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Antisemitic Attitudes among Young Black and Hispanic Americans

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 April 2023

Eitan Hersh  and
Laura Royden
Eitan Hersh
Affiliation:
Political Science, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA
Laura Royden*
Affiliation:
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
*
*Corresponding Author. E-mail: lroyden@g.harvard.edu
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Abstract

Prior research has shown that racial minority groups are more likely than Whites to hold negative views of Jews. We discuss several theories that may explain this phenomenon, including group competition, anti-White attitudes manifesting as antisemitism, spillover from anti-Israel attitudes, and more. Some theories, especially those developed in the mid-20th century, may be less applicable today, particularly to young adults. Through an original survey of 3,500 Americans, including an oversample of 18–30 year olds, we discover that antisemitic views remain far more common among minorities than Whites, especially among young people. However, the racial differences do not seem to be explained by common theories cited and explored in prior literature. But with Black and Hispanic Americans agreeing with antisemitic statements at similar levels as White alt-right identifiers in our sample, our findings call for renewed interest in the topic of race and antisemitism.

Keywords

Antisemitismrace and ethnicityIsraelyoung adultspublic opinion
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics , Volume 8 , Issue 1 , March 2023 , pp. 105 - 123
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Race, Ethnicity, and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association

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