Nearly one in four young Jewish-American women say rising antisemitism has negatively affected their dating lives, and 71% of those respondents have changed what they look for in a partner, according to a study released on Wednesday by Jewish Women International.
The report, based on a nationwide survey of 514 Jewish-American women ages 20 to 34 and a focus group series representing 15 participants, collected data between November and December 2025. Respondents resided in 35 states and Washington, D.C., with one noting they were currently living in Israel.
Meredith Jacobs, CEO of Jewish Women International, said in a Wednesday webinar that the organization launched the research after hearing from young women discuss their experiences in the aftermath of the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
“They were looking for a safe community where they could show up as their full selves,” Jacobs said.
Overall, 88% of respondents reported experiencing at least one antisemitic incident since Oct. 7, reflecting a broader rise in antisemitism in the United States and globally following the attacks and ensuing war. The average rating of how common antisemitism felt in their daily lives rose from 2.4 before Oct. 7 to 5.9 afterward.
Seventy-two percent said they encountered antisemitic comments, and 70% reported feeling unwelcome in personal, academic or professional settings.
The impact extended to personal relationships and well-being. Three-quarters of respondents said their mental health had suffered, and 74% reported negative effects on friendships. Among those, 80% cited decreased contact and 60% said friendships ended.
Researchers identified the loss of relationships as a defining feature of respondents’ post-Oct. 7 experiences.
On college campuses, 68% of those enrolled since Oct. 7 reported a diminished sense of belonging, and 47% said their sense of safety was negatively affected. Among employed respondents, 39% said they felt pressure to downplay their Jewish identity at work, and 18% said they removed Jewish-related content from their resumes.
The report also highlighted the role of social media, with 90% of respondents saying they encountered denial or disinformation about sexual violence committed during the Oct. 7 attacks.
“I did need to take time off of social media, particularly Instagram, when I realized it was sending me into anxiety spirals,” one survey respondent stated. “I was also re-traumatized and reminded of my own sexual trauma seeing my peers’ nonchalant reactions to the sexual violence of Israeli women.”
“The ripple effects of Oct. 7, not simply the antisemitism, but the misogyny, were impacting women differently, knowing that Israeli and by extension Jewish women were not receiving empathy or belief or victim worthiness,” Jacobs said.
Testimony in the report reflects a sense of isolation among respondents, including from peers and broader social circles. Noa Beer, a survivor of the Nova music festival, described “the deep loneliness and confusion of being a Jewish woman” in environments where people have already formed assumptions about Jews.
“That rape was somehow being justified as resilience,” Jacobs said. “That hate was coming from the right, the manosphere that hates Jews and women, and the left, who for decades have woven anti-Zionist doctrine into women’s and gender studies departments. That survivors of sexual violence would be re-traumatized.”
Despite these challenges, 75% of respondents said their connection to Judaism has strengthened since Oct. 7, though 54% reported feeling less comfortable expressing their Jewish identity publicly.
“My connection to Judaism has increased, and my sense of belonging in that community, because I feel like that’s the only space that I can find people that understand,” a focus group participant stated. “Because outside of Judaism, I don’t think I have a lot of people within social justice spaces that understand my connection to Israel.”
Jacobs said the study should guide how communities respond.
“We will be creating workshops for parents to help them support their young adult daughters,” she said. “And we will create trainings on how to show up Jewishly in the workplace.”
She also outlined building out a network of young Jewish women, connecting them with mentors, and taking them on missions to Israel to create “deep and lasting relationships with young Israeli women, as well as with the dynamic Israeli women leaders and activists.”
“If we care about the future of the Jewish people, we have no choice but to support our young women,” Jacobs said.