JERUSALEM, Jan 15 — A survey published yesterday by the Anti-Defamation League showed 46 per cent of adults worldwide — about 2.2 billion people — hold antisemitic views.

The ADL survey found "anti-Jewish sentiments are at an all-time high globally” and noted antisemitism had more than doubled since the Jewish advocacy group’s first such study in 2014.

Jonathan Greenblatt, the head of the New York-based organisation, called the findings "deeply troubling”, describing antisemitism as a "global emergency”.

"We are seeing these trends play out from the Middle East to Asia, from Europe to North and South America,” he said during a press call.

Conducted with global market research firm Ipsos, the survey questioned over 58,000 adults in 103 countries, using representative sampling.

Respondents were asked about stereotypes regarding Jews, their attitudes toward Israel, and their engagement with Israeli businesses and individuals.

Among the antisemitic tropes were claims that "Jews are responsible for most of the world’s wars” or "Jews are more loyal to Israel than to the home country they live in”.

Younger respondents showed higher prevalence of antisemitic attitudes, with 40 per cent of those under 35 believing Jews were responsible for most wars.

Released ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27, the survey also explored awareness of the Holocaust — Nazi Germany’s genocide of six million Jews in Europe.

It found 20 per cent of respondents had not heard of the Holocaust, while only 48 per cent recognised its historical accuracy.

In the Middle East and North Africa, 76 per cent of respondents believed most of the tropes about Jews to be true.

In Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe, half harboured high levels of antisemitic views, compared with less than a quarter in the Americas and Western Europe.

The highest levels of antisemitic attitudes were found in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip at 97 per cent.

Israel has been waging a war against Hamas since the Palestinian militant group’s October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel.

The index score was also 97 per cent for Kuwait, while it was 96 per cent for Indonesia.

Greenblatt attributed the rise to factors like global politics, social media and what he called "the Al Jazeera effect”.

Of the Qatari-owned news channel, Greenblatt said "Al Jazeera is a non-stop fountain of antisemitism and a 24-hour faucet of anti-Israel reports.”

"Antisemitic tropes and beliefs are becoming alarmingly normalised across societies worldwide,” said Marina Rosenberg, the ADL’s senior vice president for international affairs.

"This dangerous trend is not just a threat to Jewish communities — it’s a warning to us all,” she said, adding that even in countries with lower levels of antisemitism, incidents still occurred. — AFP