William Fisher

NEW YORK, Apr 25 2005 (IPS) — Nearly 35 million U.S. citizens – 14 percent of the adult population – hold "strong" anti-Semitic beliefs, according to a new nationwide survey by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) watchdog group.

"When it comes to Jews, old stereotypes die hard," said Abraham Foxman, ADL’s national director, "especially about loyalty, the death of Jesus, and power."

For more than 40 years, one of the most stable and telling indicators of anti-Jewish prejudice in the United States has been the question of fundamental Jewish loyalty to the U.S. The survey found that 33 percent of U.S. citizens believe Jews are more loyal to Israel than the United States, no change from 2002. In 1998, it was 31 percent; in 1992; 35 percent.

The 2005 "Survey of American Attitudes Towards Jews in America", a national poll of 1,600 adults conducted in March, found that 30 percent of respondents believe Jews were responsible for the death of Christ, up from 25 percent in 2002.

Previous ADL surveys over the last decade had indicated that anti-Semitism was in decline. Seven years ago, the number of U.S. citizens with hardcore anti-Semitic beliefs had dropped to 12 percent, from 20 percent in 1992.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, fights anti-Semitism through programmes and services to counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.

"What concerns us is that many of the gains we had seen in building a more tolerant and accepting America seem not to have taken hold as firmly as we had hoped," Foxman said.

Ken Jacobson, Associate National Director of ADL, told IPS, "It’s true that the experience of Jews in America is different from that in many other parts of the world, such as Europe and the Middle East. Jews have become assimilated and accepted in American society. But what the survey tells us is that even America is not immune from anti-Semitism."

"While there are many factors at play, the findings suggest that anti-Semitic beliefs endure and resonate with a substantial segment of the population."

The survey shows that anti-Semitic incidents reached their highest level in nine years in 2004. A total of 1,821 anti-Semitic incidents were reported last year, an increase of 17 percent over the 1,557 incidents reported during 2003.

Stereotypes about "Jewish power" in the U.S. have replaced many of the classic ethnic stereotypes previously attributed to Jewish Americans. The survey revealed that while the percentage of people who believe Jews have too much power has diminished – 15 percent, down from 20 percent in 2002 – those who hold the most anti-Semitic views are preoccupied with perceptions of Jewish control.

Those who believe that Jews have too much power in the business world have declined in the general population, from 23 percent in 2002 to 19 percent this year. But this view is held by 80 percent of the most anti-Semitic Americans.

The survey also revealed that 35 percent of foreign-born Hispanics hold hardcore anti-Semitic beliefs, (down from 44 percent), while 19 percent of Hispanics born in the U.S. fall into the same category.

The number of African-Americans with strong anti-Semitic beliefs has remained high and stable since 1992. The 2005 survey found that 36 percent of African-Americans hold strong anti-Semitic beliefs, four times more than the 9 percent for whites.

"We are heartened to see some progress in the Hispanic community," said Foxman. However, "We continue to remain troubled and somewhat at a loss to understand why African-Americans consistently have such strong anti-Semitic propensities."

Less educated and older people are also more likely to hold anti-Semitic views.

Jews, however, are not the only victims of hate and stereotypes. In a study conducted late last year by Cornell University to determine how much the public fears terrorism, almost half of respondents polled nationally said they believe the U.S. government should – in some way – curtail civil liberties for Muslim Americans.

The survey found that about 27 percent of respondents said that all Muslim Americans should be required to register their location with the federal government, and 26 percent said they think that mosques should be closely monitored by U.S. law enforcement agencies.

Twenty-nine percent agreed that undercover law enforcement agents should infiltrate Muslim civic and volunteer organisations, in order to keep tabs on their activities and fund raising.

About 22 percent said the federal government should profile citizens as potential threats based on the fact that they are Muslim or have Middle Eastern heritage.

In all, about 44 percent said they believe that some curtailment of civil liberties is necessary for Muslim Americans.

The Media and Society Research Group, in Cornell’s Department of Communication, commissioned the poll, which was supervised by the Survey Research Institute, in Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations. Results were based on 715 completed telephone interviews of respondents across the United States.

The survey also examined the relation of religiosity to perceptions of Islam and Islamic countries among Christian respondents. Sixty-five percent of self-described highly religious people queried said they view Islam as encouraging violence more than other religions do; in comparison, 42 percent of the respondents who said they were not highly religious saw Islam as encouraging violence.

In addition, highly religious respondents also were more likely to describe Islamic countries as violent (64 percent), fanatical (61 percent) and dangerous (64 percent). Fewer of the respondents who said they were not highly religious described Islamic countries as violent (49 percent), fanatical (46 percent) and dangerous (44 percent).

But 80 percent of all respondents said they see Islamic countries as being oppressive toward women.

Researchers found that opinions on restricting civil liberties for Muslim Americans also vary by political self-identification. About 40 percent of Republican respondents agreed that Muslim Americans should be required to register their whereabouts, compared with 24 percent of Democratic respondents and 17 percent of independents.

Forty-one percent of Republican respondents said that Muslim American civic groups should be infiltrated compared with 21 percent of Democrats and 27 percent of independents.

On whether mosques should be monitored, about 34 percent of the Republicans polled agreed they should be, compared with 22 percent of Democrats. Thirty-four percent of Republicans said that profiling of Muslim Americans is necessary, compared with 17 percent of Democrats.

The survey also showed a correlation between television news-viewing habits, a respondent’s fear level and attitudes toward restrictions on civil liberties for all Americans. Respondents who paid a lot of attention to television news were more likely to favor restrictions on civil liberties.