Digital Library
The Antisemitic Environment How Social and Media Exposures Predict Antisemitic Beliefs
Topic:
Antisemitism & Antizionism, Israel & Regional Politics
Principal Investigators:
NORC and Center for Antisemitism Research ADL
Study Date:
2023
Source:
Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
Key Findings:
Researchers identified two broad answers to the two broad questions: (1) Where and how frequently are people exposed to antisemitic and anti-Israel rhetoric? (2) Which exposures to antisemitic and anti-Israel rhetoric are most predictive of negative attitudes toward Jews and Israel?
The majority of exposures to anti-Jewish and anti-Israel comments come from popular culture, politicians, and social media, with friends and family being the least likely sources of anti-Jewish or anti-Israel comments.
However, one’s friends and family appear to be the most significant predictors of one’s own beliefs about Jews and Israel. Broadly, being surrounded by people who dislike Jews or who make negative comments about Jews is a significant factor in one’s own attitudes about Jews and Israel.
While these findings confirm much of the existing research on prejudice, it does have two intriguing implications worthy of further study. The first is that it appears far easier for people to label the comments of those most distant from their immediate social circle and least popular (e.g., politicians) as anti-Jewish than their family and friends. The second is that, despite this, the very act of labeling a friend or family member as someone who dislikes Jews is not enough to limit the predictive power of one’s own antisemitic beliefs. In other words, being aware that someone in your close social circle dislikes Jews and even reporting that on a survey is not enough to mitigate its predictive association.
Methodology:
In late 2022, the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago (NORC) and ADL surveyed a nationally representative sample of over 4,000 Americans to better understand attitudes toward Jews and Israel. The survey included several batteries of questions, including sections probing general attitudes toward Jews and Israel; questions designed to understand respondents’ level of agreement with both historic and contemporary anti-Jewish and anti-Israel tropes; questions measuring literacy and familiarity with Jews and Israel; several comparative prejudice experiments; and general conspiracy theory belief questions.
This report is the third in a multi-part series using data from the 2022 study. The first report was published in January 2023 and outlined topline findings. The second report, published in March 2023, sought to answer the question: if people agreed with more antisemitic tropes or had more negative views on Israel, what else did they think, feel, or know about Jews or Israel? A forthcoming, fourth report using data from ADL and NORC’s 2022 study will explore the typologies of different antisemitic beliefs and their prevalence among different groups in American society.
This third report focuses on the environments through which antisemitic and anti-Israel attitudes spread.