Almost a fifth of Republican and Democratic voters surveyed in a Monday Manhattan Institute poll hold anti-Jewish beliefs.
The Manhattan Institute said that a minority of 17% of GOP and 20% respondents self-identified as antisemitic, or expressed Holocaust denial, or held extreme beliefs toward Israel.
The most consistent predictor of respondents who would reject anti-Jewish attitudes, according to the institute, was Church attendance. Those who did not frequently attend church were likely to hold what the institute defined as anti-Jewish beliefs.
Divides between "Core" and newer Republicans
The poll of almost 3,000 American voters highlighted divides between "Core Republicans" and new entrants into the party, and younger and older 2024 GOP voters, and all registered Republicans.
Twelve percent of the current GOP self-identified as holding antisemitic views, while 19% said that those holding antisemitic beliefs were tolerable in the party. Another 12% said that the votes of antisemites should be sought, but they shouldn't be allowed positions of power within the party. Another 48% said that those with hostility or prejudice against Jewish people weren't welcome in the GOP.
Twenty-five percent of GOP respondents under 50 identified with antisemitic views, but just 4% those above 50 identified as being prejudiced against Jews.
The institute noted that there was an overlap among new entrant republicans who tolerated racism or antisemitism in the party, and those who supported at least one of the reviewed liberal policy positions. Seventy-eight percent of those who were tolerant of prejudicial people in the GOP held at least one major liberal policy belief.
Those who tolerated antisemites in their party were also more likely to believe multiple conspiracy theories and support the use of political violence, according to the poll.
One of the conspiracy theories included in the survey was that the Holocaust was greatly exaggerated or didn't happen as described by historians. Thirty-seven percent of respondents believed in Holocaust denial or minimization. Fifty-four percent of men and thirty-nine percent of women under fifty held Holocaust denial beliefs. Among those over fifty, 41% of men believed the Holocaust didn't happen as historians described, compared to 18% of women.
The poll revealed significant racial divides on the subject, with 77% of Hispanic GOP voters, 66% of black GOP voters, and 30% of white GOP voters holding Holocaust denial or minimization beliefs.
The survey indicated a general distrust of the loyalty of other Americans, not unique to Jewish Americans. About a quarter of respondents believed that most or all US Jews were more loyal to a foreign country than the US, about the same as Italians, Indians, Chinese, and Evangelical Americans.
New entrants were more likely to see Jewish Americans as having dual loyalty, with thirty-eight percent compared to the 24% of core Republicans. This trend in skepticism applies to other demographic groups.
Sixteen percent of GOP respondents believed that Jews received too much favorable treatment. The percentage was raised by younger Republicans, with 26% of GOP under fifty and 8% under fifty believing Jews were treated too favorably in the country.
A fifty-five percent majority of GOP respondents saw Israel as an important and effective US ally, while 23% saw it as just another country with which interests sometimes aligned. Twelve percent of respondents agreed that Israel was a settler colonial state and a liability that dragged the US into unnecessary wars and antagonized Muslims. New entrants held more negative views of Israel, with 24% believing it was a liability, though this was eclipsed by the 39% that saw Israel as an ally.