By Ellie Krasne-Cohen, JNS
It is morally wrong and against the law.
America has long been known as the land of opportunity, welcoming people of all nationalities, backgrounds and religions to its shores and giving them a chance to build prosperous lives. This has been especially true for Jews, who, despite bouts of antisemitism, have thrived in the United States.
Recent studies, however, suggest that this period of acceptance and tolerance is eclipsing as Americans face religious discrimination in the workplace. Last month, the Anti-Defamation League released a study titled, “Jewish and Israeli Americans Face Discrimination in the Job Market,” detailing contemporary hiring practices. The study suggests a departure from the recent American Jewish life known by many Jews—a period characterized by social and professional success. Even more alarmingly, workplace antisemitism’s re-emergence serves as a “canary in the coal mine,” signaling a deeper threat to America’s principles of equality and liberty for all.
Jews first arrived in America in 1654, and over the following centuries, many more would arrive seeking freedom and economic opportunity. Between 1881 and 1914, approximately 2 million Eastern European Jews fled pogroms and arrived on U.S. shores. Despite different languages and cultures, “most of these Jews acculturated into the American middle class relatively quickly and advanced professionally within the urban capitalist landscape … .” This would later fuel antisemitism, but mostly, Jews fared well in America. Despite upward mobility and integration, some forms of discrimination against Jews persisted well into the 20th century.
Rebecca Roiphe’s article in Sapir, “The Rise and Fall of Jews at Law Schools” touches on this topic. “Harvard and Yale, among other elite schools, engaged in overt discrimination until the 1960s,” she wrote. “Jewish students generally attended less prestigious law schools, often working during the day and going to class at night. The large prestigious law firms were reserved for white Anglo-Saxon lawyers with the right connections. Jewish lawyers were forced to strike out on their own, hanging a shingle or joining a small firm.”
Later, the civil-rights movement brought about the cultural and policy changes needed to fight discrimination. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is intended to prevent discrimination, including religious, at work and “forbids discrimination when it comes to any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, fringe benefits and any other term or condition of employment.” Like many forms of workplace harassment, religious discrimination may not always be reported, but that does not mean it isn’t happening. And, unfortunately, recent studies show that religious discrimination is alive and well in the American workplace.
The ADL’s study shows that Jewish American job candidates needed to send 24% more applications to receive the same number of positive first responses from prospective employers as Americans with Western European backgrounds when applying to the same role, and Israeli Americans needed to send 39% more applications. These numbers suggest serious anti-Jewish discrimination in the hiring process.
The ADL is not alone in its assessment. The Gevura Fund commissioned a study that shows, “More than 40% of workers believe the amount of discrimination against Jews has increased over the past year or so.” In other words, since the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, people are reporting that they see more discrimination against Jews in the workplace.
Contemporary religious discrimination in the workplace, however, goes back a bit further than that.
A 2022 Rice University study by its Religion and Public Life program found that “two-thirds of Muslims, half of Jews and more than a third of evangelical Protestant Christians experience workplace discrimination, albeit in different ways … ” and that Muslims and Jews “were most likely to feel they needed to downplay or hide their religion in the workplace.”
No one—Christian, Jewish or Muslim—should face discrimination in the workplace. It is morally wrong and against the law. Fighting tis, particularly antisemitism, in the workplace calls for a multipronged approach involving corporate policies, educating employees about discrimination and a full-throated recommitment from all Americans to our founding values—that all people are created equal and share the same fundamental rights.
Workplace antisemitism is more than an isolated issue. It is a bellwether for our society’s health as throughout history, Jew-hatred has signaled fissures in a nation’s social and civic health. Antisemitism was alive and well in Germany before Adolf Hitler rose to power and the Reichstag burned. Jews fled Iran as the Islamic Revolution tightened its grip on the country and Islamic dictator Ayatollah Khomeini took power. Jews faced persecution in many periods throughout Russian history, including the Russian Revolution under Joseph Stalin, and then in the Soviet Union.
It is no secret that America has faced challenges in living up to its promise of “liberty and justice for all,” but it always manages to bend the arc of history toward justice. Antisemitism’s re-emergence in the workplace calls for immediate action. History tells us that addressing prejudice and discrimination is not optional; it is critical for preserving the ideals on which America was founded.
