Exclusive survey: "Allies" abandon Jews as antisemitism surges
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Two stones stamped with the Star of David outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., on May 22, 2025. Two members of the Israeli embassy's staff were killed outside the Capital Jewish Museum by a gunman. Photo: Annabelle Gordon/Bloomberg via Getty images
Antisemitism in the U.S. has hardened into a "durable" new normal as fewer Americans feel any obligation to push back, according to a sweeping new survey shared first with Axios.
Why it matters: The findings suggest the spike in antisemitism that began in 2023 is not a passing wave but a plateau.
- The survey also reveals a widening empathy gap amid rising hate incidents and a public increasingly convinced antisemitism is either exaggerated or not their problem two years after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
The big picture: Around 3 in 5 U.S. adults think antisemitism is a minor problem or not a problem at all, the 2025 Antisemitism Landscape Survey released Thursday by the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate found.
- The number of "allies" — people who are well informed of antisemitism and ready to stand up against it — has fallen from 15% in 2023 to 9% in 2025, the survey found.
- The number of Americans categorized as "haters" — people who are outspoken with prejudice against Jews and other groups — has grown from 6% in 2023 to 10% in 2025.
- Nearly half of Americans think Jews can "handle antisemitism on their own," up sharply in two years.
Between the lines: Nick Fuentes and young white nationalists are rising in power within the MAGA movement, often saying antisemitic things unapologetically, Axios' Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen report.
- It also comes as liberal and conservative-leaning organizations have been at odds over how to fight antisemitism on college campuses.
Zoom in: About 27% of those polled believe Jews "cause problems in the world," up from 19% in 2023, according to the survey.
- 18% believe Jews are a threat to American unity (up from 12% in 2023).
- 38% of Americans believe there is nothing they can do to counteract prejudice against Jewish people (up from 21% in 2023).
- Belief in classic tropes — like Jews being "penny pinchers," controlling media or being more loyal to Israel than the U.S. — remains elevated above 2023 levels.
What they're saying: "This isn't something we have to accept. It's stable, not permanent, and we have the ability to bend it back down," Blue Square Alliance Against Hate President Adam Katz tells Axios.
- Katz said that when once-fringe extremists gain major platforms, antisemitic narratives become "background noise" for millions of younger users, shaping beliefs long before they encounter credible information.
- "We have a strong conviction this can be reversed, but only if people get off the sidelines now."
- New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft founded the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate, formerly called the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism.
Yes, but: Researchers note tiny but meaningful dips in some antisemitic attitudes compared to winter 2024, including declines in the share of Americans calling Jews a "threat" or "problem."
- While still far above 2023 levels, Katz said those softening trends may signal that the plateau could eventually bend downward rather than calcify into a new permanent reality.
The bottom line: Hate crimes in the United States last year hit their second-largest total since the FBI started keeping data.
- The numbers show that anti-Jewish hate crimes are still near or around record levels, analyst Brian Levin told Axios.
Methodology: The semiannual U.S. Antisemitism Landscape Survey conducted by Blue Square Alliance Against Hate, SSRS, and Research Narrative is based on responses online from 7,028 US adults from Aug. 1 to Sept. 30, 2025.
The margin of sampling error is ±0.98 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
