A new poll found that about a quarter of Western Europe harbors anti-Semitic attitudes.
The Anti-Defamation League survey released Thursday said that 24% of Western Europeans hold views that are against Jews, although that number is trending down or remaining steady. That is a contrast to Eastern Europe, where anti-Semitic views are on the rise.
“It is deeply concerning that approximately one in four Europeans harbor the types of anti-Semitic beliefs that have endured since before the Holocaust,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said.
In the survey, the ADL asked how true the respondents believed statements to be. For example, 39% in Western Europe responded at least “probably true” to the question, “Jews still talk too much about what happened to them in the Holocaust.” In Germany alone, that number jumps to 52% who believe that the Holocaust is over discussed.
In Western Europe, 35% and 34%, respectively, said, “Jews have too much power in the business world” and “Jews have too much power in international financial markets.”
There is a clear decline in anti-Semitism when age is examined. Among people aged 50 or older, 27% harbor anti-Semitic attitudes, 24% among those 35-49, and 19% for those aged 18-34.
In Eastern European countries, the numbers were higher. More than 40% of respondents in Poland, Ukraine, and Hungary were found to have anti-Semitic views.
“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,” Greenblatt said.
The survey also polled places other than Europe, including over 100 countries. It found that in total, about 1 billion people in the world “harbor anti-Semitic attitudes.”
