A new global survey has identified Cyprus as the European Union country with the highest level of antisemitic attitudes, according to the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) Global 100 index. Researchers found that 58 percent of Cypriot adults hold elevated anti-Jewish views, the steepest figure recorded among EU nations in the report.
That score placed Cyprus 82nd out of 103 countries and territories worldwide, last among the 18 nations in Western Europe, a region researchers described as the least antisemitic in the world.
An estimated 627,000 Cypriots, in a country of under a million residents, were found to harbor these attitudes. The results mark Cyprus as recording the highest antisemitic attitudes of any nation in the region, researchers noted.
Certain stereotypes drew especially strong agreement in Cyprus. Eighty-one percent of respondents said Jewish people wield too much power in the business world, and 39 percent agreed that Jewish loyalty lies only with Israel.
Cyprus posts the highest antisemitic attitudes, as Greece also ranks high
A fifth of Cypriots said the Holocaust took place but that the number of deaths has been exaggerated, a share three times the regional average of 6 percent, the survey found.
Attitudes toward Israel skewed unfavorable. Only 38 percent of Cypriots viewed Israel favorably, compared with 57 percent who felt favorably toward Palestine and 6 percent toward Hamas, researchers found.
Still, a large majority backed maintaining diplomatic relations with Israel and welcoming Israeli tourists, at 81 percent and 90 percent respectively.
Two other Western European countries also stood out for their elevated scores. Greece registered an index score of 50, meaning an estimated 4.3 million Greek adults hold elevated antisemitic attitudes, second only to Cyprus in the region.
Two-thirds of Greek respondents said they believed a small group secretly controls major world events, well above the regional average of 39 percent.
Belgium ranks lower as Eastern Europe and world figures emerge
Belgium came in third at 30, affecting roughly 2.8 million people, while the Western European average stood at just 17, underscoring how far these three countries diverge from their neighbors.
Beyond the EU, Eastern Europe posted a regional score of 49, led by Russia, Bosnia and Montenegro.
Worldwide, researchers estimated that 2.2 billion adults, or 46 percent of the global population, now hold antisemitic attitudes, more than double the figure recorded when the index launched a decade ago.
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