Poll: Majority of Americans say antisemitism is on the rise

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(The Center Square) – A majority of American voters think antisemitism is on the rise compared to a few years ago, according to a new poll.

The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll found 56% of American voters say antisemitism is on the rise, compared to only 6% who believe it has decreased, while 23% think it has stayed the same.

Of those who believe antisemitism is on the rise, 29% say it has increased a lot, while 27% think it has increased “somewhat.”

The polling results are supported by recent data from the Anti-Defamation League, citing FBI stats showing antisemitic crimes remained high as 2025 marked the “third highest year on record” for hate crimes targeting Jewish people.

The FBI reported that 1,528 anti-Jewish hate crimes were reported in 2025, down from 1,938 in 2024. Though nearly two-thirds of the 2,408 religiously based hate crimes in 2025 were attributed to antisemitism.

The Anti-Defamation League says the “recent data marks the third-highest year on record of anti-Jewish hate crimes, which markedly increased since October 2, 2023,” when Hamas terrorists attacked Israel.

Eric Fingerhut, CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America and a former member of Congress, told The Center Square that the poll results are “consistent” with what his organization is seeing and hearing, underscoring that it is felt “every day.”

Fingerhut attributes the rise to a couple of factors, saying it “accelerated” after Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists massacred approximately 1,200 Israeli and Jewish civilians, while kidnapping 251 hostages.

“There is a very sophisticated global effort to demonize the State of Israel and anyone who supports the State of Israel, which, as we can come to in a moment, includes 90% of the American Jewish community, and as you know, this has included some of the most vicious accusations: genocide, deliberately killing babies, starving people. All of these complete false accusations, but having been repeated and repeated,” Fingerhut said.

He added that the media, especially social media, are aiding the false narratives.

“You have the spreading of it through social media, and then now we also have this extreme push from both extremes of the political spectrum, which have embraced this,” he said.

Fingerhut, a former Democratic congressman, noted a concerning trend within the Democratic party, “seemingly unable to fend off against this surge from the [Democratic Socialists of America] on the left. So you put all these things together, and it’s no surprise that we’re seeing these numbers.”

He also noted a campaign within academia, notably the anti-Israeli protests and encampments that took siege at college campuses nationwide in the spring of 2024, indicating they were coordinated campaigns.

Along those lines, the ADL released a report finding a troubling trend among academia and antisemitism, with a majority of Jewish teachers’ union members finding antisemitism to be widespread in teachers’ unions. They also found that many faculty members fear backlash, which forces them to self-censor.

The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll was conducted by Noble Predictive Insights from Aug. 12-16. It surveyed registered voters nationally via opt-in online panel and text-to-web cell phone messages. The sample included 2,533 respondents, comprised of 930 Republicans, 930 Democrats, and 673 Independents. Among independent voters, 330 respondents were classified as true independents, which are individuals who do not lean toward either major party when given the choice.

The margin of error is +/- 2.0%.