American Jews concerned about their safety

A new survey found that the war in Israel is continuing to take a heavy toll on Jewish Americans as opposed to other Americans, and that many are concerned about their safety, especially if they wear anything that identifies them as Jewish. These were among the findings of a new survey conducted via text messages on behalf of the Jewish Federations of North America. The survey polled 6,044 people, 1,901 of whom were Jewish Americans and the remaining non-Jewish Americans, and asked a series of questions about the war in Israel. Among the questions was under what conditions would you like to see a ceasefire in Gaza. Both Jewish and non-Jewish Americans, 80 per cent and 51 per cent respectively placed a priority in seeing the hostages being released as a “negotiated precondition.” Also ranking high is the removal of Hamas from government with 73 per cent of Jews and 44 per cent of non-Jewish Americans calling for that to happen before a ceasefire. [Missing Credit] Only 5 per cent of Jewish Americans and 4 per cent of non-Jewish Americans said they do not want to see a ceasefire. While 76 per cent of American Jews say they continue to follow the news of the war closely, interest among non-Jews has dropped from a high of 53 per cent saying they followed it very closely in October to just 29 per cent doing so in March. “Despite the length of the war, and unrelenting biased media coverage, Americans understand that Israel’s fight against terrorism is also our fight. They know that a ceasefire without the return of the hostages and the eventual defeat of Hamas is wrong for Israel, wrong for Americans and wrong for the free world,” said JFNA President and CEO Eric Fingerhut said in a press release. “The deep bond between the American and Israeli people remains as strong as ever despite the difficult political challenges of the past six months.” [Missing Credit] The survey also asked about the emotional toll the war was taking on people and found that Jews are continuing to be affected by what is happening in Israel. More US Jews said the war is affecting them “a great deal” now than it did in October going up from 57 per cent to 62 per cent, with the number of Jews saying it does not affect them much or at all dropping from 12 to 8 per cent. By comparison, 34 per cent of non-Jewish Americans said the war is only “somewhat” impacting them and more than 50 per cent said it’s not impacting them much or at all.

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