New ADL study shows stereotypes against Jews

A large percentage of Americans agree with negative stereotypes surrounding Jews, the survey found.

By Joseph Wolkin

The Anti-Defamation League recently released its newest study on American attitudes towards Jews compared to other groups.

The study has found that a large percentage of Americans agree with negative stereotypes surrounding Jews, such as clannishness and power. As part of the 11-question poll, 44 percent of those surveyed agree that “Jews stick together more than other Americans,” one-quarter say “Jews always like to be at the head of things,” and 24 percent believe “Jews are more loyal to Israel than to America.”

“Since 1964, ADL has asked 11 questions about classic stereotypes about Jews,” the organization stated. “The 11-question index of anti-Semitic propensities was created by ADL and scholars at the University of California, Berkeley, and since then has served as a benchmark for measuring anti-Jewish attitudes in America.”

Fifteen percent of those surveyed say “Jews have too much power in the business world,” while 14 percent believe that “Jews have too much control and influence on Wall Street.” Sixty-one percent agree with at least one of the 11 anti-Semitic statements.

The ADL found there is a record-low in terms of the amount of people who “agreed with six or more of the anti-Semitic index questions” since the survey was first created in 1964. The number is now down to 11 percent, with the previous low being 12 percent (1998, 2009 and 2013).

“In addition to the 11 statements, ADL asked about other old and new Jewish stereotypes,” the survey states. “Approximately one-in-four (27 percent) people responded that they believe the historical myth of ‘deicide’ – the notion that ‘Jews killed Christ.’”

In terms of Americans’ feelings towards Jews compared to other groups, there is a 77 percent “average rate of warmth,” comparable to 79 percent for Asian-Americans and 79 percent for Christians, as well as 78 percent for Caucasians, African Americans and Hispanic Americans.

The study did find an alarming rate of people who gave “cold” ratings for gay people (17 percent), Muslims (19 percent) and transgenders (21 percent).

There were also some anti-Israel sentiments exposed.

“We found that roughly one-in-six polled (16 percent) agreed with the statement that Israel’s record on human rights ‘is worse than most other countries’ and around one-in-seven (14 percent) agreed with the statement that the Israeli government ‘sometimes behaves as badly as the Nazis,’” the ADL said. “Seven percent of Americans said that American Jews are responsible for Israel’s actions, and eight percent expressed support for boycotting Israeli products and companies.”

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