In regions like the Middle East and North Africa, 76 percent of respondents believed most of the survey’s 11 antisemitic tropes to be true. Troublingly, around half the respondents in Asia, Eastern Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa held high levels of antisemitic attitudes as well. And while the Americas, Western Europe and Oceania had relatively lower levels of antisemitic attitudes, we found that around one in five adults still harbored these sentiments.
This data needs to be a wake-up call. Antisemitism isn’t an abstract issue — it’s a threat that manifests in violence, hatred and the erosion of social cohesion. We’ve seen this even in countries with the lowest levels of antisemitic attitudes, including in North America and Western Europe, in the many horrific antisemitic incidents perpetrated by a small, vocal and violent minority.
The ugly incident that took place in the Netherlands just months ago, in the city where Anne Frank once hid from Nazis, is an all-too-real example of this phenomenon.
Yet, amid these alarming findings, the survey also identified avenues for possible and urgent change. Encouragingly, 57 percent of respondents recognized that hate toward Jews is a serious problem in the world. But that’s just a start.
Governments and leaders worldwide need to take a stand against antisemitism and all forms of hate. Words of condemnation are no longer enough. We need robust hate crime laws that punish bigoted conduct, while also providing tangible protections for vulnerable communities. For instance, legislative protections for Jews and targeted Holocaust education for young students can help mitigate the harmful effects of these rampant anti-Jewish attitudes.
Additionally, in order to mitigate the ever-present threat of antisemitism and protect Jewish communities, governments, international organizations and NGOs should adopt and implement the Global Guidelines for Countering Antisemitism. Safety is a most basic right.
