Across American life, a question long held quietly in Jewish homes has surfaced in a new poll: whether the place they call home still feels like home. About six in ten Jewish adults now say they feel less safe as Jews than they did before the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, and the unease is sharpest among those for whom Judaism is a religious identity and a tie to Israel. Behind the numbers stand small, ordinary moments, a slur shouted from a passing car, a necklace left in a drawer, an armed guard at a daycare gate. The same nation is also arguing, sometimes bitterly, over where criticism o
Most Jewish Adults Say They Feel Less Safe in U.S. Than Before Oct. 7, AP-NORC Poll Finds
About 3 in 10 Jewish adults say they or someone in their household experienced assault, verbal abuse, online harassment or property damage over their Jewish background in the past year.
They saw me being visibly Jewish, and they made an opinion about me.
Mark
What's the headline number here?
Mimi
About 6 in 10 Jewish adults say they feel less safe as Jews in the U.S. than before Oct. 7, 2023. Among religiously Jewish adults, it's about 7 in 10.
Mark
And that's tied to actual incidents?
Mimi
About 3 in 10 say they or someone in their household had an assault, verbal abuse, online harassment or property damage over their Jewish background in the past year. For people attending services monthly or more, the rates are notably higher.
Luke
Careful with that 3 in 10. It's self-reported and covers household members, so it isn't a count of incidents or of individual victims.
Mark
Fair. What about people changing behavior?
Mimi
About 4 in 10 are less likely to display Jewish symbols. Caitlin Rosendorn stopped wearing a Star of David, fearing it would be read as backing Israel's military actions.
Luke
Worth noting that's a different worry from fear of attack. Also, Erin Baskin says nothing changed for her; the poll doesn't say everyone's experience shifted.
Mark
How divided are Jewish adults on protests?
Mimi
About half say anti-Israel protests aren't antisemitic, roughly 4 in 10 say they are. But the vast majority agree on things like Holocaust denial or vandalizing synagogues.
Luke
And the margin for Jewish adults is plus or minus 5 points, so those splits are fuzzier than they look. The poll shows attitudes, not causes; it can't say why safety feelings dropped.
Le Pouls
- Roughly six in ten Jewish adults say they feel less safe than before October 7, a shift that has unsettled daily routines.
- About three in ten report assault, verbal abuse, online harassment or property damage over their Jewish background in the past year.
- Some Jews are hiding or removing visible signs of identity, while synagogues and Jewish schools lean on armed guards.
- Jewish Americans are split on whether anti-Israel protest counts as antisemitism, a rift that complicates how communities seek protection.
- The poll offers no resolution yet, and its divisions suggest the debate over safety, speech and Israel will keep intensifying.
Across American life, a question long held quietly in Jewish homes has surfaced in a new poll: whether the place they call home still feels like home. About six in ten Jewish adults now say they feel less safe as Jews than they did before the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, and the unease is sharpest among those for whom Judaism is a religious identity and a tie to Israel. Behind the numbers stand small, ordinary moments, a slur shouted from a passing car, a necklace left in a drawer, an armed guard at a daycare gate. The same nation is also arguing, sometimes bitterly, over where criticism of Israel ends and prejudice begins, and that argument is part of what makes the fear hard to name and harder to settle.
Hal Guberman, a 30-year-old in New Jersey, now wears his kippah with some hesitation. Last year a stranger in a passing car shouted a slur at him on the street. He said the man knew nothing about his politics or beliefs, only that he looked visibly Jewish.
A new AP-NORC poll finds that about six in ten Jewish adults feel less safe as Jews in the United States than before the October 7 attack. Among those who are religiously Jewish, the figure rises to about seven in ten. The sense of threat is strongest among people with close ties to Israel, and the poll was taken against a backdrop of growing American criticism of Israel and a war in Gaza that has sparked protests across the country.
The experiences behind the numbers are concrete. About three in ten Jewish adults say they or someone in their household faced assault, verbal abuse, online harassment or property damage over their Jewish background in the past year. Among those who attend services monthly, the rate is higher.
