Anti-Semitism On The Rise In Europe, According To Anti-Defamation League Report

A man is overcome by emotion during a ceremony for the shooting victims at the Ozar Hatorah Jewish school where a gunman opened fire Monday killing four people in Toulouse, southwestern France, Tuesday, March 20, 2012. Police blanketed southern France on Tuesday, searching for a gunman _ possibly a racist, anti-Semitic serial killer _ who killed four people at a Jewish school and may have filmed his attack.(AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere)

By Lauren Markoe
Religion News Service

WASHINGTON (RNS) Days after a lone gunman murdered a rabbi and three children at a Jewish school in Toulouse, France, a new study reports widespread anti-Semitism in France and across Europe.

The survey, completed in January and released Tuesday by the New York-based Anti-Defamation League, finds that 24 percent of the French population holds anti-Semitic views, up from 20 percent in 2009.

When asked if violence against Jews is rooted in anti-Jewish or anti-Israel sentiment, four in 10 Europeans (39 percent) responded that it was the result of anti-Jewish sentiment.

In France, 45 percent of those asked held this view, up from 39 percent in the previous survey.

"Those increases are all the more disturbing in light of the shooting attack at the Jewish school in Toulouse," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL national director of the Monday (March 19) shootings in France.

About half a million Jews live in France, less than 1 percent of the population and the largest Jewish population in western Europe.

The survey of 5,000 Europeans across 10 countries also asked whether Jews are more loyal to Israel than their own country, wield too much power in the business world, and talk too much about the Holocaust.

The survey found particularly high levels of anti-Semitism in three nations.

"In Hungary, Spain and Poland, the numbers for anti-Semitic attitudes are literally off the charts and demand a serious response from political, civic and religious leaders," said Foxman.

• In Spain, where Jewish civic groups say Spaniards blame their economic woes on the country's Jews, 72 percent of the population holds anti-Jewish views, compared with 64 percent in 2009.
• In Hungary, 63 percent of the population holds anti-Semitic views, up from 47 percent in 2009.
• In Poland, 48 percent show anti-Semitic attitudes, about the same as 2009.

By comparison, attitudes toward Jews in the United States are far more positive. The most recent ADL study, completed in October, found 15 percent of the population holds anti-Semitic views.

Still, nearly one in five Americans at the time said Jews probably have too much influence on Wall Street, a significant uptick from the previous study. As in other countries, tough economic times in the U.S foment age-old myths about Jewish control of the economy, the authors said.

About 6.5 million Jews live in the United States, about 2 percent of the population. The European survey has a margin of error of between 4.4 and 4.9 percentage points, depending on the country.

Comments

[MonkeyTamer]

06:43 PM on 10/30/2012

The "Yooden" use the crutch of Anti-Semitism for legal recourse.

[MonkeyTamer]

06:39 PM on 10/30/2012

If you're not Jewish, then why should 'Anti-Semitism' bother you? Look up Semetic in the dictionary, its North Africans, Arabs and Jews. Not JUST Jews as they would have everyone believe.

[whenicyouucme]

11:02 AM on 05/29/2012

Jewish people in America have a habit of changing their last names to mislead the public of their Jewish lineage so perpetuate a myth that Jew's control the bulk of the wealth and yeild the bulk of the power.
Finally since Israel is self proclaimed a Jewish state, A Jewish homeland that belongs soley to the Jew's. Why would any Jew care if anti Judaism is on the rise in the first place? They wanted their land. Go home then. Problem solved.

[Eteles]

02:23 PM on 06/20/2012

Oh, yeah. Because all Jews think and make decisions as a group, and thus should be treated as one entity. You're not at all racist.

[wow-really]

06:55 AM on 07/18/2012

... sarcasm much?

[keezze]

10:13 PM on 05/16/2012

While the billion muslems burst out of their 42 countries and mass produce as they resettle thoughout europe, europeans institutions are failing, quality of life falling and treasuries drying up as the strain on their resourses cripple their economy. With so few jews around especally in spain poland and greece its getting hard to find the scapegoat. Israel is a convient scapegoat as their economy is booming. So blame the jew for all your problems while you share your retirement fund with your new Islamic neighbors.

[EllyB]

06:50 AM on 05/12/2013

It looks like you've found a new scapegoat.

[SubspaceEcho]

06:24 AM on 04/26/2012

I wonder...

