Among all religious groups, Americans like Jews the most

JVL Introduction

In the latest Pew Survey measuring American attitudes toward various religious groups Jews came out best, with 35% of respondents reporting a very or somewhat favourable view of them.

This finding was barely reported by Jewish organisations in the US. It goes against the grain of Jewish self-understanding as the eternal victim – and against the reality of rising, and sometimes violent, antisemitism on the right.

Rob Eshman, reflecting on the Pew Survey, explains: “The answer, odd as it sounds, is that Jewish Americans are Americans, and subject to the same problems as all Americans. Hate crimes are up for everyone. Mass shootings are up for everyone. There is less tolerance and civility across the board — none of these trends uniquely targets Jews, but Jews are among their targets.”

This article was originally published by Forward on Tue 21 Mar 2023. Read the original here.