More Germans worried about Islamophobia than anti-Semitism, new poll finds

According to the European Jewish Association, just one in four Germans say that more needs to be done to eradicate anti-Semitism.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Updated: JUNE 24, 2015 17:11
A Jewish man visits the Nazi concentration camp of Buchenwald (photo credit: REUTERS)
A Jewish man visits the Nazi concentration camp of Buchenwald
(photo credit: REUTERS)
A new survey conducted by the European Jewish Association claims that just one in four Germans believe the European Union should do more to eradicate anti-Semitism.
The results of the survey, which were released by the EJA on Wednesday, also indicate that more Germans are worried about the rise of anti-Muslim animus than hostility toward Jews.
Nearly four in 10 Germans believe that the authorities are doing an adequate job of combating anti-Semitism on the Continent, while 15 percent said that the government should be doing less.
Rabbi Menachem Margolin, director of the EJA, said the results of the survey are a disconcerting sign that Germans have failed to adequately internalize the lessons of the Holocaust.
“The German public is simply unaware of the rising tide of attacks motivated by anti-Semitism,” Margolin said.
The poll asked Germans to list the top 10 challenges facing the European continent. Of the 10, anti-Semitism was ranked ninth, while more than twice the number of respondents said that Islamophobia was a more urgent matter.
Over half of Germans polled (53%) said that the most pressing issue facing the EU was immigration; 44% said the environment was the biggest challenge; and terrorism was the third-most urgent problem.