Younger Americans Are Increasingly Unlikely To Say Holocaust Denial Is Anti-Semitic
Recent polling highlights the worrying trend as memories of the genocide slowly fade from the collective consciousness
New polling from YouGov for the Economist sheds light on where Americans stand on the issue of antisemitism in the United States.
Americans were asked how serious of a problem antisemitism is in the country today. Among respondents, 25% said it is a very serious problem, while another 33% said it is somewhat serious.
On the other hand, 16% of Americans said antisemitism is a minor problem, and 7% said it is not a problem at all.
Democrats are more likely to see antisemitism as a serious issue, with 65% saying it is either a very serious or somewhat serious issue. Republicans were only slightly less likely to agree, with 62% saying as much.
Independents were the least likely to say antisemitism is a problem, with 49% saying so. However, this lower share is partly due to a higher share of independents reporting that they were unsure (26%) about the issue.
The pollster also asked Americans how serious they believe antisemitism is on American college campuses. While 58% said antisemitism is a problem in general, a smaller share (48%) said it is a problem specifically on college campuses.
Republicans were much more likely to say it's a problem on American campuses, with 61% agreeing, compared to 44% of Democrats and 41% of independents.
Once again, independents were the most likely to say they were unsure, with 31% indicating as much.
However, the most concerning part of the survey wasn't whether Americans believe antisemitism is a problem, but rather how they define what constitutes antisemitism. Whether due to ignorance or bigotry, the share of Americans who failed to recognize classically antisemitic statements is cause for alarm.
