The ADL’s figures are more than double those recorded a decade ago by the New York-based antisemitism watchdog, and mark the highest levels since the charity began tracking Jew-hatred globally.
Nearly two in five British adults (38 per cent) endorsed the dual loyalty trope, stating that Jews were more loyal to Israel than to the UK.
When asked about attitudes to the Shoah, most Brits (89 per cent) answered that the Holocaust happened and is fairly described, but 20 per cent said they believe that although the Holocaust happened, Jews talk too much about it.
Globally, the survey found that 20 per cent of respondents have not heard about the Holocaust and less than half (48 per cent) recognise the Shoah’s historical accuracy, which fell to 39 per cent among 18 to 34-year-olds.
Image: ADL[Missing Credit]
While Holocaust denial is relatively rare around the world (4 per cent), distortion is more common and, according to the ADL, there is a “gradual denial of its significance,” with 17 per cent of people answering that the “Holocaust happened, but the number of Jews who died in it has been greatly exaggerated by history.”
The UK is ranked seventh lowest out of the 18 nations in Western Europe and ninth lowest globally.
Of the countries in Western Europe with the highest levels of antisemitism, the ADL found that 58 per cent of people in Cyprus hold antisemitic views, 50 per cent of people in Greece, and 30 per cent in Belgium.
Sweden (five per cent), Norway (eight per cent) and the Netherlands (eight per cent) had the lowest scores in Western Europe.
Although Western Europe had lower levels of antisemitic attitudes compared to other regions, around one in five adults still harbour significant antisemitic beliefs, according to the ADL.
The report recognised that the UK and Western Europe have experienced a significant increase in antisemitic incidents since October 7 2023.
The ADL surveyed over 58,000 adults from 103 countries and territories, representing 94 per cent of the global adult population.
Samples from each nation were representative of residents of the country and the survey was conducted via interviews on the telephone, face-to-face and through a probability survey.
Image: ADL[Missing Credit]
The ADL asked respondents 11 questions designed to assess whether they believed anti-Jewish tropes to be true or false. These questions included asking if Jews have too much power in the business world, too much control over global affairs or are responsible for most of the world’s wars.
Over three-quarters of respondents in the Middle East and Africa believed most of the tropes to be true, with the highest numbers in the West Bank, Gaza and Kuwait, where 97 per cent of respondents demonstrated antisemitic attitudes. In Indonesia and Bahrain, 96 per cent of the population hold “entrenched antisemitic views”.
The trope that has increased most over the last 50 years according to the survey is about loyalty to Israel, conflating Jews with the Jewish state.
An answer which the ADL said carried a “perception of malice”, was that Jews do not care about other people. Globally, 50 per cent of people agreed with the statement “Jews don’t care what happens to anyone but their own kind”.
Respondents younger than 35 had “elevated levels of antisemitic sentiments”, according to the ADL, which found that 40 per cent of those under 35 agreed “Jews are responsible for most of the world’s wars” compared to 29 per cent for those over 50.
Despite the worrying findings about increasing antisemitism, the ADL also found that a majority of respondents around the world (57 per cent) recognise that Jew hate is a serious problem.
Addressing the findings, ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said: “Antisemitism is nothing short of a global emergency, especially in a post-October 7 world. We are seeing these trends play out from the Middle East to Asia, from Europe to North and South America.
“Negative attitudes towards Jews are an important pillar that the ADL uses to assess overall levels of antisemitism within a country, and our findings are deeply alarming. 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.
“This fight requires a whole-of-society approach – including government, civil society and individuals and now is the time to act.”
Marina Rosenberg, ADL Senior Vice President for International Affairs, added: “Antisemitic tropes and beliefs are becoming alarmingly normalized across societies worldwide. This dangerous trend is not just a threat to Jewish communities - it’s a warning to us all.”
