Yale University Report
Yale | 13.02.2007 17:49
Edward Kaplan and Charles Small of Yale University conducted a study based on a survey of 5,000 people: 500 citizens in each of 10 European countries. Their report, published in August 2006, concluded that anti-Israel sentiment reliably predicted the probability that an individual was an anti-Semite, with the likelihood of measured anti-Semitism increasing with the extent of anti-Israel sentiment observed. The authors write that, based on their analysis, "when an individual's criticism of Israel becomes sufficiently severe, it does become reasonable to ask whether such criticism is a mask for underlying anti-Semitism."
The study found that 56 percent of those who voiced strong anti-Israel opinions held anti-Semitic views. Those who believed the IDF "intentionally targets Palestinian civilians" and that Palestinian suicide bombers who target Israeli civilians are "justified" also believed that "Jews don't care what happens to anyone but their own kind," "Jews have a lot of irritating faults" and "Jews are more willing than others to use shady practices to get what they want." [125] Of those who were the most negative about Israel, "some 60% also believed that Jews engaged in shady financial practices, and more than 70% thought that Jews had too much business power."
The percentage of those expressing anti-Semitic views increased with age and decreased with income level; men were more likely to be anti-Semitic than women; the degree of social interaction with Jews had no significant impact; individuals who were less tolerant of illegal immigrants were more likely to express anti-Semitic views; and Muslims were disproportionately more likely to hold anti-Semitic views than Christians, Jews, or those with no religious beliefs. [125]
In September 2006, Yale announced that it had established the Yale Initiative for Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism, [127] the first university-based institute in North America dedicated to the study of anti-Semitism. Charles Small, who will head the institute, said in a press release that anti-Semitism has "reemerged internationally in a manner that many leading scholars and policy makers take seriously ... Increasingly, Jewish communities around the world feel under threat. It's almost like going back into the lab. I think we need to understand the current manifestation of this disease." [128]
The percentage of those expressing anti-Semitic views increased with age and decreased with income level; men were more likely to be anti-Semitic than women; the degree of social interaction with Jews had no significant impact; individuals who were less tolerant of illegal immigrants were more likely to express anti-Semitic views; and Muslims were disproportionately more likely to hold anti-Semitic views than Christians, Jews, or those with no religious beliefs. [125]
In September 2006, Yale announced that it had established the Yale Initiative for Interdisciplinary Study of Antisemitism, [127] the first university-based institute in North America dedicated to the study of anti-Semitism. Charles Small, who will head the institute, said in a press release that anti-Semitism has "reemerged internationally in a manner that many leading scholars and policy makers take seriously ... Increasingly, Jewish communities around the world feel under threat. It's almost like going back into the lab. I think we need to understand the current manifestation of this disease." [128]
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