ADL survey: 15% of Americans 'unquestionably anti-Semitic'

[Phx_Dem]

The Anti-Defamation League on Thursday released recent survey results which it says show 15 percent of American adults hold "unquestionably anti-Semitic" views.

The figures represent an increase of one percent since last time the survey was conducted in 2005, and contradicted a decade-long trend of reduced anti-Semitism.

The ADL, which is an international organization aiming to reduce anti-Semitism through programs and services, conducted the telephone survey of 2,000 Americans registered as voters in October. A similar survey conducted by it in 1998 showed anti-Semitism dropped from 20 percent to 12 percent over the preceding six years.

Presenting the results of the survey at the ADL National Commission's annual meeting, National Director Abraham Foxman expressed his concern at the apparent reversal of previous trends away from anti-Semitism.

"These findings, coupled with the ongoing acts of anti-Semitic incidents and hate crimes, suggest that anti-Semitic beliefs endure and resonate with a substantial segment of the population, nearly 35 million people.?

The survey found that 31 percent of participants believe Jews are more loyal to Israel than America, down from 33 percent in 2005, and that 27 percent believe Jews were responsible for the death of Christ, down from 30 percent in 2005.

A further 15 percent believed that Jews have ?too much power in the U.S.?, which remained unchanged from 2005, while 20 percent and 18 percent respectively believed Jews have too much influence in business and on Wall Street.

"When it comes to Jews, old stereotypes die hard," said Foxman, adding that ?Jewish power? has replaced many ethnic stereotypes previously attributed to Jewish Americans.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=919518&contrassID=1&subContrassID=1

[Phx_Dem]

1. I'm surprised the percents are this high

but at least they are trending down.

[yardwork]

19. It's trending back up. Probably with help from the White House.

The figures represent an increase of one percent since last time the survey was conducted in 2005, and contradicted a decade-long trend of reduced anti-Semitism.

All hate groups are on the increase throughout the country.

[Behind the Aegis]

22. Politics of fear.

In times of "war," people look for others to scapegoat. Jews are usually target number one, but gays rank up there and the anti-immigrant rhetoric is off the chart. Chris Rock said it best in his "Never Scared" tour, when it comes to hating Jews and Blacks are always on the list because "that train ain't never late!"

[AspenRose]

28. Sad but true

Blacks, GLBTs, Jews and immigrants.....we can now add Muslims to the list as well

I wish there was more unity among these groups, to join forces and fight back.

I posted about the upswing in hate crimes on college campuses last night

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=2206514&mesg_id=2206514

[NNN0LHI]

2. I wonder how many hate Latinos and blacks?

I bet its higher than 15%.

Don

[aquart]

7. Desperate to minimize the figure? To distract from reality?

To make it no biggie?

Why is that?

[NNN0LHI]

10. Desperate?

You are the one who appears desperate to me.

Why is that?

Don

[NNN0LHI]

29. And by the way aquart

I still like and respect you a lot.

You are one of the best here.

Don

[Phx_Dem]

11. from the ADL link

Americans who hold negative attitudes about Jews are also more likely to hold intolerant beliefs, generally.

It bothers me to see immigrants succeeding more than Americans who were born here---34%

Books that contain dangerous ideas should be banned from public school libraries---41%

[NNN0LHI]

14. That is what I would have had surmised?

Thank you for pointing that out to me.

Don

[Lurking Dem]

3. Here's a link

to the actual study.

http://www.adl.org/Anti_semitism/poll_2007/

[Lurking Dem]

6. Do Jews remain

the canary in the coal mine?

[aquart]

9. Yup. That's what "chosen" means.

Kinda like "Bet they can't hate just one."

[Lurking Dem]

16. G-d's chosen barometer.

Spiffy. :+

[Phx_Dem]

13. Thanks!

That's some scary shit. 41% want to ban 'dangerous" books--WTF?

[rockymountaindem]

4. It doesn't sound like much percentagewise

but yeah, that's millions of people when you think about it.

[yardwork]

25. 15% of 300 million = 45 million.

[AngryAmish]

5. Seems about right

[ChicagoRonin]

8. Why is anyone surprised?

Outside of the cities, great swathes of this country consist of rural areas where the populations tend to be white and Christian. Not that there is anything wrong with that or with any of those people, but in the absence of real-life models to offset stereotypes, people tend to dislike or distrust anything (or anyone) unfamiliar. And not just rural areas - I've had a couple of jobs in heavily blue-collar neighborhoods near urban centers, and I was blown away by the ease with which people used expletives for blacks, Asians, women and homosexuals around me (I'm half-Japanese/half-Korean, BTW).

[Canuckistanian]

45. That's not the case in Canada

I live in a rural area in Ontario and I can say that almost nobody is bigoted towards minorities. Or if they are, they keep it to themselves.

