The findings released by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) revealed that nearly half of the Europeans surveyed believe Jews are not loyal to their country and more than one-third believe they have “too much power” in business and finance.
Attitudes Toward Jews in Seven European Countries an opinion survey of 3,500 adults – 500 in each of the seven European countries – Austria, France, Hungary, Poland, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom – conducted December 1, 2008 – January 13, 2009, found 31% of the respondents across Europe blame Jews in the financial industry for the current global economic crisis.
Overall, 40% of Europeans in the countries polled believe that Jews have too much power in the business world, with more than half of Hungarian, Spanish and Polish respondents agreeing with that statement.
The findings were similar to those of a 2007 ADL survey that found significant percentages of Europeans continue to believe in some of the most pernicious antisemitic stereotypes.
“This poll confirms that anti-Semitism remains alive and well in the minds of many Europeans,” said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. “It is distressing that there seems to be no movement away from the constancy of antisemitic held views, with accusations about Jews of disloyalty, control and responsibility for the death of Jesus.
“In the wake of the global financial crisis, the strong belief of excessive Jewish influence on business and finance is especially worrisome,” Mr. Foxman added. “Clearly, age old antisemitic stereotypes die hard, particularly on a continent which is witnessing a surge in violent attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions following the war in Gaza.”
A comparison with the 2007 survey indicates that over the past two years levels of antisemitism have remained steady in six of the seven countries tested. The United Kingdom was the only country in which there was a marked decline. Meanwhile, the percentage of those believing that Jews “have too much power in the business world” increased by 7% in Hungary, 6% in Poland and 5% in France.
Respondents across the continent were asked a series of indicator questions representing the most pernicious notions of antisemitism and whether or not they thought the following four statements were “probably true” or “probably false.”
