(Jewish Group) Does the number of violent assaults on Jews convey a country's antisemitism level? No

Does the number of violent assaults on Jews convey a country’s antisemitism level? No, a European poll says.

A large new poll of people in 16 European countries published with a conclusion on Tuesday that may confuse the continent’s Jewish leaders: The number of “violent acts” against Jews and “the degree of anti-Jewish sentiment” in most E.U. countries are “essentially unrelated.”

To test antisemitic attitudes, the survey, conducted by polling company Ipsos and the Action and Protection League, a watchdog group based in Hungary, asked respondents if they think it ”would be best if Jews left this country.” A total of 1,000 adults responded in each of the 16 countries surveyed.

In countries such as Poland, Greece and Hungary, which see very few violent antisemitic attacks each year, the number of respondents who responded yes to that question was higher than most: 24%, 23% and 21%, respectively.

But in Germany, where a record-high number of 2,351 incidents were recorded last year, 62% of respondents rejected the question, and only 7% agreed. Similar trends were observed in France, where 687 antisemitic attacks were recorded in 2019, and in the United Kingdom, where 1,668 incidents were documented last year.

more...