Will Promoting Positive Jewish Achievements Reduce Negative Sentiment Towards Israel?
As CAMERA previously reported on April 17, a study titled Intolerance, Prejudice and Discrimination by the Frederich Ebert Stiftung in Germany reveals the persistence of anti-Semitism throughout Europe. A substantial number of people in all the European countries polled believe that Israel is conducting a war of extermination against the Palestinians.
Because the study covers a variety of forms of prejudice (anti-Muslim, anti-homosexual, anti-immigrant) its analysis focuses on ideological, political and economic factors. These may not be central to anti-Jewish animosity which appears to be driven by immutable processes.
The highest figures for anti-Jewish attitudes persist in Eastern and Central European countries where Jews have largely disappeared due to prior genocides and emigration and in countries like Norway and Spain that have not had large Jewish populations ever or in many centuries.
Interestingly, in all the countries polled, a majority of respondents believed that Jews have enriched their culture. The fact that this positive belief co-exists with such negative beliefs about Jews does not augur well for campaigns promoted by Jewish organizations and the Israeli government emphasizing the positive contributions made by Israel and the Jewish community as a way to shift public opinion towards Israel.
The study also documents a generational shift towards more anti-Jewish hostility among the youngest cohort. This reverses a long trend of declining anti-Semitism with each new generation.
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