A new survey finds that 44 percent of the Italian population harbors some sort of prejudice against Jews.
A report on the survey, conducted by the Center for Contemporary Jewish Documentation in Milan, was published Monday in Corriere della Sera newspaper.
The survey identified three forms of anti-Jewish stereotypes that co-exist in Italy but do not necessarily overlap. Some 10 percent of respondents appeared to harbor only “classic” stereotypes, such as “Jews are not really Italians at heart” or “Jews can’t be trusted,” while 11 percent harbored only “modern” antisemitic stereotypes, such as Jews control politics and the media or are more loyal to Israel than to their home countries. Another 12 percent of respondents held “contingent” antisemitic stereotypes, largely linked to pro-Palestinian or anti-Zionist views.
The survey found that only about 12 percent of respondents shared all three of these categories and could be considered “real anti-Semites.”
Some 55 percent of respondents held no antisemitic prejudice.
The survey broke down the results by various political and social categories, finding that the highest percentages of “real anti-Semites” were found in both the far-right and far-left. Leftists tended to hold “contingent” anti-Jewish views, while rightists were more prone to hold “classic” anti-Semitic stereotypes.
