Important EU study of antisemitism across Europe

Fieldwork for a major survey on Jewish perceptions and experiences of antisemitism in Europe begins this week.  

The study will be conducted by the UK-based Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR) in partnership with Ipsos MORI.

Conducted on-line, this will be the first major survey of its type. Data will be collected in nine European Union Member States – Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Romania, Sweden and the United Kingdom during the second and the third quarter of 2012. The results will be published in 2013.

CST is proud to be playing its role in the study, having assisted in the planning and now helping in the ongoing monitoring of current conditions that may influence responses to the survey.

The project is commissioned by the Fundamental Rights Agency of the European Union, and will help both the EU and European Jewish communities to better understand the current conditions and morale of European Jewry.

The online survey will investigate first-hand examples of antisemitic harassment and violence, as well as the extent to which Jews feel safe and secure in Europe today, how they characterize antisemitism, and whether or not they perceive it to be a growing threat. It will further explore how and whether incidents are being reported, and levels of awareness among European Jews about their legal rights.

Antisemitism remains an issue of concern today, not only to Jews, but to everyone in the EU. The ways in which it manifests itself vary according to time and place, and it affects Jews living in the EU in different ways. The FRA is conducting this survey to collect reliable and comparable data on antisemitism. This type of robust evidence will assist EU institutions and national governments in taking the necessary measures that will ensure that the rights of Jewish people are fully respected, protected and fulfilled across the EU, and the survey has been specifically designed with this goal in mind.

(Ioannis Dimitrakopoulos, Head of Department Equality and Citizen’s Rights at the FRA)

See this full press release at the website of JPR, the Institute for Jewish Policy Research.