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Gossip, speculation, and scuttlebutt about politics.


How the ADL Counts Anti-Semites
An "anti-Semitism index" that's less than scientific.
By Samantha M. Shapiro
Posted Tuesday, July 9, 2002, at 12:35 PM PT

The Anti-Defamation League last month released a survey stating

that fully 17 percent of the U.S. population holds beliefs that are "strongly anti-
Semitic." The report also said that 35 percent of Latinos and 35 percent of African-
Americans were "strongly anti- Semitic." Wow, I thought, that's a lot of Jew-haters!
On closer inspection, though, the ADL's methodology seems pretty shaky.


How does the ADL measure anti-Semitism? With an "anti- Semitism index," of
course. Respondents are asked to comment on 11 supposedly inflammatory
statements about Jews. Those who agree with anywhere from two to five of the
statements are "middle" anti-Semites—"not completely prejudice- free in their
attitudes toward Jews, but not an audience to be deeply worried about." Those who
agree with six or more of the statements are "most" (i.e., "strongly") anti-Semitic.
Here are the 11 statements:

1) Jews stick together more than other Americans.
2) Jews always like to be at the head of things.
3) Jews are more loyal to Israel than America.
4) Jews have too much power in the U.S. today.
5) Jews have too much control and influence on Wall Street.
6) Jews have too much power in the business world.
7) Jews have a lot of irritating faults.
8) Jews are more willing than others to use shady practices to get what they want.
9) Jewish businesspeople are so shrewd that others don't have a fair chance at
competition.
10) Jews don't care what happens to anyone but their own kind.
11) Jews are not just as honest as other businesspeople.

Even the ADL concedes that "at least one or two" of the above statements are
"arguably ambiguous." (They're included only because they've been part of the
group's methodology since 1964.) In reality, about half the above statements can be
described as (varyingly cartoonish) descriptions of cultural traits widely ascribed to
Jews that are either neutral or flattering. Statements such as "Jewish business
people are so shrewd that others don't have a fair chance at competition" and "Jews
always like to be at the head of things" are really just ham-handed ways of saying
that Jews tend to be smart, a generalization that in other contexts Jews might agree
with. Even a genuinely offensive statement such as "Jews have too much power"
might conceivably win endorsement not because the respondent hates Jews but
because the respondent hates power. When you rephrase it as a multiple-choice
question ("Which group has too much power?"), significantly fewer people choose
"Jews."




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Bush's Shifty Business Ethics  In the survey, the 11 "anti-Semitic" statements are
camouflaged by other "positive and neutral" statements about Jews, responses that
the ADL ignores when compiling its anti-Semitism index. Among the philo-Semitic
ones are statements that Jews have a special commitment to social justice and that
Jews have contributed much to America's cultural life. (Interestingly, the ADL finds
that "an overwhelming majority of Americans accept virtually all the positive
statements about Jews.") But the camouflage works all too well: The "positive and
neutral" statements are often indistinguishable from the "anti- Semitic" ones. It is
stated, for instance, that Jews place a strong emphasis on the importance of family
life. Why should this be regarded as less offensive than "Jews stick together more
than other Americans"? The latter may be an anti-Semitic trope, but it's circulated
with pride at your average Shabbat afternoon lecture of the National Conference of
Synagogue Youth. It also inspires admiration in other ethnic groups. Tellingly, the
ADL report claims there are much higher rates of anti-Semitism in foreign-born
Latinos than those who were born in America—44 percent versus 20 percent. But
perhaps what that number really shows is that recent immigrants value sticking
together and remaining loyal to the mother country.

In some instances, the ADL's methodology may be drastically underestimating the
extent of anti-Semitism. For example, the survey states a gratifyingly low (three
percent) rate of anti- Semitism on campus. From this it concludes that anti-Semitism
is more common among less-educated people. But is that really so? After all, college
students are well-schooled in the "correct" answers to the ADL quiz. If, as many
Jewish groups assert, anti-Semitism is piggybacking anti-Israel sentiment on
campuses, it's not on statements like "Jews are shrewd in business." It's on
statements like this one attributed to Nicholas DeGenova, a professor of Latino
studies at Columbia University, in the April 18 edition of the Columbia Spectator:
"The heritage of the victims of the Holocaust belongs to the Palestinian people. The
state of Israel has no claim to the heritage of the Holocaust." The ADL poll has no
way of gauging agreement with that idea. But since it was volunteered publicly by a
person who influences thought and opinion, it seems much likelier than any of the
anti-Semitism index's statements to reflect genuine hostility toward Jews.


Samantha M. Shapiro is a writer in New York City.
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