Blacks, Whites, and Anti-Semitism

Abstract

Major national surveys conducted in 1964 and 1981 indicated that blacks were more negatively oriented toward Jews than were whites. Drawing on a national survey conducted in 1992, this article establishes that this gap has endured. Moreover, the gap persists when statistical controls are instituted for a host of factors that are related to race and themselves influence attitudes toward Jews. The latter is a key finding in light of the paucity of statistical controls in prior studies. Finally, black negativity toward Jews extends into both economic and noneconomic domains. This finding contrasts with the argument that African American anti-Semitism is attributable to their reactions to what they deem objectionable Jewish business practices and perceive as Jewish dominance of the American economy. The age pattern of anti-Semitism suggests that in the future black and white levels of anti-Semitism might be expected to diverge even more.