Poll: 68% of Israelis say French Jews are not safe

The i24News poll found that 68% of Israelis who are Jewish say French Jews are at risk due to anti-Semitism.

By World Israel News Staff

A new poll commissioned by i24NEWS finds that a vast majority of Israelis say they are worried about their Jewish brethren in France due to rising anti-Semitism in Europe and the western world in general.

The poll results, released on Monday by the news outlet, owned by French-Israeli Patrick Dahi, said that according to 68 percent of Israelis who are Jewish, “French citizens belonging to the Jewish faith” are not safe in France. A much smaller percentage of Israeli Arabs (32%) agreed. Roughly 25 percent of Israel’s population is made up of Arab citizens.

I24NEWS described the divide between Jewish and Arab Israelis as one of “the most interesting findings” as it showed “an inverse perception of the issues being raised by the survey.” It noted that 68% of Arab-Israelis says that France’s Jewish community is relatively safe.

Fifty-two percent of Arab-Israelis said the French government has effectively brought anti-Semitism to heel. Only 34 percent of Israeli Jews said France has taken effective measures.

Israeli Jews also said the main perpetrators of “verbal of violent” attacks against Jews in France were of the Islamic faith. The “far-right” were blamed by 61 percent. Those with left-wing views came in at No. 3 (45%).

Recently, France has seen a number of Jewish cemeteries hit by vandalism. In early January, a dozen gravestones were found smashed in Bayonne in southwest France.

The poll was conducted for IFOP for i24NEWS by IFOP (Institut français d’opinion publique). It used a sample of 1,020 people. The margin of error was 1.8%.