– The survey, carried out in 5 locations in the Community of Madrid between the months of April and May by Sigma Dos for ACOM, addresses the perception of the existence of antisemitism in Spain, and the opinion on the State of Israel.
– Seeking regional geographic diversity, it has been carried out in five of the largest towns in the region: Alcalá de Henares, Alcorcón, Majadahonda, Móstoles and San Sebastián de los Reyes, with a total population of 739,728, representing 12% of the population of the Madrid Community.
– The sample includes 3,100 interviews with adults in the aforementioned locations.
– In order to obtain a detailed picture of the ideological profile of the respondents, questions related to the intention to vote for the next municipal and regional elections have been incorporated into the form.
– The orientation of the vote has been structured around the main competing candidacies in said municipalities: PP, PSOE, Más Madrid, Vox, Podemos and Ciudadanos. Strictly local candidacies have been ignored in the final results presented here.
– Those who most think that there is antisemitism in Spain are those who see themselves least reflected in it, being the most prone to demonize the Jewish state with clichés and prejudices. On the other hand, those who least recognize Spain as an antisemitic country are more naturally inclined to accept Israel as a democratic and guaranteed state.
– But, in general, the negative perception of Israel, the permanent criminalization and dehumanization of the Jewish State, implanted in public opinion by decades of activism and misinformation from the media and academia, unfortunately prevails in Spanish public opinion.
Respondents were asked three questions related to antisemitism and Israel:
“ Do you think that antisemitism (hatred of Jews) currently exists in Spain?”
“ Of the following statements that I indicate below, which one do you agree with the most?:
a) The state of Israel is a country that does not respect the rights of non-Jewish citizens.
b) The state of Israel is a democratic country that resembles European democracies.”
overall result
68.82% of those surveyed consider that there is no antisemitism in Spain, while 24.2% of those surveyed consider that there is antisemitism in the country.
27.32% consider that “the state of Israel is a democratic country that is similar to European democracies”.
55.48% consider that “the state of Israel is a country that does not respect the rights of non-Jewish citizens”.
According to age range
Respondents between the ages of 18 and 29 show the highest percentage of those who consider that there is antisemitism in Spain, specifically 26.14%.
It is also in this section, with 61.22% of those surveyed, who consider that “the state of Israel is a country that does not respect the rights of non-Jewish citizens.”
The range of those between the ages of 45 and 64 is where the highest percentage is reached who consider that there is no antisemitism in Spain, with 69.60% of those surveyed.
It is also where the perception that “the state of Israel is a democratic country that resembles European democracies” obtains the highest rate, with 30.38%.
According to sex
71.52% of the men surveyed consider that there is no antisemitism in Spain. The percentage is significantly reduced in women, with 66.34%.
31.72% of men answered that “the state of Israel is a democratic country that is similar to European democracies”, compared to 21.76% of women.
According to voting memory
VOX voters are the ones who in the highest proportion consider that there is no antisemitism in Spain, with 77.28%. Those who consider the highest percentage that there is antisemitism in Spain are the voters of Más Madrid, with 40.58%.
Almost 40% of VOX voters, specifically 39.46% of those surveyed, consider that “the state of Israel is a democratic country that is similar to European democracies”.
The percentage of those who consider that “the state of Israel is a country that does not respect the rights of non-Jewish citizens” reaches similar figures among the voters of Más Madrid and Podemos, with 73.06% and 73.82% respectively. .
Placing all the formations in an ideological matrix, placing PP, VOX and Ciudadanos on the one hand, and PSOE, Más Madrid and Podemos on the other, in the first, “conservative” block, highlights the perception that there is no antisemitism in the country, 69.89%. In the second block, “progressive”, the percentage is reduced to 58.77%.
In the “conservative” block, the perception that “the state of Israel is a country that does not respect the rights of non-Jewish citizens” does not exceed 50%, specifically 48.40%. The percentage rises to 71.58% in the progressive bloc.
It is noteworthy the enormous difference in the percentages of respondents who prefer not to answer the question between both blocks to the question “Of the following statements that I indicate below, which one do you agree with the most?: a) The state of Israel is a country that does not respect the rights of non-Jewish citizens. b) The state of Israel is a democratic country that resembles the European democracies”. While in the “conservative” block, 15.72% reserved the answer to the question, the figure does not exceed 10% in the “progressive” block, 9.49% specifically.
According to localities
Of the municipalities included in the survey, the one with the highest percentage of those who believe that antisemitism exists in Spain is Alcalá de Henares.
On the contrary, the town where those surveyed maintain that there is no antisemitism in Spain is Majadahonda, with 88.60%.
42.10% of those surveyed in Alcalá de Henares consider that “the state of Israel is a democratic country that is similar to European democracies”. It is the locality with the highest percentage affirmative to that question.
T he statement that “the state of Israel is a country that does not respect the rights of non-Jewish citizens” reaches its highest level of support in Alcorcón, with 60.6%.
Data sheet
Population: over 18 years.
Scope: Resident population with the right to vote in the municipalities of Alcalá de Henares, Alcorcón, Majadahonda, Móstoles and San Sebastián de los Reyes.
Survey: Interview through Computer Assisted Telephone Assistance (CATI).
Questionnaire: structured.
Field Date: from April 27 to May 9, 2023.
Sample: 3100 interviews. The absolute sampling error can be delimited by ±3.8% (±4.5% in the case of San Sebastián de los Reyes) for a confidence level of 95.5%, and in the assumption of variables with two categories equally distributed .
