U.S. Anti-Semitism at Record Low, Says ADL

The Anti-Defamation League released the results of its annual poll on anti-Semitism in the United States this morning, and the news is, as one might say, good for the Jews. The organization’s pollsters report that only 12 percent of Americans are prejudiced against Jews, a figure that matches the ADL’s previous record low, set in 1998. (When the group first started conducting its polls, which determine levels of anti-Semitism based on people’s propensity to agree with ideas like “Jews have too much power in the U.S. today,” it determined 29 percent of Americans didn’t like Jews.)

But what’s good for the Jews isn’t necessarily good for the ADL, which exists primarily to combat anti-Semitism. Accordingly, the group’s website is currently advertising the results of the poll under the banner “Anti-Semitism Still a Factor in U.S.” In a statement on the site, executive director Abraham Foxman reminds everyone that positive news is no excuse for relaxing vigilance: “We can’t dismiss that 12 percent of the American people means that there are still over 30 million Americans that hold anti-Semitic views.”

Poll Finds U.S. Anti-Semitic Views at Historic Low [Reuters]
Poll on Anti-Semitic Attitudes [ADL]