1 in 5 Americans think Jews "have too much power," new ADL survey finds

[Behind the Aegis]

A majority of Americans believe it is at least partly true that Jews “stick together more than other Americans,” and seek to hire other Jews, a new survey from the Anti-Defamation League found. At the same time, 39% think Jews are more loyal to Israel than the United States, and 20% say that Jews “have too much power” in the United States.

And adults 30 and under reported almost the same share of antisemitic beliefs as older Americans, an indication that the prejudice may not fade with age as was previously believed.

The findings come at a time when concern over antisemitism is rising among American Jews, and several celebrities have sparked controversies related to antisemitism. The American Jewish Committee released its own data Thursday showing that 47% of American Jews felt less safe following the Colleyville synagogue hostage crisis last January.

According to the ADL, the share of Americans who reported a belief in the most negative stereotypes about Jews was relatively low, including 16% who believed it was at least “somewhat” true Jews were less honest than other businesspeople, 17% who believed they were “not warm and friendly” and 19% who said Jews “have a lot of irritating faults.”

more...

[JohnSJ]

1. About the same amount that believe President Obama isn't an American

[uponit7771]

3. +1,

[Behind the Aegis]

4. While true, the topic of the OP presents an even more troubling issue.

It is directed at a people, not just an individual.

[JohnSJ]

7. You are right

[Samrob]

15. Everything nasty said and done about Obama was and has been directed at "people" Blacks are people

too.

[Behind the Aegis]

19. So are Jews...the topic of the OP.

[dembotoz]

2. lots of americans are bigots...that is hardly newsworthy

actually looking at the gop base i am surprised it is only 1 in5

[Solly Mack]

5. K&R

[Aristus]

6. I'm guessing that's the same percentage of people who think

"Jesus intended Uhmurrica fer WHITE people!..."

Which is the kind of thing you'd expect to hear from a white person who had never read the Bible.

[Sympthsical]

10. You think antisemitism is only a problem in white communities?

Because that's not how America has been working for quite a while.

[Aristus]

16. I'm not talking about Bensonhurst.

Institutionalized anti-Semitism is primarily white because that’s where the power center is.

[Sky Jewels]

8. I think white right-wing Christian men have way too much power.

Way, way, waaaaay too much.

[Genki Hikari]

9. Typical bigoted morons

A majority of Americans believe it is at least partly true that Jews “stick together more than other Americans

That's rich, coming from all the whitey-tighties who live in gated communities.

And let's not forget how true MLK's assessment still is that the most segregated places in America are churches.

And what else but white people sticking together could explain monster truck pulls...or the GQP?

The white trash really have no room to talk.

[Sympthsical]

11. I'd be interested to see comparative polling

Using different groups.

America is full of racial division and bigotry and antisemitism is absolutely a problem. I've posted here many times about antisemitism that hasn't gotten any traction at all unless it's a very specific kind that serves a specific partisan narrative. Frustrating as hell that hatred against Jews only gets attention in a liberal space if it's useful to highlight in some way. I think you and I have discussed this before.

However, without a comparative control, it's hard to measure what these numbers mean.

If you came at me with a generic poll that said, "20% of Americans are bigoted in general," I'd figure yeah, that sounds about right. Actually, I might think that number a bit low. What would it look like if you took a general poll, "Does the LGBT community have too much power?" Because the Right absolutely thinks we do (see: Disney, education debates, etc). And there's other questions, "Tend to stick together." I'm not sure what that even means. A lot of communities are cohesive or seen as so. Some of my gay friends have no straight friends. My partner's rather large Filipino family only seems to socialize with other Filipinos.

So, it's hard to get a handle on "Does this mean something especially, or is this just how America is in general when it comes to seeing different groups of people?"

A since the replies have already started, one for the cheap seats:

Antisemitism isn't from whites only, and it is isn't only coming from the right-wing. We have some in-house problems that need dealing with as well.

Signed,

Made the Mistake of Discussing Israel in Progressive Spaces a Lot in the Past

[Behind the Aegis]

12. So would I.

I was a bit disappointed that the results were not broken down by racial/ethnic groups (including Jews), nor was it broken down by political affiliation. Too many think it is only "the other side" that are bigots. So not fucking true!

