Anti-Semitism is on the decline in the US, according to a survey of ‘American attitudes toward Jews in America’ by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
The survey, published on Thursday on the occasion of the organization’s centennial, shows that 12 percent of Americans harbor deeply entrenched anti-Semitic attitudes, a 3 percent decline since the ADL’s previous poll on anti-Semitic attitudes conducted in 2011.
“It is heartening that attitudes toward Jews have improved over the last few years and, historically, have declined significantly in America,” said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director.
He added : “On the occasion of our centennial it causes us to take a broader perspective, to appreciate how far we have come in 100 years. In 1913 there were no surveys like this, but anti-Semitism was rife in public and private expressions, in universities, jobs and neighborhoods. In 1964, when we did our first survey, we found that 29 percent of Americans held anti-Semitic views. So we -- and America -- have made real progress, and yet disturbing indicators remain.”
The new survey also shows that :
14% of Americans agreed with the statement that “Jews have too much power in the U.S. today” (unchanged from 2011).
30% of Americans continue to say that American Jews are “more loyal to Israel” than to their own country, America (unchanged from 2011 and 1964).
19% of Americans believe Jews have too much power in the business world, nearly unchanged from the 20 percent who agreed with this statement in 2011.
17% say that Jews have too much control on Wall Street, a slight decline from 19 percent answering “true” to that statement in 2011.
15% agreed that Jews are “more willing to use shady practices,” unchanged from 2011.
A surprisingly large number of Americans – 26% - continue to believe that “Jews were responsible for the death of Christ” down from 31 percent in 2011.
18% say that Jews have too much influence over the American news media, and 24 percent agreed that the movie and television industries are pretty much run by Jews.
Nearly one-quarter of respondents agreed that “Jews still talk too much about what happened to them in the Holocaust.”
“The poll shows that while we have made great progress in promoting understanding in American society, the most enduring anti-Semitic canards continue to hold sway among some segments of the American public,” said Foxman. “Disturbingly large numbers of Americans continue to hold fast to the classic anti-Semitic canards. It is particularly frustrating that since 1964, 30 percent of Americans have consistently believed that Jews are more loyal to Israel than to their home country of America. This dual-loyalty charge has tenaciously persisted despite the sweeping demographic changes that have taken place over the past fifty years.
He continued, “after making gains in earlier years, the past several years have seen almost no movement of the needle on the percentages for belief in Jewish control of Hollywood, Wall Street and business. The high percentages of Americans believing in classic anti-Semitic stereotypes dramatically make the case of the need for further anti-bias education and for confronting the most pervasive anti-Semitic canards in society.”
As in previous surveys, the most educated Americans are largely free of prejudicial views. Less educated Americans are more likely to hold anti-Semitic views. Age is also a strong predictor of anti-Semitic propensities. Younger Americans – those under age 39 – are remarkably free of prejudicial views.
The survey also looked at anti-Semitic views among significantly large minority groups in the US:
Hispanics: Once again, Hispanic Americans born outside of the U.S. are significantly more likely than Hispanics born in the U.S. to hold anti-Semitic views. According to the survey, 36 percent of foreign-born Hispanics hold anti-Semitic views, as compared to 14 percent of U.S.-born Hispanics. Those findings represent a welcome decline from 2011, when 42 percent of foreign-born Hispanics, and 20 percent of U.S. born Hispanics held anti-Semitic views.
African-Americans: For many years, anti-Semitic views among the African-American have remained consistently higher than the general population. In 2013, 20 percent of African-Americans expressed strongly anti-Semitic views, an encouraging decrease of nine percentage points from the previous survey in 2011.
“We are heartened by the significant drop in the levels within both the Hispanic community and the African-American community,” said Foxman. “While the changes are significant, it is still troubling to see such a high number for foreign-born Hispanics. It shows that immigrants to the United States bring with them deeply ingrained anti-Semitic attitudes, and that we must remain vigilant in working to counter these attitudes among the foreign born.”
In the survey, Jews were found to be held in high regard on many key measurements. Even Americans who hold the most anti-Semitic views agreed with many positive statements about Jews, including:
Jews have a strong faith in God (75 percent);
Jews have contributed much to the cultural life of America (65 percent);
Jews place a strong emphasis on the importance of family life (78 percent).
Founded in 1913, the Anti-Defamation League is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.