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New ADL Survey Documents Alarming Rise in Antisemitic Beliefs Among US Voters
Pro-Hamas demonstrators are detained by police officers in New York during a protest at the Brooklyn Bridge. Photo: Reuters/Shannon Stapleton
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on Thursday published the “shocking” results of its latest survey revealing that nearly one quarter of Americans, especially younger voters, endorse antisemitic beliefs.
The study conducted by the Jewish civil rights organization’s Center for Antisemitism Research found that 24 percent of respondents endorsed six or more antisemitic tropes — a rise on the 20 percent who answered similarly during the last survey in 2022.
Two of the total number of 11 tropes — which include such statements as “Jews do not share my values” and “Jews don’t care what happens to anyone but their own kind — were endorsed by more than half of respondents.
Asked whether “Jews stick together more than other Americans,” 67 percent expressed agreement, while 54 percent concurred with the claim that “Jews in business go out of their way to hire other Jews.”
A full 45 percent of respondents believed that “Jews are more loyal to Israel than America.” Cruder, more classic antisemitic notions, for example that Jews are “unfriendly,” “dishonest” or disproportionately powerful, garnered the agreement of between 10 and 30 percent of respondents.
“After decades of antisemitism mostly keeping to the fringes of society, it is shocking to see the number of Americans who openly hold antisemitic beliefs increase so significantly in recent years,” Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL’s CEO, declared in an accompanying statement. “And the sharp reversal, from older generations to younger generations being more likely to hold antisemitic beliefs, is a terrifying concern for our future. The need for better solutions is more urgent than ever – before this dangerous momentum keeps growing.”
Among younger voters, Millennials are the most amenable to antisemitic falsehoods, with members of this demographic endorsing 5.4 of the 11 tropes, compared with 5 for Generation Z, 4.2 for Generation X and 3.1 for Baby Boomers.
Respondents who indicated that “they have friends or family who support Hamas or dislike Jews are more likely to agree with a high number of anti-Jewish tropes than those who do not, confirming the power of social norms,” Matt Williams of the Center for Antisemitism Research noted.
The study also reaffirmed that belief in conspiracy theories is one of the main predictive factors of antisemitic attitudes and beliefs. Researchers found that 33 percent of respondents at least somewhat agree with the statement that Israeli operatives are manipulating U.S. national policy, and 30 percent at least somewhat believe that Israel controls the media.
Additionally, the ADL also found that found that “conspiracy theory belief continues to be one of the main correlates of anti-Jewish beliefs, with those who fall in the upper quartile of conspiracy theories belief endorsing 3.8 more tropes, on average, than those with the least conspiracy theory belief.”
However, support for the right of an independent Jewish state to exist was “overwhelming,” the ADL said. Nearly 90 percent of respondents said they disagreed with the statement “I do not think Jews have the right to an independent country.”
Asked whether they would vote for a pro-Israel politician, 24 percent of respondents answered negatively, while 21 percent said they would not “feel comfortable buying products from Israel.”
The post New ADL Survey Documents Alarming Rise in Antisemitic Beliefs Among US Voters first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Treasure Trove spotlights a menorah designed in the early years of the State of Israel
This laurel branch Hanukkah menorah, designed by artist Maurice Ascalon (1913-2003), won first prize at the 1950 Tel Aviv Design Competition. Between 2,000 and 4,000 of these were made by the Pal-Bell factory in Israel, and they were sold not only in Israel but in select department stores around the world, including Macy’s in New York and Harrods in London.
The shape of the oil containers resembles ancient Roman lamps, while the large pitcher is a reference to the single jug of oil that lasted for eight days that is at the heart of the Hanukkah story.
These hanukkiyot were manufactured out of cast bronze with a green patina that was created using reactive chemicals, a process developed by Ascalon, resulting in an antique verdigris look.
Ascalon, who was born in Hungary and originally named Moshe Klein, immigrated to Palestine in 1934 after training in Brussels and Milan. He started the Pal-Bell Company in the late 1930s for the production of ritual and secular decorative items. “Pal” is short for Palestine and “Bell” is short for bellezza, Italian for beauty and an allusion to his time in Milan where the artist learned and perfected his sculpting skills. During Israel’s War of Independence in 1948, Ascalon designed munitions for the Israeli army and, at the request of the Israeli government, retrofitted his factory to produce arms for the war effort.
