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Study: 20% of Germans harbor anti-Semitism
Sarah Bauder and AP

A new study by a Parliament-appointed commission shows 20% of Germans harbor “latent” anti-Semitism, but anti-Jewish crimes are almost exclusively committed by the far right.

The 188-page report – which draws on several different surveys and other research – puts Germans in the middle of the pack in Europe, with a German university survey showing more latent anti-Semitism in countries such as Poland, Hungary and Portugal, and less in Italy, Britain, the Netherlands and France.

The study released Monday said the surveys show that about one-fifth of Germans agree with anti-Semitic statements, such as “Jews have too much power in business.”

The study also showed that 90% of anti-Semitic crimes are committed by right-wing extremists, who number about 26,000 according to official estimates.

It recommends better coordination of local, state and federal strategies to combat anti-Semitism.
The report makes reference to “a wider acceptance in mainstream society of day-to-day anti-Jewish tirades and actions”.

“Anti-Semitism in our society is based on widespread prejudices, deeply rooted clichés and on sheer ignorance about Jews and Judaism,” stated one of the report’s authors, Dr. Peter Longerich of the University of London,

Holocaust Research Center.

The report cites the Internet as a contributing factor to the spread of anti-Semitic thought.
“With regard to modern forms of communication – we point to the Internet in particular – it is virtually impossible to prevent the spread of such thinking,” Longerich continued.

The 202-page study, titled "Anti-Semitism in Germany," covered a wide spectrum, including hatred of the Jewish state within the Left movement, as well as Islamic loathing of Israel and Jews, particularly by Iran's regime and the Turkish media.

Dr. Wahied Wahdat-Hagh, a senior research fellow with the Brussels-based European Foundation for Democracy and an expert on Islamic-fueled anti-Semitism, was a member of the 10-member commission. He told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday that "the experts came to the conclusion that the ideology of the Iranian regime is anti-Semitic." According to the report, Iran's anti-Semitic ideology not only manifests itself in propaganda within the country, but also influences Germany.

Wahdat-Hagh backs this up, saying that Iran supports foreign anti-Semitic entities "militarily, financially and ideologically." He cited the examples of Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

While considerable space was devoted to extremist right-wing anti-Semitism, Wahdat-Hagh said the commission also investigated the "anti-Semitic content of the Turkish press in Germany."

Flying Dutchman wrote: According to the report, Iran's anti-Semitic ideology not only manifests itself in propaganda within the country, but also influences Germany.

According to one commission member, Dr. Juliane Wetzel, hyperbolic criticism of Israel – an expression of anti-Semitism – exists among 40 to 50 percent of the German population.

However, Dr. Clemens Heni, a leading German scholar of contemporary German anti-Semitism, said Wetzel plays down the widespread form of anti-Israel anti-Semitism in the Federal Republic.

He told the Post on Tuesday, “According to a 2003 poll by the European Commission, 65% of Germans see Israel as the biggest threat on a worldwide scale. In fact, the numbers are probably even higher, over 80% at least, [of those] who have more or less [of] an anti-Israel stand.

Anti-Semitism still haunts Germany
...
It should be said that Germany has a growing Jewish population, arguably the fastest growing Jewish population in Europe.

Many of the immigrants are from Russia but many are from Israel - people who have come to live in the land of their fathers, people who have come to live in the land that expelled their fathers to their deaths.
...
Attitudes to Jews in Germany obviously have a big importance, but those who study racism put them into a wider context. There is enmity - and a lack of enmity - towards many groups.

Last year the University of Bielefeld published the results of a survey across Europe which looked at attitudes not just towards Jews but Muslims and other victims of what it called "group-focused enmity".

It concluded: "Group-focused enmity is widespread in Europe.
..

According to the report, roughly 90% of documented anti-Semitic crimes originate from the extreme Right and neo-Nazi groups.

Soccer matches are also a frequent source of anti-Semitic diatribes. Fans have chanted “Jews belong in the gas chamber,” “Bring back Auschwitz,” and “Synagogues must burn,” at sporting events.

Additionally, the study revealed that the word “Jew” is used as a pejorative term among German pupils to denigrate fellow students.

