Re: ADL survey: 15% of Americans 'unquestionably anti-Semiti
Zippo wrote:Quote:ADL survey: 15% of Americans 'unquestionably anti-Semitic'
19:36 01/11/2007
The Anti-Defamation League on Thursday released recent survey results which it says show 15 percent of American adults hold "unquestionably anti-Semitic" views.
The figures represent an increase of one percent since last time the survey was conducted in 2005, and contradicted a decade-long trend of reduced anti-Semitism.
The ADL, which is an international organization aiming to reduce anti-Semitism through programs and services, conducted the telephone survey of 2,000 Americans registered as voters in October. A similar survey conducted by it in 1998 showed anti-Semitism dropped from 20 percent to 12 percent over the preceding six years. Advertisement
Presenting the results of the survey at the ADL National Commission's annual meeting, National Director Abraham Foxman expressed his concern at the apparent reversal of previous trends away from anti-Semitism.
"These findings, coupled with the ongoing acts of anti-Semitic incidents and hate crimes, suggest that anti-Semitic beliefs endure and resonate with a substantial segment of the population, nearly 35 million people.?
The survey found that 31 percent of participants believe Jews are more loyal to Israel than America, down from 33 percent in 2005, and that 27 percent believe Jews were responsible for the death of Christ, down from 30 percent in 2005.
A further 15 percent believed that Jews have ?too much power in the U.S.?, which remained unchanged from 2005, while 20 percent and 18 percent respectively believed Jews have too much influence in business and on Wall Street.
"When it comes to Jews, old stereotypes die hard," said Foxman, adding that ?Jewish power? has replaced many ethnic stereotypes previously attributed to Jewish Americans.
http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/919518.html
The biggest anti-Semite of them all is Abe Foxman. Much of this anti-Semitism surveyed is a result of hate mongers like Foxman himself.
I don't think he speaks for all American Jews. But regardless, anti-Semitism is a totally misused/misunderstood word, I believe.
Many people think that Jews are
inherently different. That is the basic definition of anti-Semitism. So, by that definition, many people are anti-Semitic.
However, non-Jews, being just human like we all are, tend to like people that they find a use for. So, the individual that has a good Jewish dentist, or doctor, or nice teacher, or accountant, or whatever, likes the Jews that he/she has found a utility for. But, woe to the Jew that complains about the Nativity scene on the courthouse steps, or whose child becomes the valedictorian because of a 95 average. This Jew is seen as a threat. So, anti-Semitism seems to then appear out of nowhere.
Anti-Semitism is just pervasive, since Jews just seem to be successful for their small numbers. It really irritates some people. Now Israel, being a country filled with Jews, just irritates its neighbors.
There's humor here, whether one is Jewish or not.