Ascalon closed Pal-Bell and moved to the United States in 1956, where he taught sculpture at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles and opened Ascalon Studios, which produces large-scale sculptures for public spaces and houses of worship.
The studio, which is now run by Ascalon’s son David and his grandson Eric, was retooled during the COVID pandemic to manufacture safety boxes that allowed health-care workers to assist a patient on a ventilator while minimizing exposure.
Treasure Trove wishes you a happy Hanukkah , which starts on Dec. 25. This year, as Peter, Paul and Mary sang, “Light one candle for the terrible sacrifice, justice and freedom demand. Don’t let the light go out!”
The post Treasure Trove spotlights a menorah designed in the early years of the State of Israel appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.
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Germany: 5 Killed, Scores Wounded after Saudi Man Plows Car Into Christmas crowd
Magdeburg Christmas market, December 21, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Christian Mang
i24 News – A suspected terrorist plowed a vehicle into a crowd at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg, west of the capital Berlin, killing at least five and injuring dozens more.
Local police confirmed that the suspect was a Saudi national born in 1974 and acting alone.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed his concern about the incident, saying that “reports from Magdeburg suggest something bad. My thoughts are with the victims and their families.”
Police declined to give casualty numbers, confirming only a large-scale operation at the market, where people had gathered to celebrate in the days leading up to the Christmas holidays.
The post Germany: 5 Killed, Scores Wounded after Saudi Man Plows Car Into Christmas crowd first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Syria’s New Rulers Name HTS Commander as Defense Minister
A person waves a flag adopted by the new Syrian rulers, as people gather during a celebration called by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) near the Umayyad Mosque, after the ousting of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, Photo: December 20, 2024. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo
Syria’s new rulers have appointed Murhaf Abu Qasra, a leading figure in the insurgency which toppled Bashar al-Assad, as defense minister in the interim government, an official source said on Saturday.
Abu Qasra, who is also known by the nom de guerre Abu Hassan 600, is a senior figure in the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group which led the campaign that ousted Assad this month. He led numerous military operations during Syria’s revolution, the source said.
Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa discussed “the form of the military institution in the new Syria” during a meeting with armed factions on Saturday, state news agency SANA reported.
Abu Qasra during the meeting sat next to Sharaa, also known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, photos published by SANA showed.
Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir said this week that the defense ministry would be restructured using former rebel factions and officers who defected from Assad’s army.
Bashir, who formerly led an HTS-affiliated administration in the northwestern province of Idlib, has said he will lead a three-month transitional government. The new administration has not declared plans for what will happen after that.
Earlier on Saturday, the ruling General Command named Asaad Hassan al-Shibani as foreign minister, SANA said. A source in the new administration told Reuters that this step “comes in response to the aspirations of the Syrian people to establish international relations that bring peace and stability.”
Shibani, a 37-year-old graduate of Damascus University, previously led the political department of the rebels’ Idlib government, the General Command said.
Sharaa’s group was part of al Qaeda until he broke ties in 2016. It had been confined to Idlib for years until going on the offensive in late November, sweeping through the cities of western Syria and into Damascus as the army melted away.
Sharaa has met with a number of international envoys this week. He has said his primary focus is on reconstruction and achieving economic development and that he is not interested in engaging in any new conflicts.
Syrian rebels seized control of Damascus on Dec. 8, forcing Assad to flee after more than 13 years of civil war and ending his family’s decades-long rule.
Washington designated Sharaa a terrorist in 2013, saying al Qaeda in Iraq had tasked him with overthrowing Assad’s rule and establishing Islamic sharia law in Syria. US officials said on Friday that Washington would remove a $10 million bounty on his head.
The war has killed hundreds of thousands of people, caused one of the biggest refugee crises of modern times and left cities bombed to rubble and the economy hollowed out by global sanctions.
The post Syria’s New Rulers Name HTS Commander as Defense Minister first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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