Research on Perception of frekans araştırma www.frekans.com.tr Different Identities and Jews 2009
Purpose of the Project The research is part of the Project Presenting Turkish Jewry and Jewish Culture funded by the European Union The purpose of the study is to understand the outlook of the general population towards the other in general while measuring perception of and image of Turkish Jews. The research was made by phone with 1108 people all around Turkey. Sampling was done with internationally accepted regional NUT1 based city and rural distributions. The research was made by Frekans Research Company (Frekans Araştırma Şirketi) between May 18 to June 18 2009. 2
Sampling Distribution 2 3 9 4 7 2 1 10 149 8 2 37 22 5 8 1 3 11 12 5 2 20 11 12 9 8 2 3 7 51 1 30 66 4 23 4 9 10 6 12 2 1 2 2 7 4 15 6 34 21 16 1 59 4 22 5 14 11 5 37 6 2 14 13 10 7 3 21 20 52 4 19 2 22 17 1 n = 1108 29 6 1 3
Demografik Profile Men Women % 49 % 51 18-24 years 25-34 years 35-44 years 45-54 years 55-64 years 65+ years % 20 % 26 % 21 % 15 % 11 % 7 Primary school and less Medium & High school % 40 % 45 University & post U % 15 City Rural % 33 % 67 4
GENERAL APPROACH AND ACTIONS
Satisfaction with Democracy % 18 Mean 4,3 % 25 Not happy at all % 10 % 7 % 8 % 7 % 5 % 6 % 7 % 5 % 3 % 1 Very Happy 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 No idea %44 %25 %30 6 Q: Generally speaking how happy are you about the way democracy works in Turkey?
Trust in People % 33 Have to approach people carefully % 6 % 13 Mean 2,8 % 11 % 9 % 14 % 4 % 3 % 3 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 % 1 % 3 Can trust people generally %72 %14 %14 7 Q: Can people generally be trusted or do they have to be approached carefully?
Definition of Identity Turkish citizen % 51 Muslim % 19 Turkish % 19 Kurdish % 2 Alawite % 2 Identity not defined (Dünya vatandaşıyımönce insanım,hiçbiri vs) % 7 No response % 1 8 Q: If you were to define yourself with a single identity which definition below would you PRIMARILY think is appropriate for yourself?
INFORMATION AND PERCEPTION ABOUT DIFFERENT IDENTITIES AND JEWS WITH SOURCES OF THE ABOVE
Are there any...around? As a friend Around.. Total known Kurdish 64% 6% 70% Alawite 53% 4% 57% Atheist 14% 1% 15% Armenian 10% 3% 13% Greek 8% 3% 11% Jewish 7% 3% 10% 10 Q1: Do you know any one of the above within your close circle of friends? Q2: Do you know any one of the above in your work/school/ district?
Knowledge on Different Identities Not Informed Partially Informed Jews 76% 11% 13% Greeks 74% 13% 13% Armenians 74% 12% 14% Atheists 73% 11% 16% Alawites 40% 17% 43% Kurds 30% 19% 51% 11 Q: I will now count the different identities and minorities living in Turkey. How informed do you think you are about the lives and cultures of these people?
Not Wanted as Neighbors Would not want Would want Atheist/ Family not believing in God 57% 42% Turkish family of Jewish faith 42% 57% Turkish family of Christian faith 35% 63% Family from a foreign country 18% 81% Muslim family but from a different sect 13% 86% 12 Q: Which of the families listed below would you not want to have as neighbors?
Those Who Don t Want Jewish Neighbors According to Demographic Variables Highly Against Middle Lower Ratio more open Muslim Identity 61% Low trust 45% University & post U 19% Different identities nonexistent around 57% 18-34 years 44% CHP 26% High religiosity 54% Against EU 44% World citizen identity 26% Primary school and below 52% Turkish citizen 41% İstanbul-İzmir-Bursa 29% AKP electorate 49% 35-54 years 41% Low religiosity 29% Black Sea & Central Anatolia 48% Medium level religiosity 40% DTP 31% Rural 47% City dweller 40% Identify self as Turk 34% MHP 47% Pro EU 40% Read other papers 35% Read conservative paper 47% Aegean & Mediterranean 39% Marmara Region 36% East & S.East Anatolia 46% Medium & High school 39% High level trust to others 36% Women 46% 55 + years 39% Votes for other parties 38% 13 Other cities 46% Men 38% Different identities around 38%
Source of Negative Information (Allegations) YES NO TV news or programs % 36 % 64 Newspapers % 29 % 71 Chats among friends % 29 % 71 From books % 17 % 83 Internet % 16 % 84 Radio % 14 % 86 Periodicals % 13 % 87 Public speeches % 12 % 88 E-mails % 7 % 93 14 Q: Allegations that Jews have a hidden agenda are seen or heard from time to time in different environments. Did you hear such information about the hidden agenda of Jews among these sources of information listed? Pls respond based on this last year.
