Recent surveys conducted by The Campaign Against Antisemitism charity in Britain and the American Jewish Committee (AJC) in America, provide important insights about the Jewish experience and the general public’s perceptions of anti-Semitism in these two countries. Perhaps one of the most concerning takeaways from these surveys is the data showing that increasing numbers of Jews in Britain and the U.S. appear to be hiding public displays of their Jewishness in response to concerns about rising anti-Semitism. The British survey found that although most Jews (57%) feel welcome in the that country, many (44%) still avoid displaying their Jewish identity in public. Similarly, the AJC survey found that many (37%) American Jews avoid presenting themselves publicly as Jews. Although many Jews in Britain feel more comfortable about their future in that country after the former Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, left office amidst a scandal over rampant anti-Semitism in the party, British Jews are scarred and remain guarded. It would appear that Jews in both countries are anxious about the rise in anti-Semitism and that this has impacted their sense of security. This sense of anxiety by the Jewish communities in Britain and the U.S. is not unfounded. The British survey revealed that 45% of the general public agree with one or more of 12 anti-Semitic statements, thus showing the prevalence of anti-Semitic sentiment in Britain. Moreover, British Jews’ confidence in the criminal justice system is remarkably low: a majority (52%) believe that the Crown Prosecution Service does not do enough to protect British Jews. Here in the U.S., the AJC survey revealed that the general public is largely ignorant about the existence of anti-Semitism. While 88% of Jews believe that anti-Semitism in America is a problem, only 62% of the general public views it that way (19% of the general public believes anti-Semitism is a very serious problem and 43% views it as somewhat of a problem). These studies thus demonstrate that, despite a historic global resurgence of anti-Semitism, much of the general public remains uneducated about the existence of anti-Semitism and what anti-Semitism looks like. Publicizing and using the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism as an educational tool to define and identify historical and contemporary forms of anti-Semitism is now more important than ever before, so that all people, Jews and non-Jews alike, can stand united in the fight to combat Jew-hatred in all its forms. Read the Campaign Against Antisemitism survey here. Read the AJC’s survey here.