The past two years have seen a rise in anti-Semitism among Americans, with 15 percent of Americans, some 35 million people, said to “hold deeply anti-Semitic views.”

The results of a new survey released by the Anti-Defamation League this week showed a three percent increase in levels of anti-Semitism since the last such survey conducted by the ADL in 2009.

Open gallery view Abraham Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League. Credit: Haaretz

"The fact that anti-Semitic attitudes have increased significantly over the past two years is troubling and raises questions about the impact of broader trends in America – financial insecurity, social uncertainty, the decline in civility and the growth of polarization – on attitudes toward Jews," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director.

"It is disturbing that with all of the strides we have made in becoming a more tolerant society, anti-Semitic beliefs continue to hold a vicegrip on a small but not insubstantial segment of the American public," he added.

19 percent of Americans who participated in the survey said they thought the statement "Jews have too much control/influence on Wall Street," was "probably true," a five percent increase since 2009.

"The stereotypes about Jews and money endure, and the fact that more Americans are now accepting these statements about Jews as true suggests that the downturn in the economy, along with the changing demographics of our society, may have contributed to the rise in anti-Semitic sentiments," said Foxman.

The survey also found that 30 percent of the respondents believe that Jews are "more loyal to Israel than to America." Nearly half of all respondents agreed with the statement that Jews "stick together more than other Americans, and 33 percent said they believe Jews "always like to be at the head of things." And finely, 31 percent of Americans believe "Jews were responsible for the death of Christ."

The highest level of anti-Semitism in the U.S. recorded by the ADL was 17 percent, reported by the league in 2002.