DASH LAWRENCE: A landmark survey of Australian attitudes to Jews, antisemitism and Israel reveals nuanced sympathies that challenge media cliches
WHAT DO AUSTRALIANS really think about Jewish people, Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
That’s the question at the heart of The Jewish Independent’s landmark survey Crossroads21, made public for the first time today.
The survey, the biggest of its kind in 35 years – involving 3,459 respondents across Australia – was conducted by a leading Australian social research organisation, the Social Research Centre, a subsidiary of the Australian National University
Emeritus Professor Andrew Markus of the Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation said the survey results dispel many myths surrounding attitudes to Jewish people and Israel.
“People who expect to find Australians increasingly anti-Semitic and hostile to Israel will be surprised by what they read. Instead, this data indicates Australians hold balanced views and are not drawn to extreme positions.
Most Australians reject the poisonous anti-Semitism that increasingly infects other parts of the world.
“When it comes to Jewish people, most Australians reject the poisonous anti-Semitism that increasingly infects other parts of the world. They hold a generally positive view on Jewish people – much like any other ethnic or religious group in this country.”
Markus, who co-designed the survey and analysed the results, said Australian attitudes towards the Middle East and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were also illuminating.
“Yes, there are certainly prejudicial attitudes out there; but they are only a very small handful. Yes, on the topic of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, some Australians are more sympathetic to Palestinians; but they are also in the minority.
“On the whole, it’s clear that Australians are mostly in the middle. This flies in the face of arguments that Australians increasingly tend to side with Israel or with the Palestinians.”
Markus also indicated results showed most Australians were not well informed about the conflict, or the Middle East generally, and were largely disinterested in Australia’s foreign policy towards the region.
The survey, which was undertaken in January and February 2021, provides a rare insight into Australian perspectives. It reveals:
- Australia remains an open, tolerant country with a very low level of anti-Semitism.
- Australians hold a middle-of-the-road perspective towards the State of Israel and its conflict with the Palestinians.
- Most Australians have limited knowledge about their country’s Jewish community; One in four (25%) respondents indicated that ‘they know a great deal’ about the Holocaust, 45% only ‘know something’, while 30% acknowledged that they ‘know little’ or ‘know virtually nothing.’
- And, for the first time, the survey shows Australian attitudes to the outlawing of the Nazi symbol – overwhelmingly they support its ban.
This result, among others, will surprise, if not shock many.
Low levels of antisemitism; mostly positive attitude to Jewish people
Anti-Semitic incidents in most Western countries, including Australia, are said to be on the rise. In the wake of Covid-19, anti-Semites have peddled a raft of conspiracy theories on the internet, linking the pandemic with Jewish people and power.
The Jewish Independent wanted to understand if Australians held prejudicial views towards Jewish people. Had the events of 2020 sparked a wave of old-world Jewish hatred Down Under?
To gauge the level of anti-Semitism in Australia, respondents were presented with six stereotypical statements about Jewish behaviour and one statement about openness to friendship with Jewish people.
The responses indicate a low level of anti-Semitism in Australia today. For the six stereotypical statements, the proportion indicating a strongly negative attitude to Jews was in the range 2%-5% and the next (lower) level of negative attitude in the range 6%- 15%.
A large majority of respondents indicate a positive attitude to Jewish Australians. When asked about their openness to have Jewish friends, 65% of respondents indicated that they ‘definitely’ agreed, 27% agreed, a total of 92%, while only 8% disagreed.”
CLICK HERE read more about the attitudes to Jewish people.
No shift on State of Israel, Palestinians or conflict
Historically, Australians have maintained a neutral position on Israel and its conflict with Palestinians. Poll results dating back to the 1980s show most Australians sit squarely in the middle – neither siding with Israelis nor the Palestinians.
With the conflict becoming more intransigent in recent years, and peace less likely than ever before, Plus61Media wanted to know if Australian attitudes were shifting.
