Articles by Avi Mayer

The Forward published a piece challenging the American Jewish Committee’s newly-released 2021 State of Antisemitism in America report — the largest and most comprehensive surveys of American Jews and the general public ever conducted on the subject, carried out by one of America’s leading opinion research firms — and accusing AJC of intentionally misrepresenting its findings to promote a sinister agenda. But the piece is itself rife with misrepresentations, cherrypicked quotes, and other curiosities, all seemingly intended to undermine an invaluable piece of research and support a deeply flawed thesis.

The time has come for Americans of all backgrounds and persuasions to realize that antisemitism is multifaceted and multiform, and that no group or community is immune to it. Our leaders must denounce antisemitism even – especially – when it manifests in their own political camps. Only after antisemitism is tackled resolutely, no matter its form and source, can we have any hope of eradicating it.

The 2021 State of Antisemitism in America report is based on two parallel surveys, of American Jews and of the U.S. general public. Majorities of both American Jews and the U.S. general public agree that antisemitism is a problem in America, though to differing extents. While 90% of American Jews believe antisemitism is either a very serious problem (40%) or somewhat of a problem (50%), that number drops to 60% among the general public, with 21% saying it is a very serious problem and 39% saying it is somewhat of a problem.

Last week, the FBI released its 2020 hate crime data, revealing that hate crimes targeting Jews accounted for 54.9 percent of all reported crimes motivated by hatred of the victims' religion. Struck by that statistic, I tweeted it out, noting that American Jews make up less than two percent of the U.S. population—evidence of the massive overrepresentation of Jews among the victims of religious bias crimes in America. The tweet blew up. In the days since I sent that tweet, it has been retweeted and shared thousands of times, including by several individuals with hundreds of thousands or even millions of followers

Hamas is not shy about its intentions, openly calling for the elimination of Israel and the murder of Jews. It does so, seemingly, at every opportunity, and these messages of hate are broadcast widely—and made tangible in the form of attacks targeting Israeli civilians.

This year, for the first time, we carried out two surveys in parallel. Combined, the two surveys form the first-ever AJC State of Antisemitism in America Report. This report lays bare the very different ways American Jews and the general public understand antisemitism, enabling us to identify key challenges and more effectively target our education and advocacy efforts as we seek to eradicate this most ancient form of hatred.

My organization, the American Jewish Committee, has launched a campaign to bar Iran from participating in the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, set to take place next year in Tokyo. Thousands of people from 39 countries — including Iran — have already lent their voices to this effort.

Israel can only pursue true peace with a Palestinian partner willing and able to make the painful compromises that will be necessary to bring about a lasting solution. Such a partner has proven elusive, as successive Palestinian leaders have dragged their feet, secure in the knowledge that the Arab world wouldn't dare make peace with Israel without them. Tuesday's White House ceremony should serve as a wake-up call to Palestinians who have long been led to believe that Arab leaders will sacrifice their own national interests on the altar of Palestinian rejectionism. That is clearly no longer the case.

Comprehensive analysis of the AJC 2019 Survey of American Jews on Antisemitism in America, written by Avi Mayer, AJC Managing Director of Global Communications.

This survey represents the largest and most comprehensive examination ever of American Jews’ experiences and perceptions of antisemitism. Its alarming findings should serve as a wakeup call—and a call to action. Please read the analysis by Avi Mayer, AJC Managing Director of Global Communications on USA Today.