A recent YouGov poll shows most Americans consider anti-Jewish hate crimes to be a serious problem, on par with crimes against other minorities in the country. But they are seriously divided on if and when views and actions against Israel or Israelis count as antisemitism.
A recent YouGov poll conducted in December 2-5, 2023 made waves in revealing that fully 20% of young Americans at least tend to believe that the Holocaust is a myth. While troubling in itself, the poll also revealed important information about American views on antisemitism and its relationship with Israel.
First, the good news: both Republicans and Democrats agree in roughly equal numbers - 68% - that antisemitism is a serious problem on par with persecution of other minorities, even as they are divided on how much other groups are persecuted (Democrats say Black, Muslim, and Arab groups, Republicans say White and Christian groups). Most Americans - 67% - consider Holocaust denial to be antisemitic.
The story is less clear when it comes to Israel.
Only about one-third of Americans consider boycotts of Israeli goods and universities to be antisemitic, without 52% of Republicans saying it is and just 24% of Democrats. Only about one-third of Americans think believing American Jews are more loyal to Israel than the US is an antisemitic sentiment.
Young Americans aged 18-29 have disproportionately negative views of Israel and Jews. 40% believe that Israel is trying to wipe out the Palestinian population, 28% believe Jews have too much power in America, and 32% believe Israel has too much control over global affairs. People aged 65 and older are far about half as likely or more than young people to hold these views.
YouGov noted that unlike the perception of growing antisemitism, views on Israel that could be interpreted as antisemitic have not changed since 2019 among the polled age groups.
