Across the country, new data show many young Jewish women pulling back from public life, changing how they date, edit their resumes, and show up in public spaces. Since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks, a significant number say they are doing all of that out of fear and harassment, including hiding religious symbols and dialing down visible signs of Jewish identity. In Baltimore, mental health provider Shalom Tikvah reports that demand for its services, and the kinds of care people are seeking, shifted sharply after Oct. 7. A new national study frames those changes as a long-term reset in how a generation looks for safety, friendship, and stability at work.
Nationwide Survey: The Numbers Behind The Retreat
Jewish Women International commissioned a mixed-methods national study of 514 Jewish American women ages 20 to 34, with fieldwork conducted from Nov. 11 to Dec. 22, 2025. The topline results are stark: roughly half of respondents say they have pulled back from dating, about three-quarters report negative impacts on mental health and friendships, and more than half say they now feel less comfortable publicly displaying their Jewish identity.
The survey’s methods and detailed findings, including how the questions were asked and how responses were analyzed, are laid out in coverage by Jewish Insider. The full report itself is posted by Jewish Women International.
Baltimore Clinics Feel The Fallout
In Baltimore, those national trends are not showing up as abstract statistics. They are walking into therapy offices.
Jennifer Grossman, co-founder and COO of Shalom Tikvah, told the Baltimore Jewish Times that the agency saw a huge intake uptick after Oct. 7 as clients went looking specifically for Jewish-centered care and a place where they could speak openly. On its own site, Shalom Tikvah describes itself as a family-strengthening behavioral health provider that offers therapy, school consultation, and parent support services.
The local reporting also notes that JWI plans to expand chapters of its Young Women’s Impact Network to additional cities as part of a broader strategy for responding to what the survey uncovered.
How Organizations Say They Plan To Respond
JWI says the study will serve as a blueprint for new programming meant to help young Jewish women rebuild a sense of safety and belonging rather than simply cope in isolation. The organization is talking about mentorship pipelines, peer networks, and workplace-focused workshops that give women tools for navigating hostile or uncertain environments.
Mentorship, facilitated discussion groups, and employer resources have been flagged as early priorities, with JWI channeling the survey’s findings into specific YWIN and WIN initiatives. According to Jewish Women International, the aim is to move from short-term crisis support to sustained networks and concrete interventions in the workplace.
Advocates say the research sends a clear message to employers and community funders: there is an urgent need to create safer, explicitly pro-Jewish spaces and to back serious mental health resources for young women. The report, and the national coverage around it, suggests that without coordinated programs and workplace protections, the social and career fallout documented in the survey is likely to continue. Jewish Insider detailed the survey methods and key findings when it reported on the study’s release.
