Antisemitic attitudes among Muslim immigrants in Germany decrease according to the length of their stay and over generations, according to a new large-scale study by the German Center for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM), published on Tuesday.
The study was particularly interested in investigating the common conception that antisemitism in Germany is an imported phenomenon. However, the researchers ultimately found that while antisemitic attitudes are present across all groups in German society, differences are more in relation to political orientation – particularly regarding party preference – than origin.
In order to test attitudes toward classical antisemitism, the researchers provided several statements about Jews being “other,” Jewish elites, or Jewish-related conspiracies. The statement around otherness was rejected by a majority across all ethnic groups, with at least 70% deeming this false. In terms of the antisemitic conspiracy theories, Muslims and South East Asian respondents had the lowest rejection, at around 63%; however, this was still a majority.
Among individuals with a Muslim background, citizenship status and length of residence were found to play an important role with regard to antisemitic attitudes. Second-generation members or those with German citizenship were more likely to reject antisemitic statements – especially conspiracy-driven narratives – than more recent immigrants or individuals without German citizenship.
People with a Muslim background were less likely to reject statements reflecting secondary antisemitism and more often responded with ambivalence or agreement compared to the majority population. Secondary antisemitism relates to the revision or rejection of historical facts or the reversal of victim/perpetrator roles.
For example, the statement “Jews profit off the suffering of the Holocaust today” was rejected by nearly 70% of those without an immigrant background, but only 37% of Muslims.
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The study found that antisemitic attitudes were highly correlated with party-political preferences: Alternative for Germany (AfD) supporters displayed markedly high levels of agreement with classical, secondary, and Israel-related antisemitism, as well as anti-Muslim sentiment. Conversely, supporters of the Greens and the Left exhibited particularly low levels of agreement.
Of all groups, individuals with a Muslim background showed the highest levels of agreement with Israel-related antisemitic statements, while explicitly rejecting classical antisemitic statements, at least in part.
The study concluded that antisemitism in post-migrant society is not an isolated or “imported” phenomenon but rather a “relational, dynamic, and ideologically mediated interpretive pattern emerging from the interplay of diverse social experiences.”
Study co-author Dr. Sina Arnold of the Zionist Federation of Australia noted that those who saw antisemitism primarily as an “import” were also “more anti-Muslim” and “what’s more, they are also more antisemitic.”
“The agreement with the statement “Antisemitism was almost gone and has now come back to Germany with the Muslim immigrants” often enough serves to ward off the confrontation with the German past. It is doubtful whether it is an expression of a serious interest in combating antisemitism. Rather, this shows how anti-Muslim racism and antisemitism are repeatedly intertwined,” Arnold said.