There is the usual ignorance about other cultures, but it doesn't translate into a hatred of the unknown.

[ixion]

12. I have a great respect for the Jewish tradition and religion, however I have NONE whatsoever for

Israel, and that does NOT make me anti-semitic, as some would claim.

I wonder how the question was phrased.

[Lurking Dem]

15. In only 12 posts.

Gee.

Link to study with methodology posted above.

[Behind the Aegis]

18. Which question? There were several asked.

Is it this one?

[rockymountaindem]

20. You're the only person bringing up Israel in this thread

Nobody's accused you of anything.

[yardwork]

21. I doubt that the question contained any reference to Israel. That's not what this is about.

[UncleSepp]

56. It didn't, only to whether Jews were more loyal to Israel than the US

That seems to be a popular thing for people to just pull out of their hats, though.

[Phx_Dem]

24. anti-Israel sentiment

is predictive of anti-semitism. just sayin.


http://www.som.yale.edu/faculty/ehk1/JCR_antisemitism_published.pdf

[slowry]

51. That seems like a given? Most, if not all, anti-Semites would be "anti-Israel",

and while the converse isn't by necessity true, of course it would be the case that they're more likely to be anti-Semitic, than someone who isn't "anti-Israel". Isn't that like saying "you're more likely to find people who dislike cheddar, amongst those who dislike cheese, in general"? That analogy sucks, but you get the idea, hopefully.

[yardwork]

72. Actually, there is a subgroup of bigots in the U.S. who technically "support" Israel

while being virulently anti-semitic. Their reasoning (if we can call it that) is that supporting Israel helps fulfill Biblical prophecies that will bring about the end of the world and rapture the true believers into heaven. These folks are usually as bigoted as possible in all directions, but they do tend to support Israel, albeit not for reasons that most people would consider rational.

The thing about bigotry is that it is almost never based on a rational response to a situation. It's a fear-based, irrational response.

[Hardrada]

63. Like if you drink milk you will eventually smoke crack?

Piffle!

[JuniperLea]

46. I agree

I don't like poll results without the actual questions, period.

Ever been to Israel? It's pretty much just like here... leaders who will screw the people in a heartbeat and redefine torture and other things when it suits them... there are a lot of people who are loving and kind, and then there are the extremists on both sides.

[Behind the Aegis]

17. These are the ones that concern me.

Both of these attitudes are seen here more frequently than they should be gien the nature of this discussion board.

[yardwork]

23. The belief that any group talks "too much" about their oppression

is usually an indicator of bigotry. We see it here on DU. The posts follow this general pattern:

"I wouldn't mind (insert name of group being criticized) if they would just be quiet about their (insert stereotyped description of said minority group's attribute) and stop complaining about (insert examples of how the minority group in question was oppressed), which happened (choose one: 500 years ago, 100 years ago, before WWII, back in the 1950s, yesterday)."

[Behind the Aegis]

26. DING! DING! DING! We have a winner!

The other thing I see is the "excusing" or "explaining away" of bigoted remarks and actions. Also, too many folks think racism is calling Blacks, "niggers", or homophobia is calling gays, "faggots", when much of the bigotry today is much more subtle.

[yardwork]

27. Yes, I agree completely.

We see a lot more of the "Some of my best friends are _____, but _________..." posts.

[Chovexani]

34. Relative is the new "friend"

Apparently the troglodytes have realized that they can't get away with the "______ friend" crap anymore, so now they're dragging out their token relatives.

I've seen this way too often on DU lately.

[Elspeth]

30. I'm surprised that the percentage is this low, actually

It seems to me that there is a lot more hard core anti-semitism than 15%.

[Name removed]

31. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[cali]

32. What an interesting response.

you deserve to be called on it. First of all, it has nothing to do with the OP, and certainly nothing in the OP singles out Muslims, as you do Jews, in your response.

[rockymountaindem]

33. It appears you won't be getting an answer

but thanks for trying anyway.

[LeftishBrit]

66. What percentage of ANTISEMITES are anti-Muslim?

A pretty high proportion, I should think! Different forms of bigotry tend to go together - and we should be fighting all of them, not driving wedges betweeen ethnic groups, or justifying bigotry against one on the basis that there's bigotry against another!

[MadHound]

35. I have no doubt that there is anti-semitism in this country

But I would find this study much more credible if it was coming from somebody other than the ADL. It seems like the question of bias would loom over these findings.

[cali]

36. Indeed, and I'm sure you feel the same way about

any poll on racism by the NAACP or a poll on anti-Muslim bigotry by CAIR, and you'd make known your distrust of those organizations, right?

[MadHound]

37. Actually, yes, I would.

Any reasonable pollster, or observer would be aware of potential bias. That is why it is always best to have such studies done by outside, objective agencies. What, do you have a problem with accuracy?

Like I said initially, I have no doubt that there is widespread anti-semitism in this country, the only thing that I'm questioning is the bias of this study.

Oh, and it isn't that I distrust the ADL or any other such organization. Bias can be inherent and non-deliberate, yet still be there.

[cali]

38. OK, fair enough

Why don't you find another survey on it, and compare the numbers to the ADL's?

[MadHound]

40. Why?

Like I said, I have no doubt that there is anti-semitism in this country, I've seen it personally. I really don't need any study to tell me that, and quite frankly I don't have the time or inclination to play these games with you. If proving this point is so very important to you, why don't you find a different study. If it agrees with the ADL, then I will acknowledge my error in misjudging the ADL. If not, well, there it is.

You're really trying hard to make something out of nothing that is here. Frankly, wouldn't we all be suspicious of a study put out by, oh, say, Liberty University that stated that fifteen percent of Americans had anti-christian attitudes? It is the same deal.

[yardwork]

74. You are comparing Jerry Falwell's joke of a "university" with a highly respected institution.

It's not a valid comparison. Organizations gain respect through years of objective review of their approaches and programs. The ADL has earned respect. Liberty University has not.

[UncleSepp]

39. This is what the ADL does

Surveys like this are what guide the ADL in other actions. It's the reason why the ADL exists. Would the Southern Poverty Law Center be a better guide? Their purpose in rooting out and defending against bigotry is more broadly based.

Would the survey be more credible if it were undertaken by an organization which didn't have any interest in researching, exposing, and combating bigotry? The problem is that there aren't disinterested parties doing the surveys. Anybody doing such a survey is doing so because they are interested in the results. What kind of organization could conduct such a study in a way that did not have any question of bias?

[MadHound]

41. There are plenty of organizations out there, professional, non-profit and academic

Who have and will do such studies. Yes, I realize that this is part of ADL's mission. But it is in much the same tradition of the Pew Center or the Heritage Foundation who do studies on various issues, all with the same conservative bias.

Like I said earlier, I have no doubt that there are many, many anti semites out there. But I think that a study like this would be much more credible coming from somebody other than the ADL.

[UncleSepp]

43. They usually partner with Gallup for the administration of the poll

and then do their own interpretation of the poll, to try to mitigate bias at least in the administration part of it. A lot of bias can still be introduced, of course, in the framing of questions and in the interpretation of answers.

How do the other studies on the same subject from other organizations stack up to this one in recent years?

(on edit: In B-school, my favorite areas were Business Research and Marketing, so I'm also kind of a geek for polls, surveys, and focus groups.)

[MadHound]

44. I have absolutely no idea what other studies say on this matter

However I found the ADL's math in this article to be funny to say the least. They first give us the 15% of Americans figure(which adds up to about 45 million Americans), and then hit us with this statement:
"These findings, coupled with the ongoing acts of anti-Semitic incidents and hate crimes, suggest that anti-Semitic beliefs endure and resonate with a substantial segment of the population, nearly 35 million people."

I don't know who, but somebody's math is off just a bit:shrug:

[UncleSepp]

48. That is a little weird...

Somewhere between the numbers and the words, some meaning got lost. At least the numbers weren't switched so that the "endure and resonate" segment ended up being *larger* than the 15% originally stated.

[MadHound]

50. True that, which is why I prefer to see the original studies in cases like this,

Rather than articles in the press. It usually isn't the study that gets it wrong, but the media outlet.

[yardwork]

73. What???!!! The ADL is highly respected.

Perhaps you would prefer a bushco-sponsored organization conduct the poll?

[MadHound]

76. I realize that the ADL is a highly respected organization, I applaud the work that they do

But when you are doing studies such as this, the bias factor does creep in. To eliminate this it is better to have an objective, non-affiliated organization doing the study than one that could be perceived as having an agenda.

[UncleSepp]

42. ORLY?

The ADL claims that it is anti-Semitic and prejudiced to believe that Jews are generally more loyal to Israel than the United States. How is that anti-Semitic? The ADL survey is itself bigoted as it purports that 33 percent of non-Jews are "anti-Semitic" for saying that they believed Jews were more loyal to Israel than America. In truth, the numbers who believe that are probably far above 50 percent. Who in America will dare admit to a pollster that they think Jews are disloyal? Branding a third of our people with the hateful term "anti-Semitic" for simply acknowledging a fact that is easily proven and easily verifiable by Jewish leaders themselves, is itself "defamation".


... did I get that right? ;-)

[cali]

47. huh?

Are you saying that it wouldn't be anti-Muslim to believe that American Muslims are more loyal to the idea of world wide Caliphate than the U.S.? What's the difference? How is it a proven fact that Jews are disloyal? If it's easily verifiable, please do so.