The answer, it would seem, is a definite no.
62% indicated their sympathies lay ‘equally with both’ Israel and the Palestinians
Most Australians still hold a balanced, neutral position when it comes to the conflict: 62% indicated their sympathies lay ‘equally with both’, 19% were with the Palestinians and 11% Israelis. Up to 9% indicated that they did not know or declined to answer.
In addition, 79% said their views had not changed in the past five years. Of the small minority who indicated that their views had changed, the shift was modest. A net 5% indicated decreased support of Israel and a net 5% indicated increased support of Palestinians.
Most Australians have a limited understanding of their country’s foreign policy when it comes to Israel. Of those who indicated that they knew ‘something’ or a ‘great deal’ (just 15% of the survey sample), nearly half (47%) agreed with the proposition that ‘the Australian government was not critical enough of Israel’ compared with 22% disagreed, while 31% neither agreed nor disagreed.
The survey also revealed Israel was favoured by 19% of Coalition voters, 6% of Labor and 6% of Greens. Support for Palestinians was aligned with 34% Greens voters, 25% Labor, and 8% Coalition.
CLICK HERE read more about the attitudes to Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Australians support banning the swastika
Outlawing the public display of the swastika and other Nazi symbols in Australia has been the subject of much discussion in the past 12 months.
In March, a Victorian parliamentary committee recommended public displays of Nazi symbols be made illegal. Other state governments, including NSW, are also considering a ban. In an effort to understand whether Australians support such a move, The Jewish Independent asked Australians their views.
62% of those surveyed agreed that the Nazi symbol should be banned
The response was emphatic: 62% of those surveyed agreed that the Nazi symbol should be banned; 25% neither agreed nor disagreed, while just 12% disagreed.
The highest proportion indicating that they agreed with the ban were Greens voters at 72%, followed by Labor 68%, Liberal/ National 63%, and a substantially lower 45% for the minor parties.
CLICK HERE to read more about the attitudes to the banning of the swastika.
Weak understanding of Jewish community and Holocaust history
A unique feature of Crossroads21 is testing of the level of knowledge of the topics. The results indicate weak understandings of Australia’s Jewish community, Holocaust history and the Middle East.
In response to a question that asked, ‘what proportion of the Australian population is Jewish?’, just 17% of respondents were close to the correct proportion (0.4%). Of those who overestimated the Jewish population, 19% indicated that it was over 10%, a higher proportion than those who indicated the correct range.
When it came to knowledge of the Holocaust, respondents were asked, ‘How much, if at all, do you know about the Holocaust?’ 25% of respondents indicated that they knew ‘a great deal’ and a further 45% that they knew ‘something’. Of the remainder, 19% indicated that they knew ‘little’ and the smallest proportion, 11%, indicated ‘virtually nothing.’
Knowledge was also weak when it came to the Middle East; a large proportion of respondents indicated that they had limited interest in the region. A clear majority (57%) also admitted that they knew ‘virtually nothing’ about Australian foreign policy towards Israel and Palestine.
ONLINE CONVERSATIONS REGARDING FINDINGS
The Jewish Independent will host two online conversations for Crossroads21:
Join Emeritus Professor Andrew Markus and commentator/journalist Julie Szego as they analyse the key findings regarding attitudes to Jewish people, anti-Semitism and the banning of the swastika – this Sunday 9 May 7:30pm-8:30pm AEST.
Attendance is free but you must register here.
Join Emeritus Professor Murray Goot and Haaretz journalist Judy Maltz as they analyse the key findings regarding attitudes to the State of Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – Sunday 30 May 7:30pm-8:30pm AEST.
Attendance is free but you must register here.
INVITATION TO READERS
What do you make of these results? We’d like to hear your response; a selection of reader comments will be published later in the week.
Email your feedback to editor@thejewishindependent.com.au
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE REPORT IN FULL
Illustration: Avi Katz
