Over the past few days, several people have shared with me a fascinating dataset from a recent US General Social Survey, which tracks the percentage of Americans who say they are “very happy.” The results are striking.

Across the board, happiness has declined since COVID. But some groups saw sharper drops than others.

Jewish Americans were among them.

Before the pandemic, roughly one-third of Jewish respondents said they were “very happy.” In the most recent data, that number has fallen to roughly one in five — one of the steepest declines among the groups measured.

At first glance, the finding is surprising. Jewish communities in North America tend to be highly educated, economically successful, and socially connected — characteristics that usually correlate with higher levels of wellbeing.

But the last few years have been different.

For many Jews, particularly since October 7, the sense of security that underpinned everyday life has been shaken. Reports from around the world illustrate that many Jews feel less safe than they did just a few years ago. In Canada, antisemitic incidents have surged to record levels in recent years, with thousands of reported incidents annually. This past two weeks alone,........

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