"When asked if violence against Jews is rooted in anti-Jewish or anti-Israel sentiment, four in 10 Europeans (39 percent) responded that it was the result of anti-Jewish sentiment."

... what 'violence' they were exactly referring too.

Isn't it a little bit strange to refer to an undefined violence with closed questions leaving no other answers than the suggested ones? And any 'I don't know, maybe' is counted as 'probably true'?

I think it's tendentious.

[Godkiller]

01:54 AM on 05/11/2012

That's the problem with these polls. We so rarely get to see the wording of the question or the choices given... or the number of people who may have been offended by the question and refused to answer.

As Mark Twain put it "There are lies, damn lies and statistics."

[whenicyouucme]

11:02 AM on 05/29/2012

Let's see the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan brought to you by AIPAC controled America.
Palestinian's displaced, homes seized, never ending wars and Israel's refusal to give the Palestinians a home state. The reason a homestate will never happen for the Palestinians is due to the Israeli's crafty high way system that encompasses what would be Palestinian land (occupied territories)
Perhaps Europeans like Americans are sick to death of being guilted by the holocaust. The mere mention of fact based truth's are considered myths from Israel's mouth peices. Let's see , In America top 1% own more than the bottom 95% combined. Out of the 1% more than 70% of the wealth belongs to Zionist's who label themselves Jews. 96% of the WORLD'S media are owned by 6 Israel companies. Entertainment industry owned by Jews, At least here in America. Feel free to look statistics up for yourself before claiming it's myth.
With these facts, I find it sad that merely stating facts becomes Anti Semetic. Since when is simply stating a truth Anti a population.

[Kenneth William Chain]

03:19 PM on 05/29/2012

Please tell me When it comes to you, you come to me where youv'e gotten your statistics from. You are obviously an anti-semite. The Palestinians have been terrorists going back to Arafat. It is they who will not come to the table. The Israelis have given back settlements in the past and what have the Palastinians done,they've used those settlements to launch rocket attacks on Israel. Since when have Americans shared the guilt for the Holocaust. If you call having a museum in Washington sharing the guilt I'd like an explanation of how and why Americans share that guilt. As for some European countries I could easily feel how they share the guilt ,but even so, tell me how they could have prevented or stopped the rise of Hitler and the Nazis If your statistics were correct I'd say its for obvious reasons, those being that Jews are an overall educated and industrous group of people.As for their day will come , it already has and they are survivers-NEVER AGAIN!

[Robert Lami]

02:02 AM on 04/25/2012

Le judaïsme a toujours existé en Europe, et à l'heure actuelle le peuple français dans sa très grande majorité comprend que l'origine religieuse ne pose pas problèmes à la République.Ce qui pose problème, c'est l'activisme religieux qui conduit à la haine de l'autre en prenant référence dans des écrits religieux incompatibles avec une démocratie.A vous journalistes de trouver les sources de haine de l'autre, en observant l'attitude des religions qui structurent des pays entiers,qui ne seront jamais démocratiques.

[GayZionist2]

12:43 PM on 04/16/2012

In completely unrelated news, the Muslim population in Europe is growing.

[arachne646]

05:41 PM on 05/25/2012

Just have a look at the comment below.

[edwardandersons]

11:49 AM on 04/04/2012

I think the reason anti-semetism is on the rise is because of the large amount of jewish people in positions of control over our lives. The overall Jewish population worldwide is small when compared to other races and for some reason they make up a good part of powerful positions. Everyday Jewish people who live humble lives and work just like the every day person are not targets of hate by people. Its the big money men who seem to do anything to rise in power even if its not legal and may lead to others suffering.

[putzgadol]

11:24 PM on 05/23/2012

christian churches have taught you well. hating jews is a two thousand year old fun
party. to those who say anti-semitism is on the rise, i say, "male bovine feces". it is
always there and has been there for two milleniums.

[Kenneth William Chain]

02:55 PM on 05/29/2012

If I were you I'd do some research on who controls big money both in the U.S. and abroad as it is not Jews.Yes, there have been high profile cases involving Jews like Madoff but far fewer than individuals of other faiths.Also for your information the Jewish population is not a race.Jews are people who practice the faith of Judaism. If you think that there is a high proportion of Jews in positions that control our lives considering the overall size of the Jewish population worldwide I'd say you are far from correct. It may just be that seeing as Jews have always stressed the importance of education,it is they who have come to the forefront and are leaders in many fields but they hardly control peoples lives. If I can say so and not be anti -Christian, I'd say that one ,if not the richest and most powerful organization is centered in Rome and that is theVatican and the Catholic church. Show me any other faith( business) that has control over the lives of a particular group of people.Also Jew are and sadly always will be targets of hate for just the reason I've stated, being educated and successful.

