94 percent of French Jews
believe the media are largely to blame for the current climate of antisemitism
Nearly 94 percent of Jews in France believe that the media bear some
responsibility for the current climate of antisemitism in the country,
according to a recent survey conducted to by French Jewish organizations Siona
and JForum.
The survey, conducted online between April 17 and May 16 2014, examined
several issues facing the Jewish community in France. Nearly 4,000 answers were
received.
“Everything is done to
present Israel as guilty and the semantics used by some media outlets has led
to a culture of anti-Israeli hatred that has become the breeding ground for antisemitism,”
read a statement issued by Siona in response to the results.
“This hatred is largely
sparked by well-orchestrated Islamist and Palestinian propaganda which spread
disinformation on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, thereby delegitimizing and
demonizing Israel,” the statement continued.
In the survey, over 95 percent of respondents said they believe antisemitism
in France is very worrisome and 93 percent believed the country is not doing
enough to combat Islamist and pro-Palestinian propaganda.
The results of the poll are reminiscent of a similar study carried out in
the wake of the Toulouse-Montauban killings in 2012.
Nearly 15 percent of respondents in the Siona/JForum survey said they
were victims of physical or verbal antisemitic attacks in the past two years.
In addition, 57.5 percent of respondents believe there is no future for
Jews in France and nearly 75 percent reported wanting to leave the country in
the near future.
“These figures clearly
demonstrate that the Jewish community in France is extremely concerned,”
Roger Pinto, president of Siona, told i24news. “People are really asking
themselves whether they should stay or leave because many don’t see a future in
France.”
“In 2012, we were still
reeling from the [Mohammed] Merah case, but two years later the numbers have
not changed,” he added.
Most survey respondents also believe that French public opinion is
indifferent to antisemitism. 75 percent said that Jewish institutions were
ineffective at combatting this indifference.
