More than half of the young Jewish American women surveyed indicated that they‘re hiding their Jewish identities in the years post-Oct. 7, according to a new survey by Jewish Women International.
Nearly half of the respondents reported dating less as a result of increased antisemitism and other ramifications of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks.
Regarding the post-Oct. 7 impact on their personal lives, three-fourths of the respondents reported that their mental health (75%) and relationships with friends (74%) suffered.
“We were hearing from the young women that they’re experiencing [negative] mental health impacts where they hadn’t before,” said Meredith Jacobs, the CEO of JWI.
The survey results, released in February, sought to gather young Jewish women’s experiences with antisemitism and the subsequent impacts on their personal, academic and professional lives and connection with Judaism.
JWI and Sharp Insight, LLC collected the data through a mixed-methods study that included a nationwide survey of Jewish American women ages 20 to 34, and a focus group series with the same audience at JWI’s 2025 Women to Watch event. The data was collected from November to December.
“Based on our findings, young Jewish women feel disenfranchised in the workplace, ostracized in social circles and compelled to erase their Jewish identities for fear of personal safety,” Jacobs told Jewish Insider.
One respondent wrote that she no longer wears heels in Jewish spaces in case she needs to quickly escape an emergency situation, according to Jacobs.
What does this all mean for JWI? The findings will help inform the next steps regarding the nonprofit’s programming.
“The survey asked them what supports they needed,” Jacobs told Philadelphia Jewish Exponent. “So our intention as JWI is not just to do the study and see information, but create the needed responses and supports to meet [young Jewish women’s] needs.”
JWI’s Young Women’s Impact Network supports Jewish professional women in their 20s and 30s in 10 cities across the U.S., including Philadelphia. Jacobs and JWI are looking to launch more chapters of YWIN, with the next cities being Miami and Pittsburgh.
“What we’re hearing from the young women is that those spaces for having friends … where they know they can show up as their full selves, is important and gives them that base of support and friendship,” Jacobs said.
This summer in New York, JWI will debut a series of classes on Jewish identity in the workplace: helping them proudly uphold their Jewish identity and create Jewish employee resource groups or affinity groups.
JWI is also working to build a program that aims to support young Jewish women navigating relationships, Jewish identity and Israel, because one-fourth of the surveyed women indicated that their dating life had been impacted by the events of Oct. 7.
“What’s important to them? What do they need in a partner?” Jacobs asked. “You’re taught not to talk about money or religion or politics, but we want to help them understand how to have those conversations early on in the relationship, so that they develop long term with a partner who, whatever they believe, supports them and they can feel safe in their relationship.”
This program guides women through how to have these conversations and also confront any myths that arise.
“I think this is what is unique about what JWI does, because we work in leadership, but we also work very deeply in addressing violence against women. We approach women’s leadership with an understanding of trauma, and so we say, ‘This is the reality of what [Jewish] women experience. How do we address that? How do we give women the tools to not only be resilient, but to thrive and grow and become empowered to be leaders and voices?’” Jacobs said.
She described this work as “post-traumatic growth.”
“It’s … more than resiliency,” Jacobs said. “This is about taking this moment and growing.”
Jenny Oswald, the founder and former president of YWIN Philadelphia, said the survey reflects her own experience and the experience of people she knows in this post-Oct. 7 environment. Oswald founded YWIN Philadelphia in the spring of 2023, months before the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel. After the attack, the group’s attendance grew, according to Oswald, who remains involved.
“Women were looking for connection and safe spaces,” she said.
Even two and a half years later, Oswald still notices “a need to hide ourselves a little bit more” among her peers. She calls herself lucky to have a wide Jewish network from her Jewish activity, including a former professional role at BBYO. But she also said that not all of her peers are so lucky.
JWI programming can help young women build that network, according to Oswald. She also wants to see more collaboration between Jewish organizations.
At the same time, while young Jewish women should find their Jewish spaces, they cannot fully retreat. They need to continue to live in the Jewish community and in the wider community.
“Separating ourselves is not going to solve any of these issues,” she said. “It can be easy for misinformation to spread. If we separate ourselves and close ourselves from the rest of the world, that will get worse.”