February 19, 2025
This piece originally appeared in the Texas Jewish Post.
Last May, Jewish student leaders Jade Steinberg and Ofer Turjeman called a press conference to shed light on the impact of antisemitism faced by Jewish students on a daily basis at The University of Texas-Dallas.
“The culture at UTD has deteriorated to the point where Jewish students no longer feel welcome or safe on campus,” Turjeman explained. They spoke about the ongoing harassment Jewish students faced in person and on social media platforms: Steinberg said, “I have been told ‘If Hamas doesn’t kill you, we will.’” They have also been called Nazis, have been spit at and saw swastikas on campus.
That same month at the University of North Texas, anti-Israel protesters hounded students who were participating in a walk to raise awareness of the hostages in Gaza, chanting “From the river to the sea” and chalking on the sidewalk graffiti stating “No Zionists at UNT.” It included an asterisk that bizarrely asserted that the phrase did not constitute antisemitism.
A few months earlier, Dallas City Council Member Cara Mendelsohn’s home was spray-painted with red triangles and the words “baby killer.”
These are not isolated incidents. Many cities with Jewish populations across the country have had similar or worse incidents. Antisemitism should not be a fact of life for Jews in the Metroplex and across the U.S. But here we are.
Over the past six years, American Jewish Committee’s State of Antisemitism in America Report has provided an important glimpse into perceptions of and experiences with antisemitism, based on twin polls of the American Jewish community and the general population.
Perhaps the most sobering finding in AJC’s just-released State of Antisemitism in America 2024 Report is that, for the first time, a majority (56%) of American Jews indicated they had changed their behavior in the past year out of fear of antisemitism. Forty percent avoided wearing, carrying or displaying anything that might indicate they were Jewish; and 37% avoided posting content online that would identify them as a Jew or reveal their views on Jewish issues.
The AJC report also found nearly three-quarters (73%) of Jewish adults say Jews in the U.S. are less secure than a year ago. By comparison, 63% said the status of Jews was less secure in 2023, up from 41% who said the same in 2022 and 31% who said the same in 2021. The impact of the brutal Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas massacre in Israel on American Jews is clear. AJC’s report found that 77% of American Jews reported feeling less safe as Jews in the U.S. because of the attacks. For good reason.
Shortly after the attacks, days before Israel’s response was even launched, stickers were found on lower Greenville emblazoned with a slingshot-wielding Hamas terrorist that read “Nothing but hate for Israel and Zionism, from Gaza to the Americas decolonization means attack!”
AJC’s State of Antisemitism in America Report also quantifies what many have sensed in terms of challenges faced by Jewish college students. This year, AJC partnered with Hillel International to document Jewish students’ experiences during their time on campus. The report found that 35% of Jewish college students experienced antisemitism at least once during their time on campus and 48% said that they have felt uncomfortable or unsafe at a campus event because they are Jewish; avoided wearing, carrying or displaying things that could identify them as Jewish; or avoided expressing views on Israel on campus or with classmates because of fears of antisemitism.
The AJC report confirms what so many of us are feeling. When it comes to antisemitism, we are at an inflection point in the U.S.
The American public understands this as well. Among U.S. adults surveyed in the AJC report, 90% believe antisemitism affects society as a whole and that it is everyone’s responsibility to combat it. Fifty-nine percent believe domestic antisemitism has increased over the past five years — and 88% of this group say they are concerned by it. Roughly one-third (34%) of U.S. adults have spoken out against antisemitism.
More than three-quarters (77%) of U.S. adults surveyed believe it is unacceptable to protest against Israel by boycotting Jewish events or individuals; and only 10% indicated it was acceptable to conduct protests at a Jewish or Israeli restaurant or business, at a synagogue or at a Jewish day school.
That is encouraging news. It means Jews have allies. When it comes to fighting antisemitism, they are needed more than ever. At a time when extremism and polarization threatens to erode our society, we need all-hands-on-deck.
