One in three Poles have anti-Semitic attitudes
Before the war, it was home to over three million Jews; today, just under 16,000 people identify as Jews. Photo EPA, Jacek Turczyk
Central Europe
More than a third of Poland's population "harbour antisemitic attitudes". This makes Poland one of the leading European countries. Yet, the percentage is lower than before.
This is according to research by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), an NGO that fights and researches anti-Semitism. The organisation presented a random and representative part of the population of 10 European countries with 11 Jewish stereotypes. The question was then whether the interviewee agreed with this position. Those who answered that a majority of the statements were "probably true" were classified as having anti-Semitic attitudes.
This survey shows that of these 10 European countries, Hungary stands out. There, some 37 per cent have anti-Semitic feelings. Poland, the country with the largest Jewish population before World War II, comes second with 35 per cent. Before the war, it was home to over three million Jews; today, just under 16,000 people identify as Jews.
When presented with the antisemitic stereotypes, 62% of people in Poland said it was “probably true” that Jews are more loyal to Israel than their own country, 57% that they talk too much about what happened to them during the Holocaust, and 53% that they have too much power in the business world and financial markets. This reports Notes from Poland.
Jewish stereotypes
The Anti-Defamation League presented the interviewees with the stereotypes below. Those who answered that a majority of the statements were "probably true" were classified as having anti-Semitic attitudes.
- Jews are more loyal to Israel than to [this country/the countries they live in]*
- Jews have too much power in international financial markets
- Jews have too much control over global affairs
- Jews think they are better than other people
- Jews have too much control over the global media
- Jews are responsible for most of the world's wars
- Jews have too much power in the business world
- Jews don't care what happens to anyone but their own kind
- People hate Jews because of the way Jews behave
- Jews have too much control over the United States government
- Jews still talk too much about what happened to them in the Holocaust
Feelings
Overall, ADL states that roughly one in four Europeans from the selected countries have anti-Semitic attitudes. In addition, these feelings are stronger in Eastern Europe than in the Western part of the continent.
Despite Poland's leading position in this statistic, some Polish-Jewish leaders, like chief rabbi Michael Schudrich argued that Jews in Poland are relatively safe from physical attacks. 'I call it the yarmulke test: Can you walk around safe with a yarmulke? It’s a crude measure of antisemitism, but in Warsaw and Krakow, we have no problems. Can the same be said in Belgium and France?'
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