Poll shows Russians don't dislike Jews

Russian human rights activists and public figures to propose a list of anti-Semitic books that should be banned from publication in Russia.

By JTA
st. petersburg 88 (photo credit: )
st. petersburg 88
(photo credit: )
The majority of Russians do not harbor negative feelings toward Jews and the percentage of Russians who disapprove of anti-Semitism has increased since last year, according to a new nationwide poll. A year ago, a poll conducted by the same firm, the Public Opinion Foundation, found that 47 percent of Russians said they were neutral toward those who dislike Jews, compared to 38% this year. Last year, 34% said they had negative feelings about those who do not like Jews, compared to 42% this year. Among other findings of the poll conducted by the foundation, a leading Moscow-based polling firm:
  • Seven percent of the respondents distrust or dislike Jews, while 84% do not have these feelings and 9% found it difficult to answer this question.
  • Five percent said they approve of the people who do not like Jews, 38% indicated they were neutral toward such people, 42% were negative about the people who don't like Jews and 16% found it difficult to answer.
  • Eight percent believe that in the area where they live there are many people who harbor negative feelings toward Jews, 31% said that there are few such people, 19% said that there are no such people at all, and 43% could not answer definitely. The poll was taken on January 21-22 in 44 Russian regions. The sampling included 1,500 respondents in the Russian provinces and 600 respondents in Moscow. The margin of error for the sampling is plus or minus 3.6 percentage points, the pollster reported. In a related development, a group of Russian human rights activists and public figures said it would propose to lawmakers a list of books that should be banned from publication in Russia under penalty of law as inciting anti-Semitism and racial hatred. The list could embrace about two dozen titles, including The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, an anti-Semitic forgery, as well as writings by Hitler and Alfred Rosenberg, a Nazi ideologue. The list could also be used in investigations of cases involving racial, religious and ethnic incitement, the activist who backed the idea said. The initiative came from Genry Reznik, the head of the Moscow City Bar Association and a Jewish activist.