AJC Briefs FBI Officials on Rising Antisemitism in America
WASHINGTON, Dec. 19, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Senior American Jewish Committee (AJC) experts on antisemitism visited FBI headquarters to brief officials in the Bureau's Civil Rights Unit on the findings of AJC's groundbreaking survey of American Jews on their perceptions and experiences of antisemitism.
The unprecedented national survey, released in October, revealed deep concern about antisemitism in the United States and widespread fear that it is increasing. Nearly nine out of ten American Jews (88%) said antisemitism is a problem in the U.S. today, with more than a third (38%) calling it a very serious problem. 84% said antisemitism in the U.S. has increased ? and a plurality, 43%, said it has increased a lot ? over the past five years. 35% of American Jews surveyed said they had personally been victims of antisemitism over the past five years and 31% said they had taken measures to conceal their Jewishness in public.
"American Jews have no greater allies in the fight against antisemitism than law enforcement authorities," said Daniel Elbaum, AJC Chief Advocacy Officer, who briefed the FBI officials along with Avi Mayer, AJC Managing Director of Global Communications, Alan Ronkin, Director of AJC's Washington, D.C. Regional Office, and Stephanie Guiloff, Deputy Director of AJC Advocacy. "We are gratified by the FBI's keen interest in AJC's landmark survey and look forward to working closely with the Bureau to combat antisemitism in all its forms."
"The FBI's Civil Rights Unit is dedicated to combatting hate crimes and other civil rights violations in the United States, and we recognize the importance of establishing relationships with community groups in this effort," said Supervisory Special Agent Joseph Jensen, unit chief of the FBI Civil Rights Unit. "We value opportunities like this to meet one another, talk about what we're seeing, and find new ways to work together. Communication between the FBI and the community is essential for us to be successful in our work investigating civil rights violations and protecting the American people."
SOURCE American Jewish Committee
News published on and distributed by:
