Last week’s killings in Paris at a kosher market have raised new fears among Jews of growing anti-Semitism in France and elsewhere on the continent. The recent violence, carried out by an Islamic radical apparently linked to a separate attack at the headquarters of the Charlie Hebdo newspaper, also has raised concerns among Europe’s Muslim community about reprisal attacks and Islamophobia.
A Pew Research Center survey conducted last year shows that the French held more favorable views of both Jews and Muslims than many other Europeans. Indeed, 89% of French adults held favorable views of Jews, while 72% felt similarly about Muslims.
In nearly every other European country surveyed, majorities rated Jews favorably, including Britain (83%) and Germany (82%). One outlier was Greece, where as many people said they have a favorable view of Jews (47%) as an unfavorable view of them (47%). In addition, roughly one-quarter of the general public had an unfavorable view of Jews in Poland (26%) and Italy (24%).
Positive views of Muslims were also common in Britain (64%) and Germany (58%). But elsewhere, fewer people had a favorable view of Muslims, including roughly a third of the public in both Poland (32%) and in Italy (28%).