In the years since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, a growing number of American Jews have come to feel that their place in their own country has grown less certain, and a new AP-NORC poll taken in June 2026 measures that unease in plain numbers. Most Jewish adults say they feel less safe as Jews than before the attack, and roughly three in ten say they or someone in their household has faced assault, threats, harassment, or property damage in the past year. The findings arrive amid a war whose human toll weighs on every side of the argument, and they show a community that is not only
Many US Jewish Adults Report Assault or Harassment Over Past Year, AP-NORC Poll Finds
About 1 in 10 Jewish adults say they or a household member were physically assaulted in the past year, and about 3 in 10 report at least one incident over their Jewish background.
"They saw me being visibly Jewish, and they made an opinion about me."
Mark
Why does this poll land differently from earlier ones?
Mimi
It measures change. About 6 in 10 Jewish adults say they feel less safe than before Oct. 7, 2023, and about 7 in 10 of the religiously Jewish.
Luke
Worth noting that "less safe" is a self-report. It tells us how people feel, not a measured rise in incidents.
Mark
But the poll does ask about incidents too, right?
Mimi
Yes. About 3 in 10 say they or someone in their household experienced assault, harassment, online abuse or property damage in the past year. About 1 in 10 report a physical assault.
Luke
And that is household-level, not individual. One incident could be counted for a whole family. Plus the margin of error for Jewish adults is 5 points.
Mark
Who reports the most?
Mimi
People who attend services monthly or more. Slightly under half report verbal harassment, and about a quarter physical attacks or property damage.
Mark
What about the divide over protest?
Mimi
About half say anti-Israel protests aren't antisemitic, about 4 in 10 say they are. Rosendorn stopped wearing her Star of David because it might be read as a political statement.
Luke
The poll doesn't tell us how many of those incidents were tied to Israel-related disputes. It only says they happened because of Jewish background, as respondents understood it.
O Pulso
- Six in ten Jewish adults now say they feel less safe as Jews in America than they did before October 7, and among the religiously observant that figure climbs to about seven in ten.
- Roughly three in ten households report an incident tied to Jewish identity in the past year, with about one in ten describing a physical assault.
- Many Jews are quietly reshaping their public lives, with around four in ten less willing to wear or display anything that marks them as Jewish.
- Armed guards now stand at synagogues and Jewish daycares, a sign of precautions that have become routine rather than exceptional.
- The community is split on whether anti-Israel protest or criticism of Israel's military is antisemitism, leaving the debate over definitions unresolved and the tension unlikely to ease soon.
In the years since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, a growing number of American Jews have come to feel that their place in their own country has grown less certain, and a new AP-NORC poll taken in June 2026 measures that unease in plain numbers. Most Jewish adults say they feel less safe as Jews than before the attack, and roughly three in ten say they or someone in their household has faced assault, threats, harassment, or property damage in the past year. The findings arrive amid a war whose human toll weighs on every side of the argument, and they show a community that is not only frightened but also divided over where legitimate criticism of Israel ends and prejudice begins.
Hal Guberman, a 30-year-old in New Jersey, still wears his kippah, but now he does it with some trepidation. Last year a stranger in a passing car shouted a slur at him on the street. "They saw me being visibly Jewish," he said, "and they made an opinion about me." His experience is one thread in a new AP-NORC poll, conducted June 11-17, that asked Jewish adults across the United States how safe they feel.
The numbers are stark. About six in ten Jewish adults feel less safe as Jews than they did before Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, and among those who are religiously Jewish the share rises to about seven in ten. Opinion on present safety splits roughly three ways, with about a third feeling safe, a third unsafe, and the rest uncertain. About three in ten say they or a household member faced at least one incident in the past year because of their Jewish background, including about one in ten who were physically assaulted. Those who attend services monthly report even more harassment, and the poll arrives after several attacks on Jewish religious sites.
Many are changing how they present themselves. Caitlin Rosendorn, 24, of Illinois, stopped wearing her Star of David necklace, fearing it could be read as support for Israel's attacks on Palestinians. Jon Kessler, 38, of California, noted that his synagogue and his son's Jewish daycare both have armed guards. Amanda Goldsmith, 53, of Chicago, once believed open antisemitism lived only in extremist corners, but now sees it spreading online.
