Study finds 'medieval' levels of antisemitism in predominantly Catholic Ireland

Antisemitism in predominantly Catholic Ireland has reached 'medieval' levels, according to a study conducted in December 2024. Based on interviews with 1,014 Irish Christians, the study suggests that religious narratives play a significant role in fueling widespread anti-Israel and anti-Jewish sentiment. Notably, the report found that one-third of respondents believe Jews "still talk too much about what happened to them in the Holocaust."

Nearly half (49%) of the Irish respondents said they believe Irish “Jews are more loyal to Israel than this country.” Approximately 36% agreed with the statement that Jews “have too much power in the business world.” In addition, 31% of the Irish respondents believe Jews “don’t care what happens to anyone but their own kind” and claimed that hatred toward Jews stems from "the way they behave."

The study, conducted by Prof. Motti Inbari of the University of North Carolina at Pembroke and Kirill Bumin of Boston University and Metropolitan College, revealed that anti-Jewish sentiments were more common among Catholics than Protestants in Ireland.

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

The poll results revealed that only 11.3% of Irish Christians support Israel in the Gaza War compared to 42.3% among Americans. In addition, 45.6% of those polled support Palestinians in Hamas-controlled Gaza compared to only 11.2% among Americans.

“What struck me is that we have the same percentages of people in both countries who say that they are generally familiar with the conflict, getting the same information from the same media, yet their understanding is fundamentally different,” Bumin said in an interview with The Times of Israel.

“Our study shows that much of this is due to differences in pre-existing theological beliefs, political and social attitudes, and levels of exposure to Jews that drastically vary between the US and Ireland,” he added.

Last December, Israel closed its embassy in Ireland due to the country’s “anti-Semitic actions, [and] rhetoric.”

At the time, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced, "The actions and antisemitic rhetoric used by Ireland against Israel are rooted in the delegitimization and demonization of the Jewish state, along with double standards. Ireland has crossed every red line in its relations with Israel. Israel will invest its resources in advancing bilateral relations with countries worldwide according to priorities that also take into account the attitudes and actions of these states toward Israel.”

"The Israeli decision came after the Irish government announced its intention to broaden the definition of 'genocide' in the ongoing legal campaign against Israel at the International Court of Justice."

While an estimated five to six million Jews live in the United States, only about 2,700 reside in Ireland. The contrasting survey results between the two countries suggest that the Irish population has significantly less direct familiarity with Jews.

In November, a report from the education monitoring group IMPACT-se revealed that Irish school textbooks are filled with hostility and factual distortions about the Holocaust, Jewish history, Israel and Judaism.

“Even after we control for politics, for various religious beliefs, for demographic factors like race and income, we still find that Catholics in all countries are less supportive of Israel and are more likely to endorse antisemitic tropes than Protestants,” Bumin assessed.

The report suggests that Protestants and especially Evangelical Christians hold a more favorable view toward Israel than Catholics due to the religious importance that Protestant theology attributes to the Jewish state.

The report also revealed that young people in Ireland tend to be more hostile towards Israel and Jews than those aged 65 or older.