17% of Republicans are ‘anti-Jewish’ – but church attendance is strongest predictor against this, survey finds

A recent survey conducted by the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research found that 17% of Republicans hold views it categorized as “anti-Jewish,” but noted that consistent church attendance is the strongest predictor against holding such views.

“Anti-Jewish” Republicans were defined as those who either “self-identify as both racist and antisemitic and express Holocaust denial or describe Israel as a colonial state,” or “do not self-identify that way but nevertheless hold both of those extreme positions.”

According to the survey, “Anti-Jewish Republicans are typically younger, disproportionately male, more likely to be college-educated, and significantly more likely to be New Entrant Republicans. They are also more racially diverse.”

It noted that “Infrequent church attendance is, all else equal, one of the strongest predictors of falling into this segment.”

The survey examined several areas of importance to American Jews and Israelis, including favorability of the alliance with Israel, suspicions of dual loyalty, as well as Holocaust denial and racist sentiments.

One of the survey’s key findings is that Trump’s current coalition is divided between long-standing Republican voters, who have mostly remained conservative on economic, foreign policy, and social issues; and new entrants to the coalition who are likely to be “supportive of left-leaning economic policies, more favorable toward China, more critical of Israel, and more liberal on issues ranging from migration to DEI [diversity, equity, and inclusion] initiatives.”

“A significant share also report openly racist or antisemitic views and express potential support for political violence.”

The second cohort made up 29% of respondents and was defined as “recent first-time GOP [Republican Party] presidential voters, including those who supported Democrats in 2016 or 2020 or were too young to vote in cycles before 2020.”

Overall, most respondents (55%) still hold that Israel is “an important and effective U.S. ally.” Almost a quarter (23%) think Israel is a “country like any other” that sometimes shares interests with the U.S., while 12% agreed that Israel is “a settler–colonial state and a liability” that drags the U.S. into wars.

Even among new entrant Republicans, 39% said Israel is an ally compared to 24% who hold a negative view of the country.

In general, Republicans don’t see more “dual loyalty” among Jewish Americans than among other groups.

Once again, there is a stark divide between Core Republicans and New Entrants, as 24% of the old guard said “most or all” Jews have loyalty elsewhere, compared to 38% of the new entrants. However, the newer Republicans are also more skeptical of other groups’ loyalty.

The overall perception of Jews compared to other groups wasn’t found to be particularly notable. 47% said that “society shows about the right amount of concern or favorable treatment” of Jews, compared to Whites (55%), Blacks (48%), Asians (61%), Hispanics (56%), Indians (53%), and Muslims (38%).

However, views toward Jews were again sharply differentiated by age.

Among those over 50, only 8% said that Jews receive too much favorable treatment while over a quarter (26%) of those younger than 50 agreed with this statement.

Asked about people who are openly racist or antisemitic, most Republicans (36% and 48%, respectively) said they “aren’t welcome and don’t represent” what they stand for.

However, 15% said they themselves hold “racist views” and 12% said they have antisemitic positions.

The picture again becomes more worrisome the younger the respondents are, in line with the general trend identified by the survey regarding antisemitism and enmity toward Israel.

Among those under 50 years old, sizeable minorities said they openly express racist (31%) or antisemitic (25%) views, compared to only 4% each among those over 50.

The new entrants are more likely to either hold or tolerate racist or antisemitic views.

Over half (54%) of new entrants also said that political violence can be justified, which strongly corresponded to those who tolerate openly racist or antisemitic views, as well as belief in conspiracies.

Holocaust denial was included among six popular conspiracies that the respondents were asked to rate by likelihood.

37% of the current Republican voters said the Holocaust was “was greatly exaggerated or did not happen as historians describe.”

This view was more prevalent among men than women, with 54% of men under 50 agreeing vs. 39% of women under 50, and 41% among men over 50 compared to 18% of women over 50.

Holocaust minimalization or denial is massively more likely among non-white voters, as 77% of Hispanics and 66% of Black Republicans agreed.

“Overall, one in five in the Current GOP (18%) believe five or six of the theories. Levels are higher among black Republican voters (25%) and lower among Hispanic Republican voters (13%). Members of the Current GOP are also more likely to endorse these theories than the general population (13%),” the survey found.

The national survey was conducted in late October and examined positions of 1,493 Republicans and/or 2024 Trump voters, 301 black Republicans and/or 2024 Trump voters, 501 Hispanic Republicans and/or 2024 Trump voters and 500 additional registered voters.

While the survey found concerning trends among Republicans, it also noted that “these views are not unique to Republicans. The survey finds slightly higher levels of Anti-Jewish sentiment among Democrats – 20%, compared to 17% among Republicans.”

Outlining the views of the New Entrant Republican bloc is a key finding of the survey that could have far-reaching implications for the future of the GOP, as well as American Jews and the U.S. alliance with Israel.

The “New Entrant bloc is more likely to express tolerance for racist or antisemitic speech, more likely to support political violence, more conspiratorial, and – on core policy questions – considerably more liberal than the party’s traditional base. These voters are drawn to Trump but are not reliably attached to the Republican Party,” the survey’s authors conclude.

They note that “only 56% of New Entrant Republicans say they would ‘definitely’ support a Republican in the 2026 congressional elections, compared with 70% of Core Republicans.”

“Understanding which voters are likely to stay, which can be integrated into a durable conservative coalition, and which may drift away, will be central to the GOP’s strategic future. This report provides the empirical grounding for that conversation.”