Many have changed their habits. About four in ten say they are less likely to display anything marking them as Jewish. Caitlin Rosendorn, 24, of Illinois, stopped wearing a Star of David necklace, fearing it could be read as support for Israel's actions. Jon Kessler, 38, of California, notes that his synagogue and his son's daycare both have armed guards. Erin Baskin, 36, of Pennsylvania, says October 7 changed little for her, since she grew up facing antisemitism in a rural community. Amanda Goldsmith, 53, of Chicago, says people now voice hateful views about Jews online with a openness she once associated only with extremist corners.
The poll also reveals a deep split over what counts as antisemitism. About half of Jewish adults say anti-Israel protests are not antisemitic, while about four in ten disagree. Yet there is near-unanimity that vandalizing synagogues, Holocaust denial and claims that Jews are more loyal to Israel than to America are antisemitic.
Hal Guberman, a 30-year-old in New Jersey, now wears his kippah with some hesitation. Last year a stranger in a passing car shouted a slur at him as he walked down the street. "They saw me being visibly Jewish, and they made an opinion about me," he said, noting the person knew nothing of his politics, beliefs or viewpoints.
His unease is reflected in a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. About 6 in 10 Jewish adults say they feel less safe as Jewish people in the United States than they did before Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Among those who are religiously Jewish, the figure rises to about 7 in 10. About one-third say they feel about as safe as before, and very few say they feel safer.
The poll was conducted June 11-17 with 3,040 adults, including 1,022 Jewish adults, drawn from NORC's probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 2.8 percentage points for adults overall and plus or minus 5.0 points for Jewish adults. It arrives as more Americans have grown critical of the close U.S. alliance with Israel, bipartisan support for Israel has eroded, and the war in Gaza has prompted protests in the U.S. over Israel's military actions. The war also coincided with an increase in violent attacks on Jewish communities.
When asked about their present sense of safety, Jewish adults split almost evenly: about one-third feel very or somewhat safe, about one-third feel very or somewhat unsafe, and roughly 3 in 10 feel neither. Those with a close connection to Israel, and those who identify as Jewish by religion rather than through a cultural, ethnic or family tie, are more likely to feel threatened. About 6 in 10 call prejudice against Jews an extremely or very serious problem in the country, a view that is stronger among those emotionally attached to Israel.
The experiences behind those numbers are concrete. About 3 in 10 Jewish adults say that in the past year they or someone in their household faced at least one of the following because of their Jewish background: physical assault, verbal abuse, online harassment or damaged property. 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 abused, and about 2 in 10 report online harassment or cyberbullying. Among Jewish adults who attend services at least monthly, the numbers are higher: slightly less than half report verbal harassment, a similar share report online harassment, and about one-quarter report physical attacks or property damage. That comes after several targeted attacks on Jewish religious spaces in recent years.
Some respondents have changed their habits. About 4 in 10 Jewish adults say they are less likely than before Oct. 7 to wear, carry or display anything that identifies them as Jewish; about half say they are about as likely, and about 1 in 10 say more likely. Caitlin Rosendorn, 24, of Illinois, stopped wearing a Star of David necklace, worried it might be read as support for Israel's attacks on Palestinians. Jon Kessler, 38, of California, notes that every synagogue has an armed guard, as does his son's Jewish daycare. Erin Baskin, 36, of Pennsylvania, says Oct. 7 did not change her sense of safety, because she grew up with antisemitism, including in her rural community, where Judaism is routinely conflated with Zionism. Amanda Goldsmith, 53, of Chicago, says people now say horrible things about Jews online with a freedom she once associated only with extremist spaces.
The poll also shows a divide over 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 closely attached to Israel are more likely to say it is. Few say criticism for any reason is antisemitic. More than 73,000 Palestinians have died in Gaza since Israel's retaliation, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, which does not separate civilians from militants.
There is far 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 should not exist as a Jewish state, and claiming American Jews are more loyal to Israel than to the U.S. Among non-Jewish adults, there is less consensus, and many say they are not sure.
Citations marquantes
Most people when they go to church don't have armed security, but every synagogue has an armed security guard.— Jon Kessler, 38, California
I've always grown up with antisemitism.— Erin Baskin, 36, Pennsylvania
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