UK antisemitism survey

Mrs Bissli

Wed, Jan 14 2015, 2:12 pm

One of rare occasions when discussion on anti-Semitism becomes a top story on mainstream media.
However, I take this with a grain of salt, on several grounds. I don't think 2233 surveys are statistically --that's probably just under 1% of UK Jewish population roughly speaking. Also the survey was organised by CAA whose raison-d'etre is to raise awareness of anti-Semitism in the UK so not completely an unbiased study. I would be curious to see, though, how the statistic stacks up vs other countries, and against such studies done previously.

http://antisemitism.uk/annual-.....shed/

Survey shows anti-Semitic views are common among Britons
A new survey has shown an alarming prevalence of antisemitic sentiment among British people

By Gregory Walton
6:00AM GMT 14 Jan 2015

Antisemitic views have been shown to be rampant among British people according to the results of a new polls.
One in four Britons were shown to believe that Jews 'chase money more than other people', according to a poll by YouGov.

Meanwhile the new survey showed that 17 per cent of respondent believe that Jewish people think themselves better than others.

A similar proportion felt that Jewish people have too much power in the media.

A separate poll also revealed that more than half of all British Jews feel that antisemitism has begun to echo the widespread anti-Jewish hatred of the 1930s, according to the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA).

Over half of British Jews (58%) surveyed said they feared that Jews may have no long-term future in Europe, said the CAA.

2014 saw a spike in antisemitic attacks across the capital.

There were 229 antisemitic offences in London between April 1 2014 and October 31 2014 compared to 97 offences during the same period in 2013.

Gideon Falter, chairman of the Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “The results of our survey are a shocking wake-up call straight after the atrocities in Paris. Britain is at a tipping point: unless antisemitism is met with zero tolerance, it will grow and British Jews will increasingly question their place in their own country. Britain's Jews must be shown that they are not alone. The government is clearly taking this seriously and in light of these figures we expect that the Police and CPS will want to accelerate discussion of the five-point plan presented at our meeting with the Home Secretary last week.”

Jonathan Sacerdoti from the Campaign Against Antisemitism commented: "Jewish people have contributed to almost every part of British life, yet rising antisemitism here and across Europe means that now more than ever Jews are afraid. Some are even reconsidering their future here. British values of tolerance and pluralism must be upheld, so that minority groups like Jews feel comfortable and protected.”

Mrs Bissli

Wed, Jan 14 2015, 2:21 pm

...and here's the BoD response

Board statement on anti-semitism poll

January 14, 2015 - Board of Deputies - Share: Twitter Facebook

The Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council (JLC) have noted the ‘poll of Jewish attitudes’ on antisemitism in Great Britain and the discourse that has accompanied it.

Even when allowing for the methodological flaws of the research, the anxiety articulated is real and we should not be complacent about the re-emergence of antisemitism in the past year, as highlighted by many Community Security Trust (CST) reports. However, it is important to remember that the current level and nature of antisemitism in Britain is not as bad as we have seen in France and other European countries and incidents of a violent nature are much lower than they have been in previous years. The CST works closely with the Police and Government to ensure that British Jews can continue to go about their lives with pride and confidence.

Today at Prime Minister’s Questions, the Prime Minister highlighted that [he] “met with Jewish Leadership Council yesterday” and reaffirmed the “duty on every public organisation to confront extremism”. The community should know that the challenges we face, such as antisemitism, are being confronted by the highest levels of government in meetings with major Jewish organisations. This reflects the commitment to ensuring Britain remains a safe place for Jews to live, of which it unquestionably is.