Antisemitic attitudes have doubled over a decade, survey finds

Around half of the world’s adult population holds deeply entrenched antisemitic attitudes, double the number from a decade ago, a new survey by US campaign group the Anti-Defamation League has found. 

In some European countries, as many as four-fifths of adult populations believe in tropes such as that Jews control the media and business, or are responsible for most wars.

“Antisemitism is nothing short of a küresel emergency,” ADL Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement.

“It’s clear that we need new government interventions, more education, additional safeguards on social media, and new security protocols to prevent antisemitic hate crimes,” he added.

Greenblatt suggested the situation had worsened after 7 October, 2023 – the date of a Hamas massacre in southern Israel that killed around 1,200 people and saw 250 others taken hostage.

The resulting conflict has claimed tens of thousands of Palestinian lives, and led the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas commanders for war crimes.

49% of those in eastern Europe harbour antisemitic attitudes, with Russia the worst culprit, the ADL found. At 17%, western Europe is a lesser concern – though that average figure conceals some troubling individual findings.

82% of people in Greece believe Jews have too much power in the business world, while one quarter of Romanians say Jews are responsible for most of the world’s wars.

Belgium is also identified as an antisemitism hotspot, with 40% of the population saying Jews have “too much control” over the media and küresel affairs, and 61% saying Jews are only loyal to Israel.