1 in 4 Americans believe recent attacks on Jews were ‘understandable,’ ADL survey finds

The same percentage said they believed the attacks were staged to gain sympathy for Israel.

By Grace Gilson, JTA

While the majority of Americans oppose antisemitism, a quarter believe that the recent string of attacks on Jews in the United States were “understandable,” according to a new report released by the Anti-Defamation League on Friday.

The report comes in the wake of three recent attacks on Jewish targets by people claiming to act on behalf of the Palestinians: the arson attack on Jewish Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s house in April, the deadly shooting of two Israeli embassy workers in Washington D.C. in May and the firebombing attack on a group demonstrating for the release of the Israeli hostages in Boulder, Colorado, last month.

“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, Jonathan Greenblatt, said in a statement.

The ADL’s Center for Antisemitism Research — a relatively new enterprise — conducted the survey to assess the national mood toward antisemitism following the spate of attacks.

Overall, it found that 60% of Americans at least somewhat agree that antisemitism is a serious problem, and three-quarters of Americans want more government action to combat antisemitism.

(Democrats were more likely than Republicans to agree that antisemitism is a serious problem, by 9 percentage points, according to the survey.)

The vast majority of respondents condemned the attacks, with 85% or more saying the attacks were not justified, that the attacks were morally wrong, and that they would not want to work with someone who celebrated the attacks.

A slightly lower proportion — 78% — said they believed the attacks were antisemitic.

But the survey of 1,000 American adults, taken on June 10, also found that some excused or endorsed the violence against Jews.

About 24% of respondents said they believed the attacks were “understandable,” and the same percentage said they believed the attacks were staged to gain sympathy for Israel.

About half of the respondents who agreed that the attacks were understandable also believed that they were false flag operations, according to the ADL.

During the recent attacks in Boulder and Washington D.C., both suspects reportedly yelled “free Palestine,” and police said the arsonist accused of firebombing Shapiro’s home said he was motivated by “perceived injustices to the people of Palestine,”

About 15% of respondents said that the violence was “necessary” and 13% said it was “justified.” (The question’s structure means that a survey-taker could choose how much they agreed or disagreed with each statement.)

A much larger proportion — 38% — said they believed attacks against U.S. Jews would stop if Israel declared a ceasefire in its war against Hamas in Gaza.

The survey also asked respondents for their views on contested slogans that are commonly used by pro-Palestinian protesters.

More than two-thirds of Americans believe the phrases “globalize the intifada” and “from the river to the sea” increase the risk of violence against Jews, the survey found.

Among those surveyed who view pro-Palestinian protests favorably, 54% still believed the phrases increased the risk of violence.

The survey also asked takers for their opinions on a series of antisemitic tropes, a recurring subject for the ADL’s research.

It found that around a third of respondents believed that Jews have too much influence in politics and media and that Jews in America should answer for the actions of Israel.