Your post was a bit cofusing, but that's what it looked like it said.

[UncleSepp]

49. I was trying to hit the typical arguments.

None of those things are my opinions. That's what the "... did I get that right?" part was about.

[jakefrep]

52. How's "unquestionably anti-semitic" defined?

Does that include the people who are sick of our government behaving as though Israel's shit doesn't stink?

[Malikshah]

53. Give the poster a seegar! Folks have talked about the poll methods

but there wasn't any info on the questions and/or definitions.

[Lurking Dem]

60. Except that I linked to the actual poll

which included methodology and the questions 8 hours before you posted.

[Malikshah]

61. Still willing to give the poster a seegar as the question asked is not answered

:)

[UncleSepp]

62. The question asked is answered in the link

Can I get one of those cigars? I've got the brandy, let's smoke one, drink a bit, and review the results, shall we?

[Lurking Dem]

70. It's hard work

clicking on a provided link! And then you have to, like, READ it!

/growl

[UncleSepp]

71. It's dangerous, too

Who knows what could be lurking behind a link like that? It could even be ... gasp! ... information directly contradicting an assumed truth! How damaging! How shocking!

Hey man, don't get me wrong. I can see the other point of view here. Combating made up enemies is much safer, and debating with your own ventriloquist's dummy is much safer, too.

[UncleSepp]

55. No. That's not one of the questions.

http://www.adl.org/Anti_semitism/poll_2007/7.asp

There are the questions.

[UncleSepp]

54. Link to the survey

http://www.adl.org/Anti_semitism/poll_2007/7.asp

This is a link to page 7 of the report on the survey, which contains the index of antisemitism questions. Only one question refers to Israel. It says "Jews are more loyal to Israel than the United States", and it does not say anything about what the respondent feels about Israel.

In short, survey respondents' feelings on Israeli policy is not considered among the measurements of antisemitism.

[bonito]

57. Well the neocon are not doing very well

As far as public perception goes toward Israel thats for sure.

[LeftishBrit]

67. What the bloody hell has that got to do with anything!!!

The poll was not about attitudes to Israel.

And not all neo-cons are pro-Israel, though many like to *use* Israel as a pawn, I mean ally, the same as they do their other pawn, I mean ally, the UK.

Not that any of this should even be RELEVANT to a poll about attitudes to AMERICAN JEWS, not Israelis.

[orleans]

58. i would think you could find fifteen percent that is anti anything

anti one nationality or another
anti environment
anti government
anti one religion or another
anti public education
anti technology
anti professional (doctors, lawyers)

check out the southern poverty law center--they follow and study hate groups--it's really spooky how many we have across the country. "Today, the Project tracks more than 800 hate groups around the nation."
http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intpro.jsp

here is a map to click on to see how many hate groups are near you
http://www.splcenter.org/intel/map/hate.jsp

[in_cog_ni_to]

59. Actually, I'm surprised it's not higher than 15%. n/t

[Hardrada]

64. Well, obviously, it is a lot higher

but people are polite and dislike making their actual prejudices known, particularly since there is no way at present, they must feel, for their prejudices to safely or effectively become overt. And perhaps people don't like importunate pollsters. Also, some old dislikes are rooted very deeply since they have for centuries operated in tandem with long-held religious creeds. And religious beliefs as Jews and Christians both understand are so central to human existence that they are worth one's life to defend.

[denem]

65. Anti-Semitism - A conumbrum for hate groups.

Sometimes I hear from people, including friends, talk about some hate group making news. We may be being sitting around a table discussing it and I add- "They hate Jews". Silence. Silence. Someone will say - "No I don't agree with that." The conversation moves on. The train tracks of hatred have an unforgettable destination.

[LeftishBrit]

68. It's at least as bad in the UK, and worse in some other Europaean countries

Xenophobia and ethnic and religious bigotry are a big problem in many places, and get whipped up by right-wing politicians and journalists - and nowadays by internet hate-sites.

The Jews are not by any means the only target for hate-groups - but they are probably the group that's been targeted the LONGEST!!!

Here is a link to an interesting British website about antisemitism and other forms of xenophobia.

www.axt.org.uk

[Donald Ian Rankin]

69. Only 27% believe Jews were responsible for the death of Christ?

I wonder what the others believe happened to him? Do they blame Romans, possibly?

If the question were phrased "the Jews" as opposed to just "Jews" then the answer would be "no", but that's a very different question.

The really worrying ones are the ones about Jews having too much influence, I think - those are the ones most likely to impact on the lives of Jewish people in America.

[yardwork]

75. Maybe they place the responsibility with God, since Jesus was a willing Lamb.

Just a thought.