Nearly half of Brits hold antisemitic views, poll suggests

Nearly half of Britons hold antisemitic views, according to a new YouGov poll.

A survey of more than 3,400 British adults suggests 45% believed at least one antisemitic view presented to them was "definitely or probably true", including one in eight people (13%) who thought Jewish people talked about the Holocaust "to get sympathy".

One in four (25%) believed Jewish people chase money more than others, while one in six (17%) felt Jews thought they were better than other people and had too much power in the media, according to the survey.

Of those questioned:

• 25% believed Jewish people chase money more than others

• 17% felt Jews thought they were better than other people

• 11% claimed Jewish people were not as honest in business as others

• 10% said they would be unhappy if a relative married a Jewish person

The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA), which commissioned the study, said Britain was at a "tipping point" and warned antisemitism would grow in the country unless it was met by "zero tolerance".

The group said the survey results also suggested that people who stated their intention to vote Ukip in the upcoming General Election "consistently believed more antisemitic statements to be true" by an average margin of 9%.

Last year saw the most antisemitic incidents recorded by police since records began 30 years ago, the CAA added.

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles highlighted that Jewish people "are an important part of the British community".

"Anyone who peddles anti-Semitic views is attacking Britain and British values", Pickles added.