Antisemitic views 'less closely linked' to right-wing or left-wing political beliefs

Major new academic study suggests those 'with a susceptibility to conspiracy theories were most likely to be antisemites'

By Lee Harpin July 10, 2023, 2:26 pm Edit

Lee Harpin is the Jewish News's political editor

Neither “self-identification with the political right nor self-identification with the political left” are “particularly powerful predictors of antisemitic attitudes”, a major new study has concluded.

Researchers at King’s College London set up a study to find out if antisemitism was more common among those on the political left, or on the right.

More than 2,600 British people were surveyed for a study published in the journal Humanities and Social Sciences Communications by researchers from King’s College London, Goldsmiths, University of London and Arden University.

But the study found that “antisemitism may be less closely linked to political beliefs than has previously been implied, and more closely linked to opinions and views on other topics such as religion, ethnic nationalism, and conspiracy theories.”Those with a susceptibility to conspiracy theories were most likely to be antisemites, it was found.

“Whether we look at the left or the right of the political spectrum, we find people who are antisemitic and people who aren’t,” said Dr Daniel Allington, who is studying social analytics at KCL.

“Our findings help us to get beyond the question of whether antisemitism is more of a problem on the right or on the left.“What we found is that antisemitic views are more likely among conspiracy theorists, revolutionaries and people who see dictatorship as an acceptable form of government.”

After looking at the results of those who had filled in a survey for the study Allington concluded:”What we found is that antisemitic views are more likely among conspiracy theorists, revolutionaries and people who see dictatorship as an acceptable form of government.”