ADL: Jewish-Americans suffer discrimination in job market
Jewish-Americans found it 24 percent harder to find a job than candidates of Western European descent • Among Israeli-Americans, it was 39 percent harder to get a positive initial response to résumés
A study by the Anti-Defamation League released on Wednesday reveals that Jewish-Americans and Israelis living in the US experience significant discrimination in the US job market.
It was found that when applying for work, the chance of Jewish-Americans receiving a positive response is 24 percent lower than that of a Western European background, while that of an Israeli-American is 39 percent lower. The figures indicate significant discrimination.
The senior economist who conducted the research, Dr. Bryan Tomlin, submitted job applications for assistant manager positions using identical job résumés, apart from certain characteristics, including names, that indicated whether the candidate was a Jewish-American, Israeli-American, or Western European-American.
"Without the benefit of a study of this kind, it is difficult, if not impossible, to prove adverse treatment in the labor market based on one’s religion or cultural identity," said Tomlin. "This study shows that Jewish and Israeli Americans may be missing out on job opportunities just because of their identity, not their qualifications, and it provides a start toward quantifying some of these more subtle but still harmful symptoms of antisemitism."
"This is groundbreaking evidence of serious antisemitic discrimination in the labor market," said ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt. "On top of increasing antisemitic incidents and growing antisemitic beliefs, this landmark study illustrates the very real need for employers to take anti-Jewish and anti-Israeli prejudice more seriously to have a workplace that works for everyone."