DUBLIN / AGILITYPR.NEWS / April 07, 2025 / A third of Irish Christians endorse antisemetic slurs such as 'Jews talk too much about the Holocaust’ and have ‘too much control over global affairs’, new research has found.

Negative attitudes towards Jews are ‘deeply embedded’ in Ireland, say the professors behind the study, who refer to the findings as ‘disturbing’ and ‘medieval’. 

Among the shocking claims, it was found that 36 per cent of Irish respondents believe Jews have too much power in the business world and that Irish Christians are three times more anti-semitic than Americans.

Furthermore, only 11 per cent support Israel in the recent conflicts compared to 45 per cent who side with Palestine, with two thirds believing that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza.

The survey showed that 31 per cent of Irish Christians believe that Jews ‘don’t care what happens to anyone but their own kind’, and that Jews are hated ‘because of the way they behave’.

More than 1,000 Irish Christians – mostly Catholics – took part in the study, led by Drs Kirill Bumin and Motti Inbari. 

Anti-Israel attitudes are ‘deeply embedded’ and ‘pervasive’ in Ireland, said Dr Bumin, lead researcher and associate dean at Boston University, citing ‘evidence of widespread anti-semitism in the Christian community in Ireland’.

He said: “Anti-semitism is deeply intertwined among both Catholics and Protestants alike, whether that is nominal Christians who rarely, if ever, attend church, or devout ones and among old and young, wealthy and poor alike, and across the entire political and ideological spectrum,” said Bumin.

Dr Inbari, professor of Jewish studies at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, was equally critical. 

“It’s disturbing to see a Western democracy so steeped in prejudice and bias,” he added. “It’s like we’re living in medieval times.”

An almost identical survey of American Christians last year showed far fewer negative attitudes towards Jews and much higher levels of support for Israel in the Gaza conflict.

The Ireland research was commissioned by Chosen People Ministries, a Christian charity with offices in New York and London that supports Jewish people.

Data was analysed across all ages, ethnicities, genders, marital status, income levels, Christian denominations and education backgrounds. The margin of error is three per cent.

“The study shows Irish Christians in general have little sympathy for Israel,” said Chosen People CEO Dr Mitch Glaser. 

************************************

Note to media: The full research report is available here. For media enquiries or to arrange an interview with researches, please contact:

Andrew Griffiths: andrew@expandpr.co.uk or +44 7976 701250.

Matthew Murray: matthew@expandpr.co.uk or +44 7849 758046.

About the researchers

Dr. Kirill Bumin is Associate Dean of Metropolitan College and the Director of the Summer Term at Boston University, USA. Dr. Motti Inbari is a Jewish studies professor at University of North Carolina at Pembroke, USA. They are co-authors of Christian Zionism in the 21st Century (Oxford University Press, 2024). Photos are here