A recent poll determined that a large number of\nEuropeans hold views that are antisemitic and, at the same time, awareness\nabout the Holocaust is decreasing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More than 7,000 people were polled on behalf of\nthe news network CNN. In each of seven countries \u2013 Austria, France, Germany,\nHungary, Poland, Sweden and the United Kingdom \u2013 1,000 people were surveyed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One-third of those surveyed \u2013 and one in two\nrespondents in Poland \u2013 stated that Jews exploit the Holocaust to advance their\ngoals and that Israel uses the Holocaust as a tool to justify its policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One in 20 Europeans have never heard of the\nHolocaust. In Austria, 12% of respondents said they had never heard of it,\nwhile 40% admitted they know little about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
About 40% of respondents in Poland and Hungary\nclaim that Jews have too much influence on business and finances. One-third of\nPoles and Hungarians think Jews exert too much influence on global politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Other findings in the poll deliver a mixed bag.\nHalf of respondents in all countries claimed to know \u201cquite a lot\u201d about the\nHolocaust, with 20% claiming to have \u201cextensive knowledge.\u201d Two-thirds of\nEuropeans agree that commemorating the Holocaust helps ensure similar\natrocities do not happen in future and half believes that Holocaust\ncommemoration helps combat antisemitism today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While Jewish people constitute about 0.2% of\nthe total world population, 25% of Hungarians and 20% of Polish and British\nrespondents believe that more than 20% of the world is Jewish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The poll says that 54% of Europeans believe\nthat Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish state. (One almost wishes they had\nbeen asked if France has a right to exist as a French country, or Poland as a\nPolish country.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One-third of Europeans, according to the poll,\nbelieve that criticism of Israel is symptomatic of antisemitism, while 20%\nbelieve that it is not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Deflecting blame for antisemitism away from its\nperpetrators and onto its victims, 28% of respondents contend that antisemitism\nin their respective countries is a direct response to Israel\u2019s actions. Fully\n18% of Europeans blame antisemitism on the behaviour of Jews themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Polls like these are an important barometer of\nopinion. There is little in the results that will surprise anybody who has been\npaying attention to European developments in recent years. Previous surveys\nhave indicated that Europeans (as well as North Americans and others) have what\nwe would consider an inadequate grasp of the realities of the Holocaust.\nLikewise, nobody needed a survey to know that antisemitism in Europe is at a\nlevel unprecedented in recent decades. However, it is important to have empirical\nevidence like this, especially a survey that is both cross-national and\nincludes enough respondents to make it statistically significant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It would be no help at all to throw up one\u2019s\nhands and declare Europe lost, as some people have done in recent days. But\nneither do we, in Canada, have all that much influence over what happens there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We do, however, have the ability to influence\nthings closer to home and we should redouble our efforts to ensure that trends\nin Europe are not transmitted to our shores. We are, by no means, immune to\nthis kind of thinking. A similar study done in Canada or the United States\nwould indicate some parallels with the European results, albeit, we hope, not\nto the deeply concerning degree that this study has indicated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n