call Holocaust a Fact Is Fired

Related

Trending Now

Follow us

Most Popular

Join Our Newsletter

Get the top workplace fairness news delivered straight to your inbox