Perceptions of the citizens about the Jewish community and Jews in Republic of North Macedonia

The majority of the population has limited knowledge of the Jewish religion (Judaism), according to the latest survey "Perceptions of the citizens about the Jewish community and Jews in Republic of North Macedonia", conducted by the Institute for Political Research-Skopje, the internet portal Religija.mk and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

The survey shows that the perception of citizens about Macedonian Jews is extremely positive, with most citizens having basic knowledge about the Jewish community, considering that it has a positive role in social life, Macedonian Jews have a positive role for the State, that is, they respect it and are its loyal citizens.

To the question "What is the role of the Jewish community in social life in the Republic of North Macedonia", 34.9% answered positively, 15.5% somewhat positively. Over half of the respondents also stated that the role of Jews in the country is positive.

Most citizens believe that Jews do not have a privileged status but have the same rights as all other citizens, and that the State has done enough for the Jewish community in the country. A high of 64% of those surveyed believe that Jews are loyal citizens of the Republic of North Macedonia.

The research shows that certain stereotypes about the Jewish people dominate, characteristic not only of the Republic of North Macedonia but also at the European and global levels. The first associations with which Jews are associated are the holocaust as well as power and material goods, which correspond to certain stereotypes as a result of global historical narratives.

Although about a third of the respondents know what anti-Semitism is, most are not familiar with the exact definition of the term.

A large part of citizens are familiar with the holocaust that happened to the Jews in the Second World War. A high of 66% of citizens believe that the holocaust happened, while only 9% believe that there was no holocaust.

The survey shows that Macedonian citizens accept Jews as friends (73.3%), colleagues (73.1%), and family members (58.8%).

A high 64.6% of respondents believe that Jews have and participate in building interfaith coexistence in the country. Respondents, or 31.2% of them, believe that Orthodox Christians are the greatest friends of Jews in the country.

Most respondents believe that there is a global Jewish lobby without giving any connotation, be it positive or negative, which is also noticeable from the answers to the last question where most of the respondents do not believe in certain claims or insinuations that it is the Jews who control the world. This is in full correlation with the positive perceptions that Macedonian citizens have about Jews and the Jewish community, which were noted in the previous segments of the survey.

The Internet portal Religija.mk, the Institute for Political Research-Skopje together with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation have conducted this latest public opinion survey in frames of a multi-year project that analyzes citizens' perceptions of the influence of religion in multi-confessional societies. This is a unique and first such public opinion survey in the Republic of North Macedonia.

The survey was conducted at the end of September 2024. The survey was conducted among adult respondents at the national level. It included 1074 respondents, maintaining the general ratio in terms of basic demographic characteristics such as gender, age, profession and education. The marginal error is between +/-3.2% with a 95% confidence interval.