Anti-Semitism Soars in Eastern Europe
The old canard of ‘dual loyalty’ also has currency in Western European countries like Spain and Belgium.
By William A. Galston
Nov. 26, 2019 6:49 pm ET
Opinion: Rising Anti-Semitism Threatens Liberal Democracy
Politics & Ideas: A recent global survey by the Anti-Defamation League found that anti-Semitic attitudes have increased significantly across Europe since 2015. Image: Czarek Sokolowski/Associated Press
During the past decade, as internal struggles have preoccupied the U.S., the rest of the world hasn’t been standing still. China has risen, as has populist nationalism—and so too, it turns out, has anti-Semitism.
The latest global survey conducted by the Anti-Defamation League finds that anti-Semitic attitudes have increased significantly since 2015 in Central and Eastern Europe, which before the Holocaust was home to most of European Jewry. According to the ADL’s 11-question index, in use for more than 50 years, the share of the adult population expressing a high level of anti-Semitic views rose from 37% to 48% in Poland, 32% to 46% in Ukraine and 23% to 31% in Russia. Hungary showed a more modest increase of 2 points, but from a high base of 40% in 2015.
In these four countries, classic stereotypes prevailed. Asked whether “Jews have too much power in the business world,” 72% of Ukrainians agreed, as did 71% of Hungarians, 56% of Poles and 50% of Russians. Sixty-eight percent of Ukrainians, 67% of Hungarians, 56% of Poles and 40% of Russians agreed that “Jews have too much power in international financial markets.” Fifty-six percent of Ukrainians, 51% of Hungarians and 40% of Poles believe that “Jews have too much control over global affairs.” (Russians trailed at 29%, perhaps because they believe—correctly—that Vladimir Putin is more powerful than a mythical Jewish conspiracy.)
Citizens of these four countries also resent being reminded of the Holocaust. Asked whether “Jews still talk too much about what happened to them” in the genocide, 74% of Poles answered in the affirmative, as did 59% of Hungarians, 50% of Russians and 44% of Ukrainians.
This view is widespread in Western Europe as well. Fifty-two percent of Austrians regard the discussion of the Holocaust as excessive, as do 42% of Germans, 40% of Belgians, 38% of Italians and 37% of Spaniards.
Demography makes a difference. To a remarkable extent, anti-Semitism is now (and perhaps always has been) a predominantly male phenomenon. In the 14 European countries the ADL surveyed, men were more likely than women to express high levels of anti-Jewish sentiments, often by huge margins—22 percentage points in Poland, 15 in Hungary and 11 in Ukraine. In most of these countries, moreover, older citizens were more likely than younger ones to express these sentiments. One significant exception is Hungary, where those aged 50 and older were significantly less likely to voice prejudice.
The creation of the state of Israel has provided a new focal point for the ancient charge of Jewish disloyalty. Throughout the European countries surveyed, remarkably high shares of the population agree that “Jews are more loyal to Israel than to the countries in which they live.” Even in Sweden, which the ADL finds to be one of the least anti-Semitic countries in the world, 25% of citizens embrace this view.
The ADL did not resurvey the U.S. in 2019, but in 2015 it ranked low on the global spectrum, with only 10% of adults expressing a high level of anti-Semitism. Even so, fully 33% of Americans thought that Jews were more loyal to Israel than to the U.S., a figure that all Americans—Jews as well as non-Jews—should ponder. It is unlikely that this figure has declined during the past four years, a period in which anti-Semitic incidents have risen sharply.
The charge of disloyalty is a pervasive fact of contemporary Jewish life. Globally, 38% of respondents to the ADL survey agreed that Jews were more loyal to Israel than to the countries in which they lived, usually as citizens. In the most recent responses for all 102 countries the ADL has surveyed, majorities of the population in exactly half—51 countries—thought that Jews’ first loyalty was to the Jewish state. It isn’t evident what can be done about this.
Most scholars believe that anti-Semitism reflects a deep-seated antipathy to Jews and Judaism as such, rather than a critique of Jewish conduct. Nevertheless, 45% of Poles and 42% of Ukrainians believe that “people hate Jews because of the way Jews behave,” a view echoed by 32% of Austrians and 31% of Germans.
The resurgence of anti-Semitism suggests that old battles must be fought anew, with all the vigor defenders of liberal democracy can command, if we are to avoid regressing to dark times.