The community is divided on where criticism of Israel becomes antisemitism. About half of Jewish adults say anti-Israel protests are not antisemitic, while about four in ten say they are. Most reject calling criticism of Israel's military actions antisemitic, though those closely tied to Israel are more inclined to see it that way. There is far more consensus on vandalism of synagogues, Holocaust denial, and claims that Jews are disloyal to America. The war's toll hangs over all of it, with more than 73,000 Palestinians reported killed in Gaza by a Hamas-run health ministry that does not distinguish civilians from combatants. The poll's margin of error for Jewish adults is plus or minus 5 points, so the figures are approximate, but the divisions they describe are real.
Hal Guberman, a 30-year-old in New Jersey, still wears his kippah, but he does it with some trepidation. Last year a stranger in a passing car yelled a slur at him as he walked down the street. "They saw me being visibly Jewish," he said, "and they made an opinion about me." His experience sits inside a larger set of numbers from a new AP-NORC poll on how Jewish adults in the United States feel about their safety.
The survey, conducted June 11-17 by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, included 3,040 adults overall and 1,022 Jewish adults. It found that about 6 in 10 Jewish adults feel less safe as Jews in the U.S. than they did before Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Among those who are religiously Jewish, the share is about 7 in 10. About one-third say they feel about as safe as before, and very few say they feel safer.
On present-day safety, opinion splits three ways. About one-third feel very or somewhat safe, about one-third feel very or somewhat unsafe, and roughly 3 in 10 feel neither. People with a close connection to Israel, and those who identify as Jewish by religion rather than through culture, ethnicity or family ties, are more likely to feel threatened. About 6 in 10 call prejudice against Jewish people an extremely or very serious problem in the country, a view that is stronger among those emotionally attached to Israel.
About 3 in 10 Jewish adults say that in the past year they or someone in their household experienced at least one incident because of their Jewish background. About 1 in 10 report a physical assault, and a similar share report property damaged or destroyed. About 2 in 10 report being called a slur, threatened or verbally harassed, and about 2 in 10 report online harassment or cyberbullying. Those who attend services at least monthly report far more: slightly less than half have faced verbal harassment, a similar share online harassment, and about a quarter physical attacks or property damage. That comes after several targeted attacks on Jewish religious spaces in recent years.
The poll also shows people changing how visible they are. About 4 in 10 say they are less likely than before Oct. 7 to wear, carry or display anything that identifies them as Jewish; about half are about as likely, and about 1 in 10 are more likely. Caitlin Rosendorn, 24, of Illinois, used to wear a Star of David necklace. She worries it could signal support for Israel's attacks on Palestinians. "I don't want people to get the wrong idea about my views," she said. Erin Baskin, 36, of Pennsylvania, said Oct. 7 changed nothing for her, because she grew up with antisemitism in a rural community that, in her words, conflates Judaism with Zionism. Jon Kessler, 38, of California, noted that every synagogue has an armed guard, as does his son's Jewish daycare.
The community is split on what counts as antisemitism. About half of Jewish adults say anti-Israel protests are not antisemitic, while roughly 4 in 10 say they are. About two-thirds say criticizing Israel's military actions is not antisemitic, though those with a close emotional tie to Israel are more likely to say it is. Few say criticism of Israel for any reason is antisemitic. The war's toll is the backdrop: more than 73,000 Palestinians have died in Gaza since Israel retaliated, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, which does not separate civilians from militants.
There is much more agreement on other conduct. The overwhelming majority of Jewish adults call antisemitic the vandalizing of synagogues or Jewish-owned businesses over Israel's actions, Holocaust denial, blaming American Jews for Israel's actions, saying Israel shouldn't exist as a Jewish state, and claiming American Jews are more loyal to Israel than to the U.S. Non-Jewish adults are less settled on these, and many say they are not sure.
Amanda Goldsmith, 53, of Chicago, said she once thought open antisemitism lived only in extremist spaces. Now, she said, online it feels like a free-for-all. The margin of error for Jewish adults is plus or minus 5 points, a reminder that the figures are approximate even as the underlying divides over Israel, protest and prejudice remain unresolved.
Citações Notáveis
Every synagogue has an armed security guard. My son's Jewish daycare has an armed security guard.— Jon Kessler, 38, California
I don't want people to get the wrong idea about my views.— Caitlin Rosendorn, 24, Illinois
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Leia o original em The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ↗
War & Conflict