Jewish respondents were likelier—and at times significantly so—to say that many minority groups are persecuted today than was the general public. That’s according to a new survey of 3,777 people—some 2,200 of them self-identified Jews—from the Jewish Federations of North America.
Jews were more likely than the general public to say that Muslims (51% to 42%), Jews (66% to 42%), black people (56% to 42%), Hispanic people (27% to 25%), Asian people (36% to 26%), gay and lesbian people (44% to 34%), women (30% to 25%) and Arabs (46% to 39%) face a lot of discrimination today.
The same number of Jews as the general public (36%) said that Palestinians face a lot of discrimination. And Jews were less likely than the general public to say that evangelicals (3% to 17%), white people (11% to 19%) and men (11% to 13%) faced a lot of discrimination.
Jews were also likelier than the general public to say that most of those groups face at least some discrimination. About the same number of Jews (78%) and the general public (74%) said Muslims face discrimination, while 92% of Jews, and 78% of the general public, said that Jews face discrimination.
Nearly nine in 10 (88%) of Jews, compared to 73% of the general public, said that black people face discrimination, and 74% of Jews, and 62% of the general public, said women face discrimination.
“Jews have historically tended to be more liberal than the general population and liberals are particularly sensitive to the difficulties of groups that are perceived as disadvantaged,” according to Jay Greene, senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation.
“I suspect the shock of Oct. 7 and its aftermath may change this orientation among Jews going forward,” Greene told JNS. “That change would not occur overnight, but I’d guess it is changing.”
