Findings from a recent CNN poll indicate that anti-Semitism across Europe is “alive and well.” The survey interviewed a cross-section of more than 7,000 individuals from seven European countries. Respondents from Austria, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Poland, and Sweden espoused a collection of antiquated Jewish stereotypes which remain pertinent in the social, cultural, and political realms of European life. According to the CNN poll, more than a quarter of those surveyed believe that Jews have too much influence in business, finance, media, and sports. This conviction reveals the old but now amplified anti-Semitic canard that Jews are international conspirators who wield power in order to advance their interests.

Not only are a significant number of Europeans subscribing to anti-Semitic tropes, but they are also trivializing the growing veracity of modern anti-Semitism. The CNN poll shows that “a substantial minority are unsympathetic” to the uptick in anti-Jewish rhetoric and violence. About 18% of respondents tacitly justified the renewed frequency of anti-Semitism by claiming it as a mere response to the “everyday behavior of Jewish people.” CNN explains how widespread defamation of Jews is a result of the increasingly faded memory of the Holocaust; more than a third of Europeans have either never heard of or know only scant information about the Nazi genocide. Of even greater alarm is the measurably high rates of apathy and indifference among younger Europeans. In France, 20% of young adults have never heard of the Holocaust. These findings, compounded with those recently published by the Claims Committee which also reveal the “critical gaps in both awareness of basic facts as well as detailed knowledge of the Holocaust” among Americans, give cause for global alarm.

CNN reports how the phenomenon of anti-Semitism appears in different forms from both the radical Right and the radical Left. Right-wing extremism is energizing Europeans on the far Right, who often respond to issues of immigration, national security, and changing demographics with anti-Semitism. This explains the growing popularity of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which was once on Germany’s political fringe but now holds a solid 94 of 709 total seats in parliament. The rise of right-wing anti-Semitism also concurs with the promulgation of of left-wing anti-Semitism that is also rife across Europe. Dubbed as the purveyors of the “new anti-Semitism,” anti-Jewish bigots from the radical Left are motivated by an intense hatred toward Israel. France has been a focal point for the widespread promulgation of the new anti-Semitism; more than a quarter of French people have a somewhat or significantly unfavorable impression of Jews as a result of the Israeli-Palestinian issue. According to the New York Times, “Jewish groups and academic researchers trace a wave of anti-Semitic acts to France’s growing Muslim population.” In a comment on the CNN poll, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu noted how “the extreme left and also the radical Islamic pockets in Europe” spew lies about Israel that constitute “the ultimate anti-Semitism of today.”

Regardless of its political and ideological roots, anti-Semitism is a trans-historical phenomenon that plagues modernity as much as it did history. The CNN poll reinforces how civil society organizations and governments should take remedial action in response to the renewed frequency of anti-Semitism in Europe. By building upon already established strategies to combat anti-Semitism, these actors can preempt its escalation to forms of harassment, property damage, and physical violence.