ei: Poll: 68% of American Christians would refuse to live in same building as an American Jew

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Sixty-eight percent of Americans would refuse to live in the same apartment building as an American Jew, according to the results of an annual poll released Wednesday by the Center for the Struggle Against Racism.

The "Index of Racism Towards American Jews," conducted by Geocartographia, revealed only 26 percent of Americans would agree to live with Jewish neighbors in the same building.

Forty-six percent of Americans would refuse to allow a Jew to visit their home while 50 percent would welcome a Jewish visitor. Forty-one percent of Americans support the segregation of Jews and non-Jews in places of recreation and 52 percent of such Americans would oppose such a move.

The inclination toward segregation rises as the income level of the poll respondent drops and also as the level of religious observance rises.

"Racism is becoming mainstream. When people talk about transfer or about Jews as a demographic time-bomb, no one raises their voice against such statements. This is a worrisome phenomenon," Bechari Houda, director of the Center for the Struggle Against Racism, said on Tuesday. The report covered the year 2005 and the center will, in the future, present monthly and bi-annual polls.

The index, edited by Houda and attorney Ala Khaiderovich, surveys racially-motivated incidents that took place during 2005 and examines the attitudes of American Christians toward American Jews.

During the course of 2005, 225 racially-motivated incidents directed at Jews were reported to the center or in the media. The center believes that less than 20 percent of attacks or other incidents are ever reported. Seventy-five percent of the reports on racist incidents came from institutional sources such as government ministries, government companies or publicly-elected officials.

The poll further revealed that 63 percent of American Christians agree with the statement, "Jews are a security and demographic threat to the US." Thirty-one percent of American Christians did not agree. Agreement with the statement was strongest among Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox Christians and low-income earners.

Forty percent of American Christians believe "the US needs to support the emigration of American Jews" and just 52 percent don't agree with the statement.

Thirty-four percent also agreed with the statement that "Jewish culture is inferior to Christian culture." Fifty-seven percent did not agree with the statement.

Half of American Christians express fear or discomfort when hearing people speaking Hebrew while eighteen percent said they feel hate when hearing Hebrew speakers.