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Strong Majority of American Jews Feel ‘Less Safe’ After Hamas’ Oct. 7 Massacre, New Survey Finds
A pro-Hamas demonstrator takes the street during a massive rally in Los Angeles on Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023. Photo: Jacob Lee Green/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
An overwhelming majority of American Jews have reported feeling less safe after Hamas’ massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, according to a new survey conducted by the American Jewish Committee (AJC).
Released on Thursday as part of AJC’s “State of Antisemitism in America 2023 Report,” the survey found that over three in four American Jews who had heard about the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel said the onslaught made them feel a great deal (20 percent), a fair amount (23 percent), or a little (34 percent) less safe as a Jewish person in the United States.
According to the findings, American Jews have dealt with their concerns about safety by carefully managing their ventures into the public, avoiding wearing any apparel or items of clothing that would indicate their Jewish identity, and staying clear of neighborhoods where they are likely to be victims of antisemitic behavior. AJC added that Jews over the age of 30 were more likely to express heightened concerns about their safety post-Oct. 7 than younger Jews, 80 percent compared to 67 percent under age 30.
“It is sadly not surprising that the vast majority of American Jews are feeling less safe today than they did before Oct. 7,” AJC CEO Ted Deutch said in a statement. “In the days, weeks, and months since the terror attack, the world has seen a staggering increase in antisemitic speech, anti-Jewish violence, and demonstrations glorifying Hamas terrorists. How are Jews supposed to feel secure when so many side with the murderers in the wake of the deadliest attack against the Jewish people since the Holocaust?”
On Oct. 7, Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israel from Gaza, murdering 1,200 people and kidnapping 240 others as hostages.
AJC’s survey of Jewish adults was conducted by the independent research firm SSRS from Oct. 5 to Nov. 21.
The release of the results coincided with new data and reports showing that concerns about rising antisemitic hatred in the US are empirically supported.
This week, authorities in Colorado reported that dozens of bomb threats were sent to synagogues, as well as public schools, across the state. Meanwhile, the city of Philadelphia experienced a record high number of antisemitic hate crimes in 2023, surging by 237 percent, according to data from the California State University, San Bernardino’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism. The news outlet Axios was first to report on the anti-Jewish hate crime surge in Philadelphia.
“It is a very scary time to be a Jew anywhere in the world, but specifically in the US and there is a lot to do as far as countering antisemitism and keeping America as a beacon of hope as it has always been for Jews,” a survey participant told the American Jewish Committee. “This recent terrorist attack by Hamas has shaken us to the core.”
Another participant said, “I am shocked by the sizable vocal minority that is supporting Hamas. In many ways, I don’t feel comfortable living in my country for the first time in my life.”
Antisemitic incidents in the US have surged by 360 percent since Oct. 7, according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which counted 3,283 in the ensuing three months. That total included 553 vandalisms and 60 assaults. Educational institutions in the US have also seen a rise in antisemitic incidents — 505 took place on college campuses and 246 at K-12 schools.
“In this difficult moment, antisemitism is spreading and mutating in alarming ways,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement. “This onslaught of hate includes a dramatic increase in fake bomb threats that disrupt services at synagogues and put communities on edge across the country.”
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
The post Strong Majority of American Jews Feel ‘Less Safe’ After Hamas’ Oct. 7 Massacre, New Survey Finds first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.