Most Americans and nearly all American Jews say antisemitism has risen since Oct. 7, survey finds
The survey also found that 74% of Jews say they have been personally offended by something they saw or read about the Israel-Hamas war

Demonstrators in support of Israel gather to denounce antisemitism and call for the release of Israeli hostages, on the National Mall in Washington, DC, Nov. 14, 2023. (Stefani Reynolds / AFP via Getty Images)
(JTA) — Most Americans, and nearly 90% of American Jews, say they have seen a rise in antisemitism since Oct. 7, according to a new study.
But the survey also found that one in 10 respondents says Americans should be allowed to call for violence against Jews or Muslims. By contrast, 73% say such calls should be prohibited.
The survey, published Tuesday by the Pew Research Center, comes following widespread reports of rising antisemitism in the United States since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7. It found that increasing shares of Americans, and American Jews, believe there is a high level of antisemitism and Islamophobia in the United States.
But along with the minority of respondents who say calls for antisemitic or anti-Muslim violence should be allowed, the survey showed that most Americans say advocacy for the end of a Jewish state or the prevention of a Palestinian one should also be permitted. Adults under 50 were slightly more likely than older Americans to say that calls for violence against either religious group should be allowed.
“Many Americans particularly sense that discrimination against Muslims and Jews has risen since the start of the Israel-Hamas war,” reads an introduction to the survey on Pew’s website. “The vast majority of U.S. Muslims and Jews themselves agree.”
The text adds, “It finds that Americans are broadly comfortable with speech both for and against Israeli and Palestinian statehood. But most U.S. adults are not OK with calls for violence against Jews or Muslims.”
The survey, taken in February, polled more than 12,600 people and had an overall margin of error of 1.5%. The margins of error for the Jewish and Muslim segments were 3.3% and 8.4%, respectively.
It comes following a Pew survey showing most Jewish Americans support Israel’s war against Hamas, as well as how it is being fought. Americans overall are mostly supportive of Israel’s reasons for going to war and are split on Israel’s military conduct.
The survey showed that 67% of Muslims and 72% of Jews perceive “a lot” of discrimination against their own respective groups. But only 17% of Muslims reported seeing a lot of discrimination against Jews, the lowest number of any religious group polled. Among Americans overall, 40% say there is a lot of discrimination against Jews, double the figure from a 2021 poll.
Meanwhile, 57% of Jews polled say there is “a lot” of discrimination against Muslims, the highest number of any non-Muslim religious group polled. Still, that figure represents a decline from the 2013 survey of American Jews, in which 72% of Jews said Muslims face a lot of discrimination. In Tuesday’s survey, 44% of Americans overall said Muslims face a lot of discrimination.
Among respondents younger than 30, most said Muslims face a lot of discrimination, while only 31% said Jews face a lot of discrimination.
Overall, majorities of Americans — as well as majorities of Jews — are comfortable with speech both for and against Palestinian statehood, and for and against Israel existing as a Jewish state. Slightly more than a third of Jews said calling for the end of a Jewish state should be prohibited.
Tuesday’s survey also found that 74% of American Jews and 60% of Muslims say they have been personally offended by something they saw or read on the news or on social media about the Israel-Hamas war. Roughly a quarter of each group says they have also stopped talking to someone in person or unfollowed or blocked someone online due to something that person said about the war.
CORRECTION: This article has been corrected to remove the reference to the 2020 survey of American Jews.
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion My Jewish moms group ousted me because I work for J Street. Is this what communal life has come to?
- 2
News Student protesters being deported are not ‘martyrs and heroes,’ says former antisemitism envoy
- 3
Fast Forward Suspected arsonist intended to beat Gov. Josh Shapiro with a sledgehammer, investigators say
- 4
Politics Meet America’s potential first Jewish second family: Josh Shapiro, Lori, and their 4 kids
In Case You Missed It
-
Culture Actor Ben Platt says his Jewish identity is ‘not defined’ by Israel, showing a gap between him and his influential family
-
Fast Forward Shapiro house fire suspect targeted Jewish governor over pro-Israel stances, search warrant says
-
Fast Forward Jewish family killed in New York plane crash
-
Fast Forward Israelis can no longer enter the Maldives after Palestinian-solidarity ban goes into effect
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.