The findings in this report are based on survey responses of Jewish people in 12 EU Member States. The survey builds on the Agency’s first survey in 2012. The set of questions and number of countries were extended from 8 to 12 countries.
The survey was open to individuals aged 16 years and over who consider themselves Jewish – based on religion, culture, upbringing, ethnicity, parentage or any other reason – and who lived in the survey countries when the survey was carried out.
The survey asked respondents about their opinions on trends in antisemitism, antisemitism in everyday life, personal experiences of antisemitic incidents, witnessing antisemitic incidents and worries about becoming a victim of an antisemitic attack. The survey also provides data on the extent to which respondents consider antisemitic acts against the Jewish community – such as vandalism of Jewish sites or antisemitic messages in the broadcast media or on the internet – to be a problem in the countries.
The survey collected data on the effects of antisemitism on respondents’ daily behaviour and their feelings of safety, and how they respond to security fears. There were questions about personal experiences of specific forms of harassment or physical violence, including frequency, the number and characteristics of perpetrators, and reporting incidents to organisations or institutions. The survey collected data about personal experiences of feeling discriminated against on different grounds and in various areas of everyday life – for example, at work, school, or when using specific services, reporting incidents and the reasons for non-reporting. The survey also explored the level of rights awareness regarding antidiscrimination legislation, victim support organisations and knowledge of any legislation concerning the trivialisation or denial of the Holocaust.
The survey was carried out across 12 EU Member States: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom between May and June 2018. These Member States are home to over 96% of the EU’s estimated Jewish population.
FRA also carried out the survey in Latvia. As there were only 30 responses to the online dissemination campaign in Latvia, changes in recruitment methodology and data collection were applied. In the end 200 responses were gathered but the results cannot be compared due to different methodology used. The results are annexed in the report.
The survey builds strongly on the experience and methodology developed for the 2012 FRA survey on discrimination and hate crime against Jews (which covered eight Member States) and on stakeholder consultations carried out in 2017.
The survey collected data through an open online survey.
A consortium of Ipsos MORI and the Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR) managed the survey data collection under the supervision of FRA staff. FRA analyses the data in the current report.
FRA used online surveying due to the absence of comprehensive sampling frames for Jewish populations in the selected EU Member States and its experience with the 2012 survey. It allowed respondents to complete the survey when and where it was most convenient for them, at their own pace, and in their national language. The online survey also allowed respondents to find out about FRA, the organisations managing the data collection and how the collected data would be used.
Potentialy all interested self-identified Jewish people in the selected EU Member States could take part and share their experiences. It was also the method which FRA could most easily use to survey respondents from all the selected Member States under equal conditions.
This online survey guaranteed anonymity and confidientiality.
The open online survey approach adopted by FRA depended on individuals’ willingness to participate in the survey. Consequently, and in view of the interpretation of the results, it is particularly important to consider the composition of the sample and the profile of the respondents that the results represent.
To reach eligible respondents, awareness-raising activities both before and during the open online survey were carried out. Different Jewish organisations were mainly used to reach potential respondents. In most Member States the response rates exceeded or were in line with expectations given the relative size of the Jewish population in each country. A 13th country, Latvia, was originally selected to be covered in the survey. As the responses were low and the methodology used differed, the data from Latvia is summarised in an annex to the survey results report.
The online survey was therefore identified as the most appropriate methodology as Jewish populations tend to have high levels of internet access and are relatively well-educated. As respondents only needed an internet connection, respondents could participate in the survey when and where it was most convenient for them, limiting non-response due to inconvenient timing of interviews.
In total 16,395 people who identified themselves as ‘Jewish’ completed the survey. The sample sizes per country ranged from 526 in Austria to 4,731 in the UK.
