Seven statements about the nature of anti-Semitism in Hungary

2014-08-07

In recent years there has been a rise in domestic and international public discourse regarding anti-Semitism in Central and Eastern Europe, particularly Hungary. However, the conversation includes simultaneously both banal understatements and hysterical overstatements, neither helpful. The analysis that follows lays out the facts about Hungarian anti-Semitism in help inform the discussion. Our statements are based on earlier polling by other institutions and Political Capital’s own research: representative research (CAWI, N=1,000) conducted via the Internet in July, 2013, and a survey based on in personal questionnaires (CAPI) conducted in June 2014, using a representative sample of 1,000 people nationwide. These data show:

  1. Anti-Semitism is not a one-dimensional phenomenon.
  2. Anti-Semitism is divisive.
  3. The majority of Hungarian citizens are not anti-Semitic.
  4. In recent years anti-Semitism has grown significantly in Hungary.
  5. Anti-Semitism is politically sensitive.
  6. The most important threat posed by anti-Semitism is not violence.
  7. The major victims of anti-Semitism in Hungary are not the Jews.

Read the complete analysis here.