CNN Poll Highlights Anti-Semitism in Europe

A poll released by CNN on Nov. 27 highlights the extent of current anti-Semitism in Europe, revealing a belief in anti-Semitic stereotypes and a lack of education about the Holocaust among the European population.

The poll, which surveyed more than 7,000 respondents in Austria, Britain, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland and Sweden from Sept. 7-20, found that 33 percent of respondents believe that Jews have too much power in global politics and 20 percent believe that Jews have an outsized influence in the media.

Additionally, 28 percent of respondents blamed Israel’s actions for anti-Semitism and 18 percent blamed the actions of Jews for anti-Semitism.

On the Holocaust, 5 percent of respondents said they had never heard of the Holocaust; that number increased to 20 percent among 18-34 year olds in France. While 33 percent of respondents said that the Holocaust is used as a tool to advance Jews’ political agenda, 33 percent of respondents also said that Israel politicizes the Holocaust to advance its policies.

Yad Vashem said in a statement that the CNN poll shows “the necessity to intensify broad-based efforts in the area of Holocaust education and awareness, which is essential to any effort to contend with anti-Semitism.”

Recent examples of anti-Semitism in Europe include a group of young men throwing a firecracker at an Israeli reporter in Germany and the vandalism of Jewish grave sites throughout Eastern Europe.