Majority of Americans call 2025 attacks toward Jewish people 'morally wrong,' survey says
Corrections and clarifications: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the location of the May 21 shooting in Washington, D.C.
Nearly 1 in 4 Americans considered three recent violent incidents against Jewish Americans understandable, according to a new report on the alarming rise of antisemitic viewpoints in the United States.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) published a report July 11 revealing that while the majority of Americans (60%) largely reject antisemitism, 24% of survey respondents justified three violent attacks in 2025.
The survey assessed more than 1,000 Americans across the nation and various demographics including age, political parties and views on Israel. Respondents were asked about deadly attacks in Washington, D.C., and Boulder, Colorado, as well as an arson attack at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s residence April 13.
Last month, a 45-year-old man is accused of using a Molotov cocktail to attack members of the Jewish community during a march in Colorado, killing an 82-year-old woman and injuring 14 demonstrators. On May 21, a 31-year-old man is accused of shooting two Israeli Embassy staff members outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C.
About 22% of respondents said those attacks were not antisemitic, and 14% did not consider them hate crimes, according to the ADL. About 13% called the attacks “justified,” and 15% agreed the violence was “necessary.”
The survey also found that the majority of Americans consider the recent attacks on Jewish people “morally wrong.”
“As the Jewish community is still reeling from recent antisemitic attacks that killed three people, it’s unacceptable that one-quarter of Americans find this unspeakable violence understandable or justified − an alarming sign of how antisemitic narratives are accepted by the mainstream,” the ADL's CEO and national director, Jonathan Greenblatt, said in a news release.
34% say Jewish Americans are more loyal to Israel than they are to U.S.
Greenblatt said antisemitic hate has increased since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, when Hamas militants killed 1,200 people and took 251 others hostage in Gaza.
Since then, more than 57,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza, according to Reuters, and millions are suffering from acute malnutrition, starvation and illness.
“The torrent of antisemitic hate has continuously increased since Oct. 7, 2023, with Jews being harassed and targeted, blamed and attacked, wounded and killed. The bipartisan majority of the American public must act,” Greenblatt said.
The ADL also shared more findings on perspectives toward the Jewish community, including that 34% of survey respondents said they believe Jewish Americans are more loyal to Israel than to the United States.
Thirty percent of Americans believe Jewish people have too much influence in politics and media, the report says. Meanwhile, the report says, 1 in 4 Democrats and 23% of Republicans have expressed concerns about antisemitism within their own political ranks.
The survey revealed that 27% of respondents said they believe Jewish Americans bear responsibility for the actions of Israel.
ADL survey: Other key findings
The ADL survey revealed several other key findings, including that 29% of Americans are favorable toward anti-Israel protesters.
That favorability decreased with age, from 59% in favor for Gen Zers, 29% for millennials and 16% for baby boomers.
Other findings:
- 58% said protesters use the term “Zionist” to refer to Jewish people in general.
- 68% said violence toward Jewish people rose with slogans like “Globalize the Intifada” or “From the River to the Sea.”
- 34% said they aren’t sure what “anti-Zionism” means.
- 82% said they support removing online hate speech that celebrates violence.
- 77% want government authorities to do more to combat antisemitism.
Islamophobia also has spiked since Oct. 7 attacks
Reports of discrimination or violence toward Muslims and Palestinians have peaked to new highs after Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
In March, CAIR reported that Islamophobia in the United States continues to be at an all-time high, with many discriminatory incidents aimed at “those speaking out against genocide and apartheid.”
“Speaking out against Israel’s policies of apartheid, occupation and genocide came with a price,” CAIR Research and Advocacy Director Corey Saylor said in the report. “For the first time in our report’s nearly 30-year history, complaints reported to us were often the result of viewpoint discrimination rather than religious identity.”
In the two months after the Oct. 7 attack, reported incidents of Islamophobia rose by 300% in the United States, according to Vision of Humanity.
The platform also reported a 270% rise in antisemitic incidents in the United States from September 2023 to November 2023, and a 200% increase in 2024.