[Kenneth William Chain]

07:51 PM on 04/03/2012

Reply to Amavel
Assuming that your question is really the way you feel, you may not be an anti-semite but you sure aren't very bright.Walk in the shadows of Auschwitz, Dachau, Treblinka, or any other Nazi concentration camp and then see if you can justify your ignorant comment of Israel being a terrorist nation. Just as the U.S. has defended itself after the 9/11 attack, Israel has a right to defend its right to exist as a nation and will have to do so as long as there are individuals who might think as you do.

[whenicyouucme]

11:06 AM on 05/29/2012

Sure, and Israeli's land thefts, Neo Nazism, brutal senseless killing, use of white phosphurus is defense? I find it ludacris for any Zionist to play the holocaust card when news flash, It wasn't the Palestinian people that commited the Jewish genocide. It is most certainly the Palestinians that are paying for it. I am now currently playing you the world's smallest violin. We need more Norman Finklestiens. Less Zionist's commiting war crimes in the name of religion. I find it sad that victims become aggressors. Explain to me why Palestinians who have their houses bull dozed and stolen, who throw rocks get blown up. Israeli's are nothing but bullies and their time will come!

[mustbelove]

08:16 PM on 04/02/2012

I remember looking at pictures of the people in Nazi concentration camps when I was younger and thinking nothing like that could ever happen again. It seemed too horrible and I was naive. I had a lot to learn about how hate can ruin us.

[BlueIndependent]

11:12 AM on 03/28/2012

Unreal. Those numbers paint a very nasty picture. Anywhere from half to two-thirds of the population in the 3 worst countries think this stuff? The demons of World War 2 have not left us. In fact, the demons of millenia of Jewish pogroms have not left us. I would love to know what makes hate like this stick so unfathomably well, so that we can stamp it out of existence.

I've often heard that, for all of America's racial problems, pretty much any other place is even worse. These numbers coming from Europe, of all places, certainly seems to confirm that observation.

[MilitaryHistorian]

10:29 AM on 04/01/2012

That's simply not the case. I live in Europe, know many Jewish people and they get absolutely no hassle whatsoever. Arabs, on the other hand...

[mustbelove]

08:18 PM on 04/02/2012

That's good to hear. Thanks for sharing this.

[whenicyouucme]

11:16 AM on 05/29/2012

There is an Algerian bus driver who was running late on his route one day. (This is in France) his route happened to be in a Jewish neighborhood. He ended up going past this bus stop 60 seconds early. Amazingly enough he was fired. Reason? Jew calls up the bus company and demanded the Algerian bus driver be fired. He said he was going to report the company for the anti semetic policies.
Muslim commedian lost his entire career for making a joke about Jews. This Journalist on french tv attacked the Muslim comedian bringing up the holocaust, how there is no freedom of speech when it comes to the 'poor Jews' demanded an apology and was out raged.
How ever, Another interview, he was attacking Muslim's who were offended by Jewish actors that portrayed Muslim's as nothing more than terrorist's and made outlandish claims against the Muslim's. Amazingly enough this same Journalist contradicted himself, talking about freedom of speech, etc... When a Muslim guest on the show brought up his earlier comments, The french Journalist did nothing but stutter, realized his hypocraisy and continued to change the subject.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kiyyp9cZdY0

[Trentonjordan]

10:30 AM on 03/27/2012

Jews have too much influence on Wall Street? I don't understand that. Jobs in finance are not anyone's by birthright or ethnicity. If there is a high percentage of Jews who work in finance, which I suppose their are, then they chose that profession, they sought the requisite education or acquired the experience to work in that field. Every American chooses their own path, their own profession.

You see the also see same sentiment with Asian engineers or Indian medical personnel.

[Tsvi1]

05:32 PM on 03/27/2012

Exactly, and then people forget that the majority of Jews, like the majority of any ethnic, religious, or racial group are poor.
Seriously, a few North American Jews in the banking world does not pay for the rest of us to survive.

[Nathaneal Green]

05:31 PM on 03/26/2012

Religious and ethinic intolerance is sad in its many form.

[Sunwyn Ravenwood]

04:49 PM on 03/26/2012

More quotations on the status of the Dhimmis, non-believers, in Muslim lands.

