Attitudes of prejudice against both Jews and Muslims are spreading across the length and breadth of the European continent according to a recent survey conducted by the Pew Research Center. The Guardian has summarized the survey’s findings as follows:

In contrast to the U.S. and Britain, where unfavorable opinion of Jews has been stable and low for several years at between 7 and 9 percent, the Pew Survey of Global Attitudes found that hostile attitudes to Jews were rising all across continental Europe from Russia and Poland in the east to Spain and France in the west.The survey found that suspicion of Muslims in Europe was considerably higher than hostility to Jews, but that the increase in anti-Semitism had taken place much more rapidly.”Great Britain stands out as the only European country included in the survey where there has not been a substantial increase in anti-Semitic attitudes,” the survey found.Antisemitism has more than doubled in Spain over the past three years, with a rise from 21 percent to 46 percent, the survey of almost 25,000 people across 24 countries found, while more than one in three Poles and Russians also had unfavorable opinions of Jews.In the same period, anti-Semitism in Germany and France also rose—from 21 percent to 25 percent in Germany and from 12 percent to 20 percent in France among those saying they had unfavorable opinions of Jews.”Opinions of Muslims in almost all of these countries … were more negative than are views of Jews,” analysts said. While Americans and Britons displayed the lowest levels of anti-Semitism, one in four in both countries were hostile to Muslims.Such Islamophobia was lower than in the rest of Europe. More than half of Spaniards and half of Germans said that they did not like Muslims and the figures for Poland and France were 46 percent and 38 percent for those holding unfavorable opinions of Muslims.

Most of Europe’s governing elite are taking the position that their nations are friends of the Jewish people. These same leaders also believe the rise of radical Islam can be curbed through diplomatic efforts. What these leaders do not admit, however, is that many if not most of their own people do not agree with them. Rising anti-Semitism and hostility toward Muslims are feeding the current wave of right-wing extremism spreading in Europe. To see where these trends are leading, read “The Last Crusade” and “Can Israel Trust Germany?”