In wake of Halle attack, new study finds over a quarter of Germans hold antisemitic beliefs

More than a quarter of people, 27 per cent, of people in Germany agreed with a range of antisemitic statements about Jews, a study by the World Jewish Congress (WJC) has found.

A total of 41 per cent said they agreed with the statements that “Jews talk about the Holocaust too much” and that “Jews are more loyal to Israel than to Germany”.

More than 20 per cent of respondents agreed that Jewish people have "too much power" over the economy, international financial markets and the media.

The survey was carried out two months ago, before the antisemitic attack on a synagogue in German city of Halle on Yom Kippur, which left two dead. Germany has also seen a rise in support for the far-right AfD.

In response to the attack, football fans have carried banners to matches condemning the attack and the rise in antisemitic sentiment.

One read “Be it in Halle or anywhere else: Against all antisemitism!” Another said “Antisemitism has many forms. They’re all deadly.”

A spokesperson for the WJC told the JC that the study was preliminary and has yet to be presented to the World Jewish Congress leadership.

The WJC said it did not want to discuss or react to the study before it had been considered by the WJC Executive Committee.