Anti-Semitism down after attacks, poll finds

A new Anti-Defamation League study finds that anti-Semitic sentiment dramatically drops in the aftermath of violent attacks against Jews.

An ADL poll of adults in 19 countries, fielded March 10 through April 3, 2015, found minimal change in the levels of anti-Semitic attitudes in most of the countries compared to a year ago, when the league polled 102 countries in a groundbreaking worldwide survey of anti-Semitism, the ADL Global 100 Index.

The most pronounced difference was found in France – scene of the horrific terror attacks earlier this year targeting Jews and journalists – where the number of those expressing anti-Semitic attitudes plummeted from 37 percent in 2014 to 17% in 2015. Germany likewise experienced a decline from 27% to 16%, and Belgium from 27% to 21%. ADL polled an additional 500 respondents in each of these three countries to confirm the overall declines in anti-Semitic attitudes.

The ADL poll also measured Muslim attitudes toward Jews in six countries in Western Europe for the first time. The poll found that acceptance of anti-Semitic stereotypes by Muslims in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK was substantially higher than among the national population in each country.

“After the recent murders of Jews in Belgium and France and attacks on synagogues in Germany, we decided to look at the impact on anti-Semitic attitudes among the national population following high-profile violence against Jews and the condemnations by European leaders,” said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director.

“The poll found a marked increase in concern about violence against Jews in all three countries. The results indicate that heightened awareness of violence against Jews fosters a sense of solidarity with the Jewish community and that strong condemnation by political and civic leaders makes expressing anti-Semitism less acceptable. The ADL Global 100 Index is the benchmark of anti-Semitic attitudes around the world, and we plan to continue polling periodically to measure changes and the effect of events on anti-Jewish attitudes.”