Anti-Defamation League Survey Reveals Dramatic Increase in Global Antisemitism

If you were to ask, “What are Jews so worried about?” the answer would simply be, “Look at the historical record.”

Jewish persecution has existed for over 2,000 years, but it flared most fatally during the Crusades. In 1096, many thousands of French and German peasants, fired up with religious fervor, began marching toward Jerusalem in order to free it from Muslim control. Lacking resources, they couldn’t afford the long march. So they settled for slaughtering nearby Jews instead, most notably in the German cities of Worms—where 800 were killed—and Mainz—where 1,100 were killed. These “people’s crusades” lit a fuse that many say later ignited the Holocaust.

Antisemitism in the United States is reaching “historic levels,” with 60% of all religion-based hate crimes in the U.S. targeting Jewish people.

Now, after a millennium of funerals and tears, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is saying, “Never again.” Amongst their many functions is tracking antisemitism in small militant groups and in society at large.

As part of their proactive effort, the ADL recently surveyed more than 58,000 people in 103 countries by asking them for their level of agreement with 11 statements of historical Jewish bias. These 11 statements (listed below) may seem innocuous at first glance, but they were designed by the ADL to open a window into the dark soul of hatred, bias and antisemitism. Before revealing the results, we’ll list the statements and give an example of what can happen when antisemitism takes root.

1. They say: Jews stick together more than other Americans.

   Then this happens: On October 27, 2018, an extremist attacked the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, during Shabbat morning services. Eleven people were killed and six wounded.
   

2. They say: Jews always like to be at the head of things.

   Then this happens: A California woman left over 240 antisemitic threats at the home of the former executive director of the Tree of Life synagogue, threatening to kill his family and all Jewish people. The threats made reference to victims of the October 2018 massacre. The woman was arrested and pleaded guilty to hate crimes.
   

3. They say: Jews are more loyal to Israel than America.

   Then this happens: In October 2024, a Jewish man in Chicago was shot while walking to synagogue in what police say was a targeted act of terrorism. Investigation determined that the victim was selected because of his faith.
   

4. They say: Jews have too much power in the U.S. today.

   Then this happens: On October 31, 2021, Franklin Sechriest set fire to the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue in Austin, Texas. He later pleaded guilty to a hate crime, admitting he targeted the synagogue because of his hatred of Jews.
   

5. They say: Jews have too much control and influence on Wall Street.
   Then this happens: In April 2022, a New Jersey man, Dion Marsh, stole two vehicles that he used in attempting to run down and murder three pedestrians. All victims were targeted for their outwardly religious dress and appearance, and each suffered severe injuries including several broken bones.
   
6. They say: Jews have too much power in the business world.
   Then this happens: In early February 2023, Jamie Tran posted an online message stating, “It’s time to kill all Jews.” He had been planning for years; now he acted. On February 15, 2023, he shot a Jewish man wearing a yarmulke as he was leaving religious services at a synagogue. The next morning, Tran returned and shot a second man, also wearing a yarmulke and leaving a synagogue after attending religious services. Tran was arrested and later pleaded guilty to two counts of hate crimes with intent to kill.
7. They say: Jews have a lot of irritating faults.
   Then this happens: In 2017, Sarah Halimi, a 65-year-old mother, retired French schoolteacher and doctor, was thrown to her death from the window of her apartment. Her assailant was heard shouting antisemitic slogans during a crime that the French government agreed had its origins in antisemitism.
8. They say: Jews are more willing than others to use shady practices to get what they want.
   Then this happens: 85-year-old Mireille Knoll was stabbed 11 times and then set afire during a robbery in March of 2018. Knoll, who had narrowly escaped a roundup of Parisian Jews to Nazi death camps during World War II, was suffering from Parkinson’s disease at the time of her death. One of her attackers is reported to have said, “She’s a Jew. She must have money.”
9. They say: Jewish businesspeople are so shrewd others don’t have a fair chance at competition.
   Then this happens: In November 2023, a young Jewish woman was stabbed twice in her stomach by an assailant to whom she had opened her door. She had a mezuza affixed to her home. A swastika was found scrawled next to it after the attack.
10. They say: Jews don’t care what happens to anyone but their own kind.
    Then this happens: Anne Frank and her family hid in an attic for two years in terrified silence before finally being captured by the Nazis in 1944. Only her father would survive the concentration camps.
11. They say: Jews are not as honest as other businesspeople.

    Then this happens: In 1991, Yankel Rosenbaum, a visiting student from Australia, was stabbed to death by a mob in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York. The crowd had been incited by the death of a 7-year-old boy who had been struck by a car driven by a Hasidic Jew just hours earlier. One of the men inciting the mob shouted, “Kill the Jews!” and, “An eye for an eye!”
    

Three quarters (76%) of respondents in the Middle East and North Africa believe most of these 11 “they say’s” to be true. Around half of the respondents in Asia (51%), Eastern Europe (49%) and Sub-Saharan Africa (45%) harbor high levels of antisemitic attitudes. The Americas (24%), Western Europe (17%) and Oceania (20%) have relatively lower levels of antisemitic attitudes, yet still around one in five adults harbor these sentiments. Overall, the ADL discovered that 46% of adults worldwide hold significant antisemitic views.

The survey also found that 20% of respondents worldwide have not heard about the Holocaust, and only 48% recognize the Holocaust’s historical accuracy.

While the survey shows, for the most part, that the Western world exhibits comparatively lower levels of antisemitism, Western levels are still high—and rising. These totals are roughly double what they were a decade ago. The FBI has likewise reported that hate crimes against Jews increased 63% from 1,124 in 2022 to 1,832 in 2023. Antisemitism in the United States is reaching “historic levels,” with 60% of all religion-based hate crimes in the U.S. targeting Jewish people.

If the hatred festers unchecked, then this happens: 6 million Jews were shot, gassed, frozen, buried or burned alive in Nazi concentration camps during World War II.

The ADL has a big job ahead of it. A world without bias and indiscriminate hate would indeed be a step forward toward heaven on Earth.