Country
Respondents
Austria
526
Belgium
785
Denmark
592
France
3,869
Germany
1,233
Hungary
590
Italy
682
The Netherlands
1,202
Poland
422
Sweden
1,193
United Kingdom
4,731
Total
16,395
In terms of socio-demographic characteristics the respondents can be broken down as:
%
Number
Gender
Women
48
7,865
Men
52
8,484
Age
16-29
12
1,897
30-44
18
3,020
45-59
27
4,461
60+
43
7,035
Education
No higher education
4,389
Higher education
73
12,006
The average time for survey completion was 33 minutes.
Only internet access was needed to take part in the survey, ensuring all selected countries could be reached equally. The online survey methodology allowed all interested self-identified Jews in the survey countries to take part. However, it does not, deliver a random probability sample fulfilling the statistical criteria for representativeness. Although the results cannot be considered as representative of all Jewish people in the EU, they constitute by far the largest collection of empirical evidence on discrimination, hate crime and antisemitism against Jews in Europe since FRA’s first such survey in 2012.
The survey asked the respondents how they had heard about the survey. Most said they received an email from an organisation or online network (74%), and 18% said that somebody told them about it or sent a link. These and other results suggest that many of the respondents who participated in the survey are affiliated with Jewish community organisations. Unaffiliated Jews are difficult to reach for surveys in the absence of the sampling frames, and it can be assumed that they are underrepresented in the current sample, based on estimates and assumptions of affiliated and unaffiliated Jewish people in the 12 EU Member States.
FRA used several measures to guarantee data security, privacy and confidentiality of the survey respondents. All data collected, including respondents’ answers regarding personal experiences, perceptions, and views of discrimination and hate crime victimisation, were stored securely and kept confidential, according to European data protection guidelines.
Throughout the survey respondents had access to detailed information on how the data provided by them will be stored and processed, including information on possibilities to delete 'cookies' or to prevent their use by adjusting the browser settings on respondent’s computer.
No respondent can be identified in the survey results. The answers were combined with those of others who took part in the survey and only anonymous data are used for the report. The data collection and the analysis process were performed without reference to any personal or sensitive data capable of identifying people. This guaranteed full confidentiality of the information provided.
In a survey, online or not, it is not possible to verify the authenticity of respondent’s answers. The survey aimed to identify what self-identifed Jewish people themselves think and experience. Therefore, the survey started with a self-identification question that allowed only those identifying themselves as Jewish to continue. Neverthless, a number of survey questions were also used to filter and secure the participation of Jewish people.
The vast majority of drop-outs occurred at the beginning of the survey either during the language selection or main introduction. This suggests that respondents were just not interested in completing the survey either at that time rather than there was an issue with the survey the questions. Some did not meet the eligibility criteria (they did not consider themselves Jewish, were below 16 years, or did not live in one of the EU Member States surveyed).
Also, before data analysis, FRA checked the responses for consistency. If there were specific contradictions/inconsistencies, the cases were removed from the data set.
The survey builds strongly on the Agency’s first survey in 2012. Both surveys are based on non-probability samples from open online surveys. Due to the lack of comprehensive Jewish population statistics, and data relating to Jewish communities, in most countries the available information is based on educated estimates and assumptions, and it is not possible to ensure that the samples represent accurate demographic profiles.
Comparisons are possible for the seven countries included in both surveys – Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Sweden and the UK. However, due to the nature of an open online survey, the comparison should be read with caution as it is affected by several factors, such as country coverage; sample sizes and their quality; as well as the changes in the questionnaire (e.g. adding new items or slightly changing the wording to address problems in question comprehension or to ensure comparability with other surveys).
To assess the trends between the 2012 and 2018 surveys, FRA carried out a detailed assessment of the quality of the samples achieved across the countries covered by both surveys. This aimed to clarify whether trends in perceptions and experiences of antisemitism can be identified on the basis of information collected, and whether any statistical adjustments to the data should be considered before comparing the data. Even when adjustments were applied, they did not change the overall results substantially. The presented results from the two surveys cannot be used to establish actual trends in the populations targeted.
FRA aims to make the raw data publicly available in 2019.