As for "sticking together", I agree with you that this needs more exploration, but, in reality, this is a common response from any majority group in regard to minority groups. However, this is a prominent myth among anti-Semites. The truth is many Jews (and other minorities) feel only our (their kind) will have their backs...mostly. One thing I have noticed is how many articles about anti-Semitism and issues resulting around it seem to only be published in right-wing media before it ever shows up on centrist or liberal sources.

We just witnessed, and still are, massive transphobia (and homophobia, often dismissed) and it isn't just coming from the right! This seems to be a pattern when the group in question isn't the "cause du jour". It sucks. It isn't fair or just to those being discriminated against, nor is it equitable to the group "in favor" as it makes their pain a "sideshow" of sorts.

Frankly, when it comes to anti-Semitism, most, and I am not exaggerating IMO, don't know SHIT about it nor do they really care, unless it is coming from the "other" side, and they can use it as a weapon against the other side, thus, eliminating the actual pain, fear, and concern we may have. It is also so goddamned common to have it "'splained" to us (Jews...gays too), how things aren't "really that bad" and how "selfish we are" because it means we aren't concerned about the bigotry against others.

[Meowmee]

13. There are some polls breaking it down by race/ethnicity etc. I found one at adl

I knew some of the general trends already from prior knowledge. Just google it.

[Sympthsical]

17. Building on Meow's comment

I found an ADL poll from 2016 that is more granular in the breakdowns.

It's a link to a PDF from them.

ADL 2016 Poll.

And my purpose in highlighting it isn't to defend or pick on any specific group. It bothers me when we see information about hatred and bigotry and simply dismiss it with, "It's the other side's problem. We're good over here," as the initial replies immediately kicked into.

With antisemitism, that is especially not the case.

[Behind the Aegis]

20. Again, I agree.

Racial breakdowns are important, but so is political breakdowns, which I have had a more difficult time finding from reputable sources. It is also notable that any mention of anti-Semitism or Jews and victimization causes some to immediately to pivot to other marginalized groups and spew all kinds of logical fallacies, especially "whataboutism" and strawman arguments. Frankly, I would like to a grander undertaking in which stereotypes and bigotries are all in one survey and compare and contrast the overall public and specific groups differences in their responses.

Dismissing or otherwise diminishing bigotry faced against one group, always leads to the same for other groups; it's like a line of dominoes.

ETA: I did find two studies, one is the actual study, the other is an article about another study. I don't know much about the first group, but here it is anyway: Antisemitic Attitudes Across the Ideological Spectrum & Conservatives are more likely than liberals to hold anti-Semitic views, survey finds.

[Meowmee]

23. That is one of the ones I found

But I have read others in the past, I can’t seem to find them now.

[whistler162]

14. Probably the same number that

believe polls have any meaning!

[Roisin Ni Fiachra]

18. 3 out of 5 Americans think hateful fascists who wannabe Nazis have too much power.

Second season of Hunters, one of my favorite shows ever, is now on Amazon prime!

[Lucinda]

21. That's 4 out of 5 who disagree then...

[Iggo]

22. At least 20 percent of Americans will agree with anything that anyone finds abhorrent.

I made that up.

But I bet I’m close.

[orleans]

24. here's what i found surprising

"And adults 30 and under reported almost the same share of antisemitic beliefs as older Americans, an indication that the prejudice may not fade with age as was previously believed."

again, more specifically

adults 30 and under reported almost the same share of antisemitic beliefs as older Americans


i was under the impression that young adults were becoming more open minded than older adults, more accepting of others, more welcoming of people with different backgrounds and throwing away a lot of the stereotyping and prejudice that older people had/have.

it's too bad they changed the question/answer in the survey so they can't directly compare it to prior years

The organization highlighted in its publicity materials that 20% of Americans now reported believing six or more antisemitic tropes, compared to 11% in 2019.

But Matt Williams, the director of the ADL’s research center, who oversaw the survey, said that the upward trend was likely less dramatic, because of changes in how questions were asked and who was polled.

if they had given the original choice for an answer (agree or disagree) and THEN broken it into "slightly," "somewhat," or "completely" agree/disagree they would have been able to do a comparison from prior years and still get the more specific degree they were looking for this time.

“We’re fairly confident what we’re seeing is a trend,” Williams said at a press conference Thursday. But “probably not as wide as the 11% to 20%.”

and while i hope that number jump from 11 to 20 percent isn't accurate, the fact that it shows antisemitic views are trending up rather than heading down is hardly a big shocker in the trumpian era. but for the 30 and under folks? i find that surprising and extremely disappointing & disheartening