Two surveys conducted in Germany and Poland - one on attitudes to online hate speech and the other on Israel's actions during the recent Gaza conflict - have revealed shockingly high levels of antisemitism.

In a survey conducted in Germany between June and September by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, one in four of those questioned equated Israel's policies towards Palestinians with the Nazis treatment of Jews during the Second World War.

The survey, conducted before and after Israel's war with Hamas, has previously shown a downward trend in German antisemitism over the past decade.

When respondents were asked in September if they believed Jews were partly responsible for their own persecution, 18 per cent agreed, up from less than eight per cent in June.

Meanwhile, in Poland, the researcher behind a survey into online antisemitism presented to the Polish parliament earlier this month has said he was "deeply disturbed" by its results.

Findings

20%
Proportion of Germans surveyed who equated Israel's policies with those of the Nazis
19%
Proportion of Polish adults surveyed who though it acceptable to blame Jews for antisemitism

Dr Michal Bilewicz of the Centre for Research on Prejudice of University of Warsaw asked 653 young Poles and 1007 adults whether it was reasonable to make the following statement in public: "Jews must realise that they made Poles hate them through their treason and their crimes. Today, they try to hide their crimes and shift the blame."

The survey found that nearly 19 per cent of adults and 21 per cent of young people agreed with the expression of statement.

Dr Bilewicz also found that 60 per cent of young Poles were exposed to wide-scale antisemitism on the internet.

He said about the result: "When we presented this data to parliament, Polish MPs, as well as Vice-Minister of Education Joanna Berdzik, said that there should be new measures to boost anti-racism education, and new legal remedies should be introduced."

In another result, 10 per cent of the youngsters surveyed and 10 per cent of the adults approved of the following statement: "As for kikes, hostility towards them is the result of the actions of these lice [Jews]". Around 80 per cent of young people and 78 per cent of the adults rejected the statement.

Jonathan Ornstein, director of the Krakow's Jewish Community Centre, said: "The poll results run counter to my experience of living as a Jew in Poland for the last 13 years as well as the experience of the Polish Jews I know."