Poll Indicates Widespread Anti-semitism in Greece

Forty-one percent of the respondents in an exhaustive survey of public opinion perceived the existence of widespread anti-Semitism in Greece. Fifty-five percent believed a persistent anti-Semitic allegation that Jews control the economy and political activity in Europe and America.

Only 36 percent disagreed and nine percent had no opinion, according to the survey conducted by Eurodim and edited by Dr. Panagioti Dimitras.

The survey, carried out in the greater Athens area where 35 percent of the Greek population lives, noted that Greece is “a uniquely homogeneous country” where 98 percent of the citizenry speaks the same language and adheres to the same religion, the Greek Orthodox faith.

NEGATIVE ATTITUDES TOWARD JEWS

The survey probed Greeks’ trust in values, institutions, organizations and professions. It found that attitudes toward minorities in general were based on political partisanship rather than age, sex, education, occupation, income or degree of religious faith. Nevertheless, better educated respondents tended to be less racist than others.

It was also found that negative attitudes toward Jews, though widespread across party lines, diminished toward the left wing of the political spectrum. Only 25 percent of the respondents who belong to the conservative New Democracy party expressed trust in Jews. For members of the ruling Socialist Party it was 45 percent and for the KKE (Communist) party, 48 percent. Among members of the KKE-Interior (Euro-Communists), trust in Jews was 65 percent.

There is little official data on the exact number of Jews and other minorities in Greece. Questions on minorities have been omitted from every census taken since 1961. It is believed that this might be rooted in the fact that some minorities live in sensitive border regions and data on their numbers could be used by neighboring countries to raise territorial clams on Greece.