AJC Paris Survey Finds That French Youth Are More Exposed To, Justify Antisemitism

Younger French Jews More Likely to Be Target of Antisemitic Attacks

American Jewish Committee's (AJC) Paris office has released preliminary findings of its Survey of Antisemitism in France 2024 which showed that younger French people are more likely to hold antisemitic beliefs, and French Jews under 25 years old are more likely to be the target of antisemitic incidents. Yet, even with rising antisemitism, the survey also found profound resilience among French Jews who are overwhelmingly embracing their Jewish and Zionist identities, with nearly three-quarters of French Jews saying that the October 7 massacre strengthened their Zionist convictions (73%) and their Jewish identity (71%).

AJC Paris Director Anne-Sophie Sebban-Bécache presented the findings today at a national conference on antisemitism convened by Aurore Bergé, minister delegate for gender equality and the fight against discrimination.

"Over the past 20 years, AJC Paris has sounded the alarm about the dangers to France and its Jews posed by a new strain of antisemitism masked as anti-Zionism. Since October 7, this phenomenon has exploded out into the open," said Sebban-Bécache. "It's no surprise that the youth is the most affected. There is a clear generational gap in how French people perceive Jews and Israel - the malign discourse that for decades intended to turn Jews, Zionism, and Israel into synonyms for oppressors, racism, and settler colonialism has spread and become the new normal for the younger generation with 35% of those between 18 and 24 years old stating that it is justified to attack Jews because they support Israel. There is an urgent need to reverse the tide of this distorted history that only leads to Jew hatred - we cannot normalize a society in which 64% of French Jews under 25 years old have been verbally assaulted because of their Jewish heritage."

More than half a year since Hamas' massacre on October 7, and at a time when acts of hatred against Jews have risen sharply in France - 1,000% in 2023 - the French people are well aware of antisemitism: 92% of French Jews and 76% of the general population believe that antisemitism is widespread. This represents significant increases for both groups - up from 85% of French Jews and 64% of the general population in 2022. Among French Jews and the French general public, anti-Israel sentiment is blamed as the primary cause for this drastic increase in antisemitism. Thirty-five percent of French Jews surveyed said they often feel accused or blamed for the actions of the Israeli government. This jumps to 51% among French Jews between 18 and 24 years old. Among the general public, 21% of the French population believe that it is justified to attack Jews because they support Israel, with this figure reaching 35% of those between 18 and 24 years old.

Amidst this surge of antisemitic incidents in France, one in four French Jews say they have been the victim of an antisemitic act since October 7, with young French Jews more likely to be targets (37%). Sixty-four percent of French Jews under 25 years old have been verbally assaulted because of their Jewish heritage, and 31% have been threatened because of their Judaism. In 2024, 62% of victims said they had been subjected to these insults, threats, or acts of physical violence in a school with 42% stating that this had happened on several occasions.

Overall, three-quarters (73%) of French Jews surveyed have been targeted by antisemitic hate speech and 32% said they had been threatened on social networks. Since 2019, nearly one in five (18%) French Jewish respondents reported having been physically attacked.

"Antisemitism is rising worldwide, and it's affecting the ways Jews live their lives. Both in France and in the U.S., we're seeing Jews changing their behaviors out of fear of antisemitic hate," said AJC CEO Ted Deutch. "We cannot accept a culture in any city, any country, on any continent, that leaves Jews feeling so fearful for their safety that they are forced to stop wearing things like a Jewish star necklace or kippah. No Jew, anywhere in the world, should be so afraid in their own home that they feel the need to take down their Mezuzah, as one in five French Jews reported doing since October 7."

Eighty-six percent of French Jews reported that they were more afraid of becoming the victim of an antisemitic act since October 7. Forty-four percent of French Jews who wear distinctive religious symbols say they have stopped wearing them in public spaces since October 7, and one in five reported removing their Mezuzah from outside their home. Another 16% reported changing their name on delivery apps, for fear that their surname might betray their identity or religion and lead to an attack. AJC's State of Antisemitism in America 2023 Report, a report modeled after surveys first conducted in Europe, found that like their counterparts in France, American Jews - at a rate of 46% - are also changing their behavior out of fear of antisemitism.

AJC is the global advocacy organization for the Jewish people. With headquarters in New York, 25 regional offices across the United States, 15 overseas posts, as well as partnerships with 38 Jewish community organizations worldwide, AJC's mission is to enhance the well-being of the Jewish people and Israel and to advance human rights and democratic values in the United States and around the world. For more, please visit www.ajc.org

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