A new survey of seven countries across Europe revealed that nearly half of the Europeans surveyed believe Jews are not loyal to their country and more than one-third believe they have “too much power” in business and finance.

The findings were released Tuesday by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in New York.
 
The study, “Attitudes Toward Jews in Seven European Countries”, shows millions continue to believe the classical anti-Semitic canards that have persistently pursued Jews through the centuries. 
 
The opinion survey of 3,500 adults – 500 in each of the seven European countries – Austria, France, Hungary, Poland, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom – conducted from December 1, 2008 to January 13, 2009, found 31% of the respondents across Europe blame Jews in the financial industry for the current global economic crisis.
           
Overall, 40% of Europeans in the countries polled believe that Jews have too much power in the business world, with more than half of Hungarian, Spanish and Polish respondents agreeing with that statement.           
  
 “This poll confirms that anti-Semitism remains alive and well in the minds of many Europeans,” said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL’s national director. 
 
“It is distressing that there seems to be no movement away from the constancy of anti-Semitic held views, with accusations about Jews of disloyalty, control and responsibility for the death of Jesus.”
 
 “In the wake of the global financial crisis, the strong belief of excessive Jewish influence on business and finance is especially worrisome,” Foxman added. 
 
“Clearly, age old anti-Semitic stereotypes die hard, particularly on a continent which is witnessing a surge in violent attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions following the war in Gaza.”
           
A comparison with the 2007 survey indicates that over the past two years levels of anti-Semitism have remained steady in six of the seven countries tested. 
 
The United Kingdom was the only country in which there was a marked decline, ADL said.
 
The percentage of those believing that Jews “have too much power in the business world” increased by 7% in Hungary, 6% in Poland and 5% in France.
 
ADL commissioned First International Resources to conduct the survey.  Fielded in Europe by Taylor Nelson Sofres, it was conducted in the native language of each of the countries among the general population.           
 
Country by Country findings on anti-Semitic attitudes  
 
In responding “probably true” to the statement, “Jews are more loyal to Israel than their own country,” the 2009 survey found:
Austria – 47%, down from 54% in 2007
France – 38%, down from 39% in 2007
Germany – 53%, up from 51% in 2007
Hungary – 40%, down from 50% in 2007
Poland – 63%, up from 59% in 2007
Spain – 64%, up from 60% in 2007
The United Kingdom – 37%, down from 50% in 2007
 
In responding “probably true” to the statement, “Jews have too much power in the business world,” the 2009 survey found:
Austria – 36%, down from 37% in 2007
France –  33%, up from 28% in 2007
Germany – 21%, unchanged from 2007
Hungary – 67%, up from 60% in 2007
Poland – 55%, up from 49% in 2007
Spain – 56%, up from 53% in 2007
The United Kingdom – 15%, down from 22% in 2007
 
In responding “probably true” to the statement “Jews have too much power in international financial markets,” the 2009 survey found:
Austria – 37%, down from 43% in 2007
France – 27%, down from 28% in 2007
Germany – 22%, down from 25% in 2007
Hungary – 59%, down from 61% in 2007
Poland – 54%, unchanged from 2007
Spain –74%, up from 68% in 2007
The United Kingdom – 15%, down from 21% in 2007
 
In responding “probably true” to the statement “Jews still talk too much about what happened to them in the Holocaust,” the 2009 survey found:
 
Austria – 55%, up from 54% in 2007
France – 33%, down from 40 % in 2007
Germany – 45%, unchanged from 2007
Hungary – 56%, down from 58% from 2007
Poland – 55%, down from 58% in 2007
Spain – 42%, down from 46% in 2007
The United Kingdom – 20%, down from 28% in 2007