Time magazine earlier this year devoted its cover to “The New Anti-Semitism.” Noah Feldman, a Harvard law professor, highlights the notable increase following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Feldman notes that “anti-Semitic incidents are on the rise.” tripled “In the United States, compared to the previous year,” a worrying reflection of a trend that is not limited to one region but is global in nature. In addition, in June, a Jewish girl was raped by two 13-year-old teenagers in the Paris suburbs. The attackers beat her and “forced anal and vaginal penetration and fellatio on her, while threatening to kill her and hurling anti-Semitic insults at her,” the investigation said.
In Time magazine, Feldman highlights the increase in anti-Semitic attitudes and events not as an isolated phenomenon, but as part of a problem rooted in historical stereotypes and prejudices. The rise in anti-Semitic attitudes cannot be attributed merely to religious causes, he suggests.
In this context, a survey was revealed by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) The study surveyed anti-Semitic and anti-Israel attitudes in the J7 working group countries, home to some of the largest Jewish populations outside Israel, and shows that anti-Semitism is on the rise. The data found that 40% of respondents in the 7 countries with the largest Jewish communities (France, Canada, Britain, Argentina, Russia, Germany and Australia) agreed on 6 of the 12 anti-Semitic topics analyzed.
According to the study, which was conducted between February 27 and March 8, 2024, respondents in the United Kingdom and Canada have the lowest national averages of anti-Semitic beliefs, while Respondents from Argentina have the highest, with an index of 5.69, followed by France, which reached 4.95. From the Anti-Defamation League they indicate that “October 7 (the date of Hamas crimes in Israel) gave new life to old anti-Semitic clichés.”
For example, 56% of all respondents across the seven countries agreed with the old trope of “dual loyalty,” or the notion that Jews are more loyal to Israel than to their home country, with percentages ranging from 51% of respondents in the United States to 64% in Argentina and Germany.
In Argentina, 23% of the population believes that “Jews are responsible for most of the world’s wars.” This number is up from the previous survey conducted in 2019. Five years ago, only 13% of the Argentine population believed this. This statement was also agreed upon by 19% of respondents in the United States (compared to 5% in 2015); 17% in France (compared to 3% in 2023); and 17% in Germany, compared to 4% in 2023.
The second most accepted cliché in all 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, up 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%, recording the highest levels in Argentina (15%) and the United States (11%). On the other hand, Argentina (17%)France (13%) and the United States (12%) have the highest level of respondents who have not heard of the Holocaust.
The survey also found that the highest level of antisemitism 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 views.
The results also highlight a trend according to which, As Israel becomes demonized, support for Hamas is slowly becoming normalized. On average, more than 15 percent of respondents view Hamas “very” or “somewhat favorably.” And it is in Argentina where this aspect is most noticeable: The favorable view of Hamas rises to 26 percent among Generation Z.
ADL Senior Vice President for International Affairs Ambassador Marina Rosenberg stressed: “The Tsunami of anti-Jewish hatred unleashed around the world following Hamas atrocities on October 7 has reached unprecedented levels, reviving ancient anti-Semitic tropes. Although anti-Semitism was on the rise even before the brutal Hamas attack, “The global rise in antisemitic attitudes and incidents since 7 October is unprecedented.”
For its part, Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the ADL, declared that “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 increase, both in the United States and in the rest of the world.” He added: “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 ADL Anti-Semitism Index is an analytical tool to identify respondents who harbor anti-Semitic attitudes through a set of questions used to measure adherence to traditional anti-Semitic clichés and stereotypes which 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, United States and United Kingdom. The study was conducted by the ADL’s 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, they noted, ranges between +/-3.15 and +/-4.03.
The ADL is the world’s leading anti-hate organization. Founded in 1913, its mission is “to end the defamation of the Jewish people and ensure justice and fair treatment for all”Today, ADL continues to fight all forms of anti-Semitism and prejudice, using innovation and partnerships to expand impact.
The J7, the Large Communities Working Group on Antisemitism, was created in response to rising rates of antisemitism around the world andIt is made up of the main Jewish organizations in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Argentina and Australia..
More information in www.adl.org.
