President Mahmoud Abbas visited David Cameron in Downing Street this week. Discussions are said to have hinged on the Middle East Peace Process, but one wonders whether the PM raised the new Anti-Defamation League report that shows that after decades of anti-Jewish incitement, 93 percent of Palestinian are anti-Semitic – the highest figure on the planet.
The Number 10 press release claimed that “The Prime Minister welcomed President Abbas to Downing Street… President Abbas outlined his plans for a new, technocratic Palestinian Government, committed to the Quartet principles, including non-violence and the recognition of Israel…”
But Abbas’s weasel words are bested in duplicity only by his actions. Far from being the effective steward of peace, Abbas has perhaps been the greatest roadblock to peace between Israel and the Palestinian people. His office continues to pay imprisoned terrorists with international aid, and sponsor and promote Palestinian television and radio programmes that incite hatred and violence against Jewish people. This propaganda is often aimed at children.
The Anti-Defamation League released the results of its comprehensive international survey of anti-Semitic attitudes in over 100 countries. The Palestinian Authority (West Bank and Gaza) topped the list of the places with the highest levels of anti-Semitism, where anti-Jewish attitudes are held by 93 percent of the population.
As pointed out by The Tower, this result is influenced by incessant official Palestinian Authority anti-Jewish incitement, and underscores the importance of the Israeli demand that the Palestinian political leadership cease its incitement against Israel.
The survey was careful to research negative attitudes about Jewish people, not about the state of Israel.
Anti-Jewish sentiment was found to be most prevalent in the Middle East and North Africa, with 74 percent of respondents harbouring anti-Semitic views. All 10 of the world’s most anti-Semitic territories, in fact, are in the Middle East and North Africa. Interestingly, anti-Semitism in this region tends to increase commensurate with the respondents’ education levels – the opposite of what is seen in Europe, Asia and the Americas.
Below are the top 10 most anti-Jewish countries according to the survey, with the index score indicating the percentage of the population deemed anti-Semitic:
1. West Bank and Gaza: The Palestinian territories were found to be heavily anti-Semitic with a 93 percent overall index score. That figure jumps to 98 percent among those 50 and older.
2. Iraq: A close second, Iraq reached an index score of 92 percent. 70 percent of respondents agreed with at least 10 of the 11 measured anti-Jewish stereotypes.
3. Yemen: 88 percent. The statement with the largest consensus was “People hate Jews because of the way Jews behave,” with a 90 percent agreement rate.
4. Algeria, Libya (tied): 87 percent (tied with Libya). Algeria showed a larger gender gap in opinion than the previous countries listed, with 92 percent of males, and 82 percent of females harboring anti-Jewish beliefs.
6. Tunisia: 86 percent. Tunisians overwhelmingly believe that “Jews have too much control over global affairs,” that “Jews have too much power in the business world” and that “Jews have too much power in international financial markets.”
7. Kuwait: 82 percent. Kuwait results showed a gender gap, with 77 percent of females as compared to 85 percent of males endorsing the negative Jewish stereotypes.
8. Bahrain (tied with Jordan): 81 percent. Younger respondents (34 and under) showed lower levels of anti-Semitism (77 percent) than their older peers (86 percent). Despite the anti-Semitism, Bahrain has gone out of its way to include the country’s tiny Jewish community in government. Ambassador to the US from 2008 to 2013, Houda Nonoo, is Jewish.
8. Jordan: 81 percent. The negative stereotype most highly agreed with in Jordan is “People hate Jews because of the way Jews behave.” Despite signing a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, much of Jordan’s population adamantly opposes normalization with the Jewish state.
10. Morocco/Qatar/UAE (tied): 80 percent. Older Moroccans were shown to be less anti-Jewish than their younger counterparts.
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