Survey: 82% of Europeans Don’t Consider Fighting Antisemitism A Priority

Antisemitic sentiments are rising throughout Europe, inflamed by Israel’s war with the Hamas terror group in Gaza. A whopping 82% of Europeans do not view the fight against antisemitism as a policy priority, according to a survey published Tuesday, May 13, by the European Jewish Association (EJA).

The poll of 4,400 people across six countries — France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, the Netherlands, and Belgium — found that more than 20% openly blame Jews in their own countries for the war between Israel and Hamas happening thousands of miles away. 

The EJA survey found that antisemitic messages have become normalized for young people, with more than one in four (28%) Europeans aged 18–24 saying they had participated in or witnessed antisemitic remarks presented as anti-Israel commentary. The workplace was the most common setting for antisemitic remarks, the survey noted. 

Some 65% of Europeans say that the war in the Middle East has impacted how Jews are viewed in their own countries, with 55% saying that it has worsened their perceptions. About half of respondents said that the way the media portrays the conflict harms Jewish communities in Europe, according to the report. 

Despite the severity of the issue, only 18% of Europeans said fighting antisemitism should be prioritized in national policy, the report found. However, when the question was reframed as a question of civil safety, support more than doubled to 40%. (TOI/VFI News)

“For the Lord your God moves about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy” - Deuteronomy 23:14a