Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on April 20, 2024

A new survey found that the war in Israel is continuing to take a heavy toll on Jewish Americans as opposed to other Americans, and that many are concerned about their safety, especially if they wear anything that identifies them as Jewish.

These were among the findings of a new survey conducted via text messages on behalf of the Jewish Federations of North America.

The survey polled 6,044 people, 1,901 of whom were Jewish Americans and the remaining non-Jewish Americans, and asked a series of questions about the war in Israel. Among the questions was under what conditions would you like to see a ceasefire in Gaza.

Both Jewish and non-Jewish Americans, 80 per centand 51 per centrespectively placed a priority in seeing the hostages being released as a negotiated precondition. Also ranking high is the removal of Hamas from government with 73 per centof Jews and 44 per centof non-Jewish Americans calling for that to happen before a ceasefire.

Only 5 per centof Jewish Americans and 4 per centof non-Jewish Americans said they do not want to see a ceasefire.

While 76 per centof American Jews say they continue to follow the news of the war closely, interest among non-Jews has dropped from a high of 53 per centsaying they followed it very closely in October to just 29 per centdoing so in March.

Despite the length of the war, and unrelenting biased media coverage, Americans understand that Israels fight against terrorism is also our fight. They know that a ceasefire without the return of the hostages and the eventual defeat of Hamas is wrong for Israel, wrong for Americans and wrong for the free world, said JFNA President and CEO Eric Fingerhut said in a press release. The deep bond between the American and Israeli people remains as strong as ever despite the difficult political challenges of the past six months.

The survey also asked about the emotional toll the war was taking on people and found that Jews are continuing to be affected by what is happening in Israel. More USJews said the war is affecting them a great deal now than it did in October going up from 57 per centto 62 per cent, with the number of Jews saying it does not affect them much or at all dropping from 12 to 8 per cent.

By comparison, 34 per centof non-Jewish Americans said the war is only somewhat impacting them and more than 50 per centsaid its not impacting them much or at all.

Excerpt from:

American Jews concerned about their safety - The Jewish Chronicle

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