A new survey from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) probed anti-Semitic and anti-Israel attitudes in the countries of the J7 working group, home to some of the largest Jewish populations outside of Israel.
The survey revealed that almost 40% of respondents agreed with at least 6 anti-Semitic topics. Among the results, 56% of all respondents in the seven countries agreed with the old trope of "dual loyalty" or the notion that Jews are more loyal to Israel than to their country of origin, with varying percentages from 51% of respondents in United States up to 64% in Argentina and Germany.
The survey also reveals that the belief that «Jews are responsible for most of the world's wars» has also increased, rising to 23% in Argentina (up from 13% in 2019); 19% in the United States (up from 5% in 2015); 17% in France, (compared to 3% in 2023); and 17% in Germany, up from 4% in 2023. The survey also found that the highest level of anti-Semitism in these countries is among Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996), while Generation Z (born between 1997 and 2012) have the least favorable views of Israel, and Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) and the Silent Generation (born between 1928 and 1945) have the most favorable opinions.
"After years in which anti-Semitism remained on the margins of society, it is alarming to see the percentage of people who harbor anti-Semitic and anti-Israel beliefs increasing, both in the United States and around the world," said Jonathan Greenblatt, general director of the ADL. "This worrying trend demands our immediate attention and unified action. “We will continue to work closely with our partners in the J7 Large Communities Task Force against Antisemitism to record incidents and trends, combat extremism and ensure the safety of Jewish communities around the world.”
The results also highlight a trend whereby, as Israel is demonized, support for Hamas is gradually normalized. On average, more than 15% of respondents view Hamas “very” or “somewhat favorably.” Favorable view of Hamas rises to 26 percent among Generation Z.
Other results of the survey are:
- Respondents in the United Kingdom and Canada have the lowest national averages of anti-Semitic beliefs, while respondents in France and Argentina have the highest.
- The second most accepted cliché in all the J7 countries is that "Jews still talk too much about what happened to them in the Holocaust." Agreement with this topic varies, from 66% in Argentina and 55% in Germany, to 28% in the United Kingdom and 33% in the United States.
- Conspiratorial thinking is the biggest predictor of rising anti-Semitism, even more so than Holocaust denial.
- Although Holocaust denial is less than 2% in the J7 countries, Holocaust distortion—the belief that the Holocaust occurred, but the number of Jews who died was greatly exaggerated—ranged between 5% and 15%, with the highest levels recorded in Argentina (15%) and the United States (11%).
- Argentina (17%), France (13%) and the United States (12%) have the highest level of respondents who have not heard of the Holocaust.
ADL Senior Vice President for International Affairs, Ambassador Marina Rosenberg, said: "The tsunami of anti-Jewish hatred unleashed around the world following the Hamas atrocities on October 7 has reached unprecedented levels, reviving old anti-Semitic tropes. "Although anti-Semitism was on the rise even before the brutal Hamas attack, the global increase in anti-Semitic attitudes and incidents since October 7 is unparalleled."
The ADL Anti-Semitism Index, an analytical tool to identify respondents who harbor anti-Semitic attitudes, is a set of questions used to measure adherence to traditional anti-Semitic tropes and stereotypes that have been shown to lead to hostility and violence. The J7 survey probed anti-Semitic and anti-Israel attitudes in the J7 countries: Argentina, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom.
The study was conducted between February 27 and March 8, 2024 by the ADL Antisemitism Research Center in collaboration with YouGov. The sample size was 1.000 respondents per country, with a total of 7.000 respondents. The margin of error ranges between +/-3,15 and +/-4,03
Underlying everything is anti-Semitism. To these urban protestors with a lot of free time and a lot of woke ideology in their backpack, the last thing that matters to them is what they call "Palestine."