Perceptions of Antisemitism Among Los Angeles County's Jewish Voters

Key Findings:

Jewish voters in Los Angeles County are deeply worried about the rising tides of antisemitism. Seventy-five percent of survey respondents considered antisemitism an “extremely serious” or “very serious” problem while only 5% deemed antisemitism not to be a serious problem. 
The PBI survey found that the overwhelming majority of respondents (95%) considered “remembering the Holocaust” to be an essential or important part of what being Jewish means to them, compared to “caring about Israel,” “celebrating Jewish holidays,” and “working for justice and equality in society.”

 
The 93% of respondents who considered antisemitism an “extremely serious,” “very serious,” or “somewhat serious” problem were asked to provide a specific example of antisemitism that they found concerning. The question allowed for respondents to report various forms. Examples of perceived antisemitism were then categorized into five general categories with potential for overlap: right-wing/conservative antisemitism, left-wing/liberal antisemitism, antisemitic hate speech, antisemitic violence, and other. Violence and hate speech were the forms of antisemitism that loomed largest in the minds of Jewish voters. 

While American Jews worry about both right-wing and left-wing antisemitism, distress about antisemitism on the right was more prevalent. In fact, right-wing antisemitism was mentioned about twice as often as left-wing antisemitism (32% and 16%, respectively) and much of the frustration was focused on the Alt-Right.

A clear majority of Jewish voters (57%) identified as liberal while 18% identified as conservative and 20% as moderate. Political ideology is strongly related to perceptions of which    side is responsible for the rise of antisemitism. Survey respondents who identified as liberal were 37 percentage points more likely to call out right-wing than left-wing antisemitism. Conversely, conservatives were 34 percentage points more likely to mention left-wing than right-wing antisemitism.  

With liberals substantially outnumbering conservatives through the Jewish electorate, it is not surprising that fears of right-wing antisemitism predominated.  

Respondents were divided on the question of who is to blame for antisemitism. Here, intense polarization was apparent. While liberal voters were highly concerned about right-wing antisemitism, their conservative counterparts believed that the left posed the greater antisemitic threat.