On Thursday, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) released a global survey of 18 European countries and found that antisemitism remains a pervasive problem in many areas, and is even on the rise in others.
The poll is part of the ADL Global 100: An Index of Anti-Semitism and was fielded betweeen April and June 2019 in Eastern and Western Europe, Canada, South Africa, Argentina, and Brazil. In Eastern and Central European countries, the tropes of “Jewish power” and “dual loyalty” are particularly widespread. Many people in those areas also stated that they believe that Jewish people talk too much about the Holocaust. About one in four Europeans polled harbor these attitudes towards Jews.
In Poland, controversial laws on the restitution of Holocaust-era Jewish property and Holocaust speech have been debated in recent years. This resulted in a rise of antisemitic attitudes across 48 percent of the population. Three out of four survey respondents in Poland said they agreed that “Jews still talk too much about what happened to them in the Holocaust.”
In Hungary, the nationalist government ran anti-immigrant advertising campaigns on billboards across the country that featured Jewish financier George Sorors. This resulted in a rise of antisemitic attitudes across the country, with 25 percent of the population believing that “Jews want to weaken” Hungary’s national culture “by supporting more immigrants coming to our country.”
“It is deeply concerning that approximately one in four Europeans harbor the types of antisemitic beliefs that have endured since before the Holocaust,” said Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO. “These findings serve as a powerful wake-up call that much work remains to be done to educate broad swaths of the populations in many of these countries to reject bigotry, in addition to addressing the pressing security needs where violent incidents are rising.”
Countries where the ADL Global 100 Index Survey found antisemitic attitudes have significantly increased:
- Ukraine – up 14 percent
- Poland – up 11 percent
- South Africa – up 9 percent
- Brazil – up 9 percent
- Russia – up 8 percent
- Argentina – up 6 percent
On a more positive note, antisemitism is down in a few countries as well:
- Italy – down 11 percent
- Austria – down 8 percent
- Canada – down 6 percent
Few European countries blame Jewish people for immigration problems, however, the poll did find a general anti-immigrant sentiment across Europe. Particularly in Austria, Denmark, Hungary, and the Netherlands, residents believe that the traditions and culture of their country are threatened by immigration.
Jenn Bentley is a freelance writer whose work has also been featured in publications such as Wander N.O. More, The High Tech Society, FansShare, Yahoo News, Examiner.com, and others. Follow her on Twitter: @JennBentley_