"Dhimmis were excluded from public office and armed service, and were forbidden to bear arms. They were not allowed to ride horses or camels, to build synagogues or churches taller than mosques, to construct houses higher than those of Muslims or to drink wine in public. They were not allowed to pray or mourn in loud voices-as that might offend the Muslims. The dhimmi had to show public deference toward Muslims-always yielding them the center of the road. The dhimmi was not allowed to give evidence in court against a Muslim, and his oath was unacceptable in an Islamic court. To defend himself, the dhimmi would have to purchase Muslim witnesses at great expense. This left the dhimmi with little legal recourse when harmed by a Muslim."

"Jews in most of North Africa were forced to live in ghettos. In Morocco, which contained the largest Jewish community in the Islamic Diaspora, Jews were made to walk barefoot or wear shoes of straw when outside the ghetto. Even Muslim children participated in the degradation of Jews, by throwing stones at them or harassing them in other ways. The frequency of anti-Jewish violence increased, and many Jews were executed on charges of apostasy. Ritual murder accusations against the Jews became commonplace in the Ottoman Empire."

[Tsvi1]

05:34 PM on 03/27/2012

Funny how the SAME happened in Christian Europe.
And people wonder why Jews dont trust outsiders.
By the way, you need to tell people where quotes are from

[Sunwyn Ravenwood]

06:05 PM on 03/27/2012

I do sometimes, if people really want to know all they have to do is copy one line to the search engine of google. Sometimes I copy from someone who is referencing a book, and I don't feel like crawling thru all the notes to find it.

[arachne646]

05:53 PM on 05/25/2012

Actually, the Jews in "Moorish" countries had it a whole lot better than among us Christians. Our pogroms and other quaint traditions tended to kill off a few of them every time, or we'd get one of our charming folk-tales like "the Jews killed Christ", "they poisoned the well and started the plague", or "they're stealing the babies to drain their blood for magic" into our heads again, and we'd burn down the ghetto. In the middle ages, it was far better to be a Jew in Muslim countries, or a Christian there, and have legal rights to earn a living, own a business, and practice your religion, than to be a Jew in Europe. In the Ottoman Empire, life was hell no matter if you were Muslim, Christian, or Jew. Laws there were for those who could buy the courts.

[Sunwyn Ravenwood]

04:44 PM on 03/26/2012

In a reply to one of my comments about the status of Jews and Christians in Muslim countries one person claimed that I was lying. In fact, I was telling the truth.

"Although dhimmis were allowed to perform their religious rituals, they were obliged to do so in a manner not conspicuous to Muslims. Display of non-Muslim religious symbols, such as crosses or icons, was prohibited on buildings and on clothing (unless mandated as part of distinctive clothing). Loud prayers were forbidden, as were the ringing of church bells or the trumpeting of shofars. Also, Dhimmis were forbidden to ride horses or camels; they were only allowed to ride donkeys and only on packsaddles, a prohibition that has its roots in the Pact of Umar. In the Mamluk Egypt, where non-Mamluk Muslims were not allowed to ride horses and camels, dhimmis were prohibited even from riding donkeys inside cities Sometimes, Muslim rulers issued regulations requiring dhimmis to attach distinctive signs to their houses."

"Dhimmitude is the status that Islamic law, the Sharia, mandates for non-Muslims, primarily Jews and Christians. Dhimmis, “protected” or “guilty” people, are free to practice their religion in a Sharia regime, but are made subject to a number of humiliating regulations designed to enforce the Qur'an's command that they "feel themselves subdued" (Sura 9:29)."

[MarcEdward]

05:50 PM on 03/26/2012

By modern terms, in a multicultural society, post-enlightenment, where we have freedom of and from religion, the Dhimmi status is certainly not as good.
HOWEVER, compared to how Christian Europe had been treating non-Christians AT THAT TIME and MANY CENTURIES AFTER the Dhimmi status represented a high level of religious tolerance.
You're comparing apples and oranges.
Give it a rest.

[Sunwyn Ravenwood]

11:23 PM on 03/26/2012

I'm sure that all the young Christian women who have been abducted and either raped or forcibly married to Muslim men (pretty much the same thing) would not think so highly of your praise of their abductors or the system that is allowing them to get away with it unscathed.

[jferengi]

03:59 PM on 04/02/2012

You are trying to justify barbaric actions of today by pointing out that others had committed evils hundreds of years ago.
It does not wash. Illogical.