Researchers into Christian attitudes towards Jews have said that Irish Christians are 3 times more antisemitic than their American counterparts.
A survey into the views of Irish Christians found that around a 3rd imagine that Jews “talk an excessive amount of concerning the Holocaust” and have “an excessive amount of control over global affairs”. Similar numbers also said that Jews have an excessive amount of power in business.
The study, which spoke to 1,000 Irish Christians, of whom the overwhelming majority were Catholics, found that only 11 per cent of respondents support Israel in its conflict with Palestine, with 45 per cent supporting the opposite side. Two thirds imagine the Israeli government has committed genocide in Gaza.
Irish support for Palestine has an extended history. It has often been viewed in colonialist terms relatively than religious terms, with parallels being drawn between England’s colonisation of Ireland and Israeli actions in Palestine.
The survey also found that slightly below a 3rd of Irish Christians imagine Jews “don’t care what happens to anyone but their very own kind”, and that Jews are hated “due to the best way they behave”.
Dr Kirill Bumin, one among the leaders of the study, said, “Anti-semitism is deeply intertwined with anti-Israel sentients amongst each Catholics and Protestants alike, whether that’s nominal Christians who rarely, if ever, attend church, or devout ones and amongst young and old, wealthy and poor alike, and across the whole political and ideological spectrum.”
His co-researcher, Dr Motti Inbari, noted, “It’s disturbing to see a Western democracy so steeped in prejudice and bias … It’s like we’re living in medieval times.”
The researchers conducted similar surveys in America and within the United Kingdom. The findings showed that American Christians have far lower levers of what the researchers called antisemitism, than British or Irish Christians.
The research was commissioned by Chosen People Ministries, a Christian ministry that works to support Jewish people.
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