More than two-thirds of Israeli teens have been exposed to antisemitism on the Internet and one-in-three report being the victim of a cyber-assault because they are Israeli, according to a new survey by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) released today.
The ADL poll of 500 Jewish teens between ages 15 and 18, conducted in Hebrew by the Israeli polling company Geocartography, found that 69 percent of young Israelis have encountered various forms of antisemitic expression on the Internet. Thirty-six percent (36%) of those polled reported being the victim of online attacks, including verbal abuse or being blocked from a Web site or forum simply because they are Israeli.
The poll was conducted in mid-October 2013 and has a margin of error of +/- 4.4 percent.
“The poll found a disturbingly high number of Israeli teens has experienced antisemitism, not as part of their daily lives in Israel, but on the Internet,” said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. “While they feel generally safe at home, Israeli teens are hardly immune from exposure to antisemitism and hatred toward Israel due to the borderless nature of the Internet and the cover of anonymity it provides to antisemites and those holding extreme anti-Israel views.”
ADL’s Israel Office commissioned the poll in honor of the League’s 2013 Centennial Year in an effort to flesh out anecdotal evidence that Israel’s technologically saavy youth are no strangers to the various strains of antisemitism that spread virally on the Internet.
The two-thirds of Israeli teens who reported being exposed to antisemitic content described having experienced various forms of hatred online:
- 76 percent have been exposed to anti-Jewish caricatures, antisemitic images and symbols like swastikas;
- 70 percent have encountered antisemitic expressions made by others;
- 67.7 percent have visited social media websites espousing antisemitic ideas;
- 63.5 percent have watched or listened to videos or songs with antisemitic content;
- 46.2 percent say they have stumbled upon or visited antisemitic web sites.
Of those Israeli teens who reported being attacked simply because they are Israeli:
- One in four (25 percent) said they have been denied access to specific pages;
- 23 percent reported being verbally assaulted;
- 9 percent said they had been banned from various web forums;
- 6 percent reported being physically threatened because of their Israeli nationality.
Of those who did experience antisemitism or a cyber-assault due to nationality, a significant majority – 59 percent – said they took some type of action to counter the antisemitic or anti-Israel content. Nearly 37 percent of Israeli teens said they reported the issue directly to Internet providers, while another 20 percent said they had asked a friend to report the issue on their behalf.
Mr. Foxman, the co-author with Christopher Wolf of “Viral Hate: Containing Its Spread on the Internet” (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013), said the fact that many Israeli teens are actively reporting their run-ins with online antisemitism is encouraging.
“The good news is that Israeli teens are not only technologically saavy but do not remain passive and are more than likely to report the antisemitism or anti-Israelism they encounter,” said Mr. Foxman. “The poll findings serve as a reminder that, even in Israel, education about antisemitism continues to be very important. Teenagers need to know how to identify and to report antisemitism and inappropriate behavior online because they, too, can play a role in helping to respond to and counteract online hate speech.”
Selected ADL Poll Questions: 2013 Survey of Israeli Teens
Have you or have you not experienced any of the following due to being Israeli?
- 23% – I was cursed for being Israeli
- 9.1% – I was excluded (shunned) within different forums for being Israeli
- 24.7% – I was denied access to websites or certain webpages for being Israeli
- 5.5% – I was physically threated for being Israeli
- 63.7% – None of the above
The term “Antisemitism” is defined to mean “hatred of Jews.” Have you or have you not encountered any manifestations of online antisemitism, for example: antisemitic expressions of different people, symbols, images, caricatures, drawings, videos, etc?
- 1.3% – I have encountered online antisemitism only directed towards me
- 55.9% – I have encountered online antisemitism only generally
- 11.8% – I have encountered online antisemitism both generally and directed towards me
- 31% – I have not encountered online antisemitism
Have you or have you not encountered any of the following manifestations of online antisemitism?
- 70% – Antisemitic expressions from different people (Examples: Facebook status updates / tweets on Twitter, etc that are antisemitic)
- 67.7% – Pages on social media websites (like Facebook) that contain antisemitism
- 63.5% – Videos or songs that contain antisemitism
- 76.5% – Caricatures, images or symbols that have antisemitic characteristics (like swastikas)
- 46.2% – Antisemitic websites
- 3.6% – None of the above
In response to manifestations of antisemitism that you encountered, did you or did you not react in any of the following ways? (Note: this question pertains only to those who responded that encountered online antisemitism)
- 20.7% – I told my parents about the antisemitic content I encountered
- 11.3% – I told my teachers about the antisemitic content I encountered
- 36.9% – I reported to the management of the social media outlet / website about the antisemitic content, and sent a request to remove it
- 20.4% – I asked a friend to report to the management of the social media outlet / website about the antisemitic content, and send a request to remove it
- 26.7% – I posted online comments in response to antisemitic content
- 15.8% – I reacted in a different manner (not listed above) against the manifestations of antisemitism
- 40.4% – None of the above