Dr. Peter Longerich, a historian of the Nazi period and a member of the commission, said, “anti-Semitism in our society is based on widespread prejudices, cliches with deep roots and pure ignorance about everything to do with Jews and Judaism.”

shafique wrote:BM - welcome back. Try and refrain from trolling and stick to the topic at hand. (And go back and read what I posted first and Mel's reply.)

A major annual study of worldwide anti-Semitic incidents points to a dramatic rise in anti-Semitism in 2009, with particularly steep jumps in Western Europe and Canada.. . .

The year in the wake of Operation Cast Lead was the worst since monitoring of anti-Semitic manifestations began, in terms of both major anti-Semitic violence and the hostile atmosphere generated worldwide by the mass demonstrations and verbal and visual expressions against Israel and the Jews," the report said.

The report, considered an important bellwether of anti-Jewish sentiment worldwide, was released ahead of Holocaust Remembrance Day in cooperation with the European Jewish Congress (EJC).

Among its most dramatic findings was a 102 percent increase in anti-Jewish violence worldwide, from 559 incidents in 2008 to 1,129 in 2009.

In addition, there were "many more hundreds of threats, insults, graffiti signs and slogans and demonstrations featuring virulently anti-Semitic content... sometimes resulting in violence," according to the report.

A significant part of this increase took place in the UK, where violence jumped from 112 incidents in 2008 to 374 last year; in France, where the jump was from 50 to 195, and in Canada, where incidents soared from 13 to 138.
The US, which ordinarily enjoys a very low rate of anti-Jewish violence compared to the size of its Jewish community, nonetheless saw a modest rise, from 98 to 116 incidents.

In some countries, these figures are only the latest spike in a continuing trend. The British Jewish community's monitoring system counted a three-fold increase in anti-Semitic occurrences since 1999, while Canada counted a five-fold increase since 2000.

Most violent attacks in Western Europe came from people of Arab or Muslim heritage, the report found.. . .

In 2009, however, “white” attacks [in the UK] dropped to 48% and “Asian” or “Arab” attacks jumped to 43%.
During the month of January 2009, in the midst of Operation Cast Lead, “Asian” and “Arab” attackers accounted for fully 54% of incidents, although the Muslim community numbers just 4% of the general population.

Germany, Russia and the Ukraine do not seem to have been affected by the trend in the West, and may even have seen a decrease in incidents for 2009, the report found. It is unclear if the difference is real, or due to difficulties in discovering and reporting incidents.

event horizon wrote:Your imagination is not the source of factual statements.

shafique wrote:Yes, a number of times - indeed I worked for a German multi-national for quite a while. Why? I hope it is relevant to this thread.

Bethsmum wrote:Just wondered why you were using the Germans to support your anti semitic views.

Your imagination is not the source of factual statements.

shafique wrote:Stop trolling BM. Wrong thread.

Here's the photo from Jerusalem Post. They don't look 'Muslim' to me.

shafique wrote:Now, eh's knee-jerk reaction to believe a snippet from a JP article from 2010 is most interesting. In Germany the majority of anti-semitic attacks are by his fellow far-right friends (who share his xenophobia and Islamophobia, as well as carry out anti-semitic attacks, let's remember) is ignored.

shafique wrote:90% of anti-Semitic attacks in Germany are by your fellow right-wingers. Address this point - denial and smoke and mirrors is not a pleasant trait.

As for the trolling, weren't you trolling on Mel's thread about the sanctions placed on Iran? DDS posted a distasteful youtube thing and you said you would be humming it all day long.

Is it a case of do as I say and not as I do?

Here's the photo from Jerusalem Post. They don't look 'Muslim' to me.

shafique wrote:BM - Why do you think I'd want to encourage your trolling and address an off topic comment?

shafique wrote:Thanks for your opinion BM - but let's not compound any trolling in another thread with trolling here. Two wrongs don't make a right.

shafique wrote:My comment about the photo of the far right Germans was quite clear - they don't look like 'Muslims' to me. I'm sure most people can work out why I used the ' ' and understand the context. Don't worry if you don't get it