Hispanic Emerging Leaders Research Project

Key Findings:

This project looks at attitudes among Latinos ages 18-40 in the US with regard to the American Jewish community, as well as attitudes vis-à-vis the State of Israel. It focuses on Latinos between the ages of 18 and 40 years of age who have been identified as emerging leaders in each market. Latinos are the fastest-growing ethnic minority in the U.S. The Hispanic population has grown 23% since 2010, totaling more than 62.1 million people in 2020. 85% of the AJC study participants were born in the U.S.

52% of interviewees perceive that Jews experience the least amount of discrimination compared to other minority groups. 42% believe that the Jewish community is well-equipped to handle challenges independently, while 39% believe they require support from the Latino community. While 87% of interviewees recognize racial, ethnic, or religious discrimination as a significant problem in the US, only 6% cited Jews as the most affected group. 54% of participants ranked Jews as facing the least discrimination out of different minority groups.

74% of respondents identified discrimination against Jews as “antisemitism," however, none of the participants directly referenced current discriminatory activities against Jews in the US. 66% acknowledged a personal responsibility to engage in and speak out against discrimination targeting Jews, 17% believed it should be left to others, and another 17% did not respond. 

68% of respondents think of Jews in a US domestic context rather than thinking about the State of Israel, most often through the prism of people they know personally. As such, perceptions of Israel are a separate secondary frame through which opinions about the Jewish community are developed, but one that is important and a potential impediment to addressing the primary frame of Latino perceptions of Jews. 

76% of respondents are at least minimally aware of the ongoing conflict with the Palestinians. The findings make clear that the conflict’s complexity makes Latino opinion very fluid. Personal sympathies record at 41% in favor of the Palestinian side. This number could exceed 50% with concerted anti-Israel communications or a foreign event. The potential for major shifts away from Israel (and as possible correlation, the Jewish community) is very significant. 

While the respondents were equally split between a favorable vs. unfavorable opinion of the government in Israel (22%-21%), 40% offered that they don’t have an opinion — nearly the combined numbers of favorable and unfavorable do not know enough to have an opinion.

This general awareness of the Jewish and Palestinian conflict, combined with personal sympathies for Palestinians and acknowledged lack of information on the Israeli government creates a potentially negative environment for Jewish perceptions that could create a generational challenge. This challenge is compounded when considering that many Latinos do not view Jews as oppressed domestically but increasingly see Israel as a source of oppression. 

These findings reveals a troubling disconnect between this growing segment of the American population and the Jewish community, especially given the rising levels of antisemitism and violent attacks against Jews in the country. The researchers emphasize the need for bridging the gaps between the Latino and Jewish communities and standing together against bigotry and violence in America.