Nearly half of people across the globe harbor antisemitic beliefs, ADL says

By John Towfighi, CNN

(CNN) — Antisemitism has surged around the globe over the past decade, according to the Anti-Defamation League, an alarming trend that has largely been led by younger generations.

A striking 46% of adults across the globe harbor “deeply entrenched” antisemitic attitudes, according to an annual survey conducted by the ADL. The number of people who hold antisemitic beliefs has more than doubled across the past decade – now at 2.2 billion people, the ADL found.

Antisemitic beliefs rose across the globe particularly after the October 7, 2023, Hamas terror attack against Israel and Israel’s war in Gaza, the ADL found. Notably, the survey found that there are significantly elevated levels of antisemitic attitudes among people under 35 compared to older people.

The findings are from the latest installment of the ADL Global 100 Index survey, which is conducted in tandem with Ipsos, a market research firm. The ADL Global 100 Index, published annually since 2014, tracks the prevalence of antisemitic attitudes worldwide. ADL surveyed more than 58,000 people in 103 countries and territories across the globe.

The survey is based on 11 questions that gauge respondents’ opinion toward prevalent stereotypes and negative tropes about Jewish people. The corresponding index score is determined by the number of people who respond “definitely true” or “probably true” to six or more of the negative stereotypes.

Jonathan A. Greenblatt, the chief executive at the ADL, said in a statement that the survey’s findings were “deeply alarming.”

“Antisemitism is nothing short of a global emergency, especially in a post-October 7 world,” Greenblatt said. “It’s clear that we need new government interventions, more education, additional safeguards on social media and new security protocols to prevent antisemitic hate crimes.”

Antisemitic attitudes rising among young people as memory of Holocaust fades

Young people were more likely to harbor antisemitic beliefs than older people, the survey found, highlighting a worrying trend across the globe.

Among the survey’s findings, one of the more striking revelations was the lack of historical knowledge about the Holocaust. One in five survey respondents, or 20%, said they were not aware of the Holocaust.

Less than half of respondents, or 48%, recognized the historical accuracy of the Holocaust. And among people aged 10 to 34 years-old, the number of people who recognized the Holocaust’s historical accuracy fell to 39%.

Marina Rosenberg, a senior vice president at the ADL, told CNN in a phone interview that it was deeply concerning to see people questioning the historical accuracy of the Holocaust.

Rosenberg said while only 4% of respondents said the Holocaust was a myth and did not happen, there was a worrying rise in the amount of historical distortion and bending of the truth.

“This is something that we need to target with better education,” Rosenberg said. “We need people to recognize what happened in history so it will never repeat itself.”

Antisemitism not isolated to one region

In 2023, the number of antisemitic incidents in the US reached a record high since the ADL began tracking such incidents in 1979.

Three Ivy League presidents stepped down across the year, largely in response to Congressional hearings on antisemitism on college campuses and administrative responses to pro-Palestinian protests. The ADL gave a dozen schools including Harvard an “F” for handling antisemitism on campus.

In Europe, antisemitism has also been rising, with attacks surging since the October 7 Hamas attacks. In November, Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam were attacked in the streets and had antisemitic insults hurled at them.

Greenblatt, the CEO of the ADL, said in a statement that trends of heightened antisemitism are occurring in varying degrees across the globe.

Over three-quarters, or 76%, of respondents in the Middle East and North Africa indicated that they believe most negative stereotypes about Jewish people to be true, the survey found.

The territory and countries with the highest prevalence of antisemitic beliefs included the West Bank and Gaza, Kuwait and Indonesia. Meanwhile, Sweden, Norway, Canada and the Netherlands scored the lowest on the index, indicating the least prevalence of antisemitic beliefs.

While the survey highlighted troublesome attitudes, there were positive findings. Most respondents worldwide, or 57%, recognize that the hate towards Jews is a serious problem.

Seventy-one percent of respondents said their country should have diplomatic relationships with Israel and three-quarters of respondents said they welcome Israeli tourists. Over two-thirds, or 67%, of respondents said they did not want their country to boycott Israeli products and businesses.

Rosenberg said it is important to recognize that no political side or region in the world “holds a monopoly” on antisemitism, and governments across the globe must do more to combat incidents of hate and violence.

“Even in the countries with the lowest level of antisemitic attitudes globally, mainly in Western Europe and also in North America, we’ve seen many antisemitic incidents perpetrated by this emboldened small, vocal and violence minority that is basically holding society hostage with their hate,” Rosenberg said.

“We need to take immediate action, because if we don’t take action now, things will get worse,” she added.

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