British Leftists are now far more likely to admit to classic antisemitic attitudes than those on the Right, according to
a new YouGov poll.
There used to be an interesting anomaly in polling about antisemitism. Since Leftists regard themselves as being against all forms of bigotry, it was much harder to get them to answer questions that were clearly meant to measure blatant antisemitic attitudes because they wouldn't want to admit bigotry.
One poll from 2021 managed to figure out how to measure double standards against Jews and found that antisemitism was correlated with higher education levels - the exact opposite of the conventional wisdom.
This new poll shows that the reluctance of the Left to express classic antisemitic attitudes is disappearing. They are now more willing to openly endorse classic antisemitic stereotypes.
Researchers used these six questions as indicators of classic antisemitic attitudes, three framed positively and three negatively:
Can Jews be trusted just as much as other British people in business?
Are Jews just as loyal to Britain as other British people?
Are you just as open to having Jewish friends as you are to having friends from other sections of British society?
Compared to other groups, do Jews have too much power in the media?
Do Jews talk about the Holocaust just to further their political agenda?
Do Jews chase money more than other people do?
There are also six questions about Israel, but for determining antisemitism, these questions were the guide.
21% of people in Britain answered the antisemitic way on at least four of these questions, double the number in 2021.
But the political leanings of the antisemites is really the story here:
The only two political groups that exceeded the 21% general adult antisemitic numbers were voters for the Green Party (44%) and Labour (25%.)
When you factor in that many leftist antisemites still would not want to be considered antisemitic, chances are the real numbers are even worse!
Yes, right-wing antisemitism is a real problem - no one denies it. Bu tright-wing antisemitism in Britain tends to be fringe and extremist, while Left-wing antisemitism is seeping into the mainstream, reshaping political culture itself.
Other findings:
Among Green Party voters, 15 per cent believe that the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct 7 2023 was justified, higher than any other major party’s voters.
29 per cent of Labour voters believe that Israel can get away with anything because its supporters control the media.
This is proof positive that anti-Zionism and antisemitism are two sides of the same coin. For years, the Left has been insisting that they aren't antisemitic at all - but this poll proves otherwise.
The threat to Jews in England comes from the Left more than from the Right.