One in four Germans holds antisemitic views, but Jews most liked minority
The survey was commissioned by the World Jewish Congress.
By ROSSELLA TERCATINPeople wear kippas as they attend a demonstration in front of a Jewish synagogue, to denounce an anti-Semitic attack on a young man wearing a kippa in the capital earlier this month, in Berlin, Germany, April 25, 2018.(photo credit: FABRIZIO BENSCH / REUTERS)
One in four Germans holds antisemitic views, according to a World Jewish Congress survey first reported by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung. The survey was conducted interviewing 1,300 Germans in a period that preceded the October 9 against a synagogue in the city of Halle by a far-right extremist that left two bystanders dead. About 27% of the respondents stated to share antisemitic views. Among those, 41% of the respondents agreed with the statement "Jews talk about the Holocaust too much," and that Jews are more loyal to Israel than to Germany. Moreover, approximately one in five interviewees thinks that Jews have too much power over the media, the economy and financial markets.
However, according to a copy of the survey uploaded on the website of Rasmussen Global, an international consultancy firm established by former Danish PM and NATO Secretary Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Jews are also the most liked minority group in Germany. In the survey, the respondents, who were selected at random to offer a representative sample of the adult population in Germany, were asked about the likability of several groups of people. When asked whether they had a favorable opinion on Jews, 64% said yes, while 16% stated that they had an unfavorable idea. For Muslims, about 30% said favorable and 53% unfavorable. Other religions were also the subject of questioning - for Christians 67% favorable and 23% unfavorable, and for atheists 53% favorable and 16% unfavorable. For immigrants the figures were 34% favorable and 48% unfavorable and for Roma people 21% favorable and 64% unfavorable.For LGBT people 61% of interviewees answered favorably and 19% unfavorably. The survey asked the same questions also about different groups, including Israelis and Palestinians. 40% of the respondents said they had a favorable view on Israelis, and 34% unfavorable, while 20% had a favorable view of Palestinians and 51% unfavorable. "Judaism places an emphasis on intellectual intelligence and that has meant that Jews are often very successful. They also work hard, but why does someone not like them for that?" Cologne Rabbi Jechiel Brukner said, commenting on the results of the survey with the German news agency Deutsche Welle. "Think about this: There are still living Holocaust survivors and Germans already dare to entertain antisemitic thoughts — and even to take action based on them. That's incredible," he added.
