Jewish Americans Worry About Antisemitism, But View Trump’s Attack on Universities as Disingenuous, New Poll Shows
A survey by members of the academic community conducted by Ipsos
We were recently approached about the concept of surveying the Jewish community regarding the extent to which antisemitism impacts their lives and to what extent the Trump Administration’s approach with major educational institutions is viewed as an appropriate method for dealing with antisemitism. We embraced and supported the idea.
Among the leaders of this effort is Bruce Fuller, my brother and a long-time tenured University of California professor of sociology.
The survey by Ipsos was recently completed and earlier in the day, a group was organized to review the findings of the survey and speak to its implications. Al From and I were pleased to be included in the discussion which appears below.
First, here is a summary of their work.
A Summary of the Survey Results
Civic leaders express concern over instances of antisemitic sentiment on college campuses. President Donald Trump—claiming insufficient protection of Jewish students—paused research funding and exacted penalties on Columbia, Harvard, and UCLA exceeding $1 billion.
But how the nation’s Jewish community views these policies is not well understood. Lending voice to this diverse population, a national survey of 1,166 adults—each self-identifying as Jewish—was conducted by Ipsos, the international polling firm, designed in cooperation with social scientists at the University of Rochester and University of California.
In short, the national survey reveals –
• Jewish Americans worry about antisemitism on college campuses.
• Many report experiencing antisemitic events in the two years since the Hamas attack on Israel.
• A majority of Jewish Americans disapprove of President Trump’s withholding of research funding as a way to address antisemitism.
• A wide majority -- by nearly a three to one margin --report that President Trump uses allegations of antisemitism as an “excuse” to pause or cut university funding, rather than saying he “truly cares” about the well-being of Jewish students.
• The views of Jewish Americans on these issues are diverse and vary depending on whether one identifies as Reform, Conservative and Orthodox (combined), or non-affiliated.
• A majority oppose the current Israeli military operation in Gaza.
The survey was conducted between August 28 and September 8, 2025. Eighty-five percent of the Jewish Americans in Ipsos’ panel completed the survey. Respondents are statistically weighted to achieve nationally representative findings for the Jewish population. All averages exclude any participant with missing data for that variable.
CLICK HERE for the full report.
A Group Discussion Reviewing the Survey and Implications
Participants:
Bruce Fuller / Professor Emeritus, Education & Public Policy, University of California Berkeley
James Druckman / Professor of Political Science, University of Rochester
Josh Good / Aspen Institute, leader of Religion and Society Program
Becca Israel / Director of Strategic Engagement at Nexus
Arno Rosenfeld / Writers for The Forward
Al From and Craig Fuller
As has been said many times, everyone is entitled to their own point of view, but not to their own set of facts. This work helps us all better understand the sentiments on the ground around a serious and consequential public policy debate.