Credibility of Source of Information Very credible % 4 Credible % 21 Neither credible nor not % 14 Not very credible % 10 Not credible at all % 8 Did not count any source of information % 44 15 Q: How credible do you think these allegations are?
PERCEPTION ON THE JEWS PLACE WITHIN THE STATE AND THE COUNTRY
Perception on Identity and Religious Freedom Free Neither free nor not Not free No idea Muslims 64% 17% 18% 1% Christians 60% 18% 13% 9% Jews 57% 19% 14% 10% Alawites 55% 17% 21% 7% Atheitsts 46% 19% 24% 11% Personally how free are you to express your identity and religious convictions? 83% 9% 6% 2% 17 Q: According to your view, how free is each group above in expressing their identitiy and religious convictions within society?
Perception of Isolation based on Identity Not isolated Neither isolated nor not Isolated No idea Muslims 57% 19% 22% 2% Christians 52% 20% 21% 8% Jews 46% 21% 25% 9% Alawites 45% 22% 26% 7% Atheists 34% 19% 37% 10% To what extent do you perceive you are isolated by society because of your identity? 80% 10% 8% 2% 18 Q: According to your perception, to what extent are the above groups isolated by the rest of society because of their identities?
Perception of Loyalty to the Rep. of Turkey Loyal Neither Loyal nor not Not loyal No idea Alawites 54% 24% 14% 8% Kurds 38% 27% 29% 6% Atheists 20% 25% 39% 16% Greeks 16% 26% 47% 11% Armenians 15% 25% 47% 13% Jews 15% 25% 48% 13% How loyal do you personally feel to the Republic of Turkey? 96% 2% 1% 2% 19 Q: How loyal do you think the above groups are to the Republic of Turkey?
Non-Muslim Population Number Military Service Perception Approximate number of population Military Service Perception % 1 and less btw % 2-5 % 7 % 11 No idea % 17 btw % 6-10 btw % 11-30 % 30 and more No idea % 6 % 15 % 8 % 54 No, they don't go to military service % 19 Yes, they go to military service % 65 20 Q1: According to your perception, how many non Muslim Turkish citizens live in Turkey Q2: According to your perception, do the non Muslim minorities go to military service?
Displeasure in having non-muslims in... YES NO No idea State Intelligence Agency 57% 40% 3% Judiciary 55% 42% 3% Police corps 55% 42% 3% Army 55% 42% 3% Senior position in political parties 51% 46% 3% Municipalities 46% 51% 3% Scientific, research institutes 44% 53% 3% Health services 44% 54% 2% 21 Q: Would you disapprove of, feel uncomfortable if non-muslim minorities work in the following public institutions?
Being Trustworthy, Hard-working & Value, Respect People Muslim Jew Christian How trustworthy 7,5 3,6 3,9 How hardworking 6,7 6,8 6,4 How much respect and value given to fellow person 7,6 4,7 5,1 22 Q: If you can make a generalization; how would you rate the persons of different faith according to the descriptions listed? Please grade from 0 meaning none to 10 meaning fully.
Assistance (benefit) of non-muslims to Turkey Have assisted Neither have nor have not Have not assisted No idea Commerce / business 68% 14% 8% 10% Art / sports 64% 15% 10% 11% Science / education 59% 17% 12% 12% Politics 42% 23% 24% 12% 23 Q: How beneficial have non Muslim Turkish citizens been for Turkey in the following areas, according to your perception?
THE EFFECT OF THE ISRAELI- PALESTINIAN CONFLICT ON THE PERCEPTION OF JEWS IN TURKEY
Extent of Knowledge on Israeli-Palestinian Relations Fully informed % 10 %42 Have information on % 32 Neither informed nor not % 21 %21 Not very knowledgable % 17 Not knowledgable at all % 19 %36 No response % 2 25 Q: How informed are you about the Middle East the ongoing Israel Palestine relations?
Views of the Israeli and Palestinian Policies Policies of the Israeli Government Feed the conflict and confrontation Focused on reaching peace % 6 % 80 No idea % 14 Feed the conflict and confrontation % 65 Policies of the Palestinian Government Focused on reaching peace % 18 No idea % 17 26 Q1: Do you think the policies of the present Israeli government are helpful to attain peace in the Middle East or do they lead to more conflicts? Q2: Do you think the policies of the present Palestinian authority and Hamas are helpful to attain peace in the Middle East or do they lead to more conflicts?
The effect of the Israel-Palestine Conflict On Perception of Turkish and World Jewry Perception of World Jewry Perception of Turkish Jews Very negatively affected % 26 Oldukça olumsuz etkiledi % 19 % 65 % 51 Negatively affected % 39 Olumsuz etkiledi % 32 No change % 23 Herhangi bir etkisi olmadı % 37 Positively affected % 2 Olumlu etkiledi % 2 Very positively affected % 0 Oldukça olumlu etkiledi % 0 No idea/no response % 10 Fikri Yok/ Cevap Yok % 10 27 Q1: How has the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinians in the Middle East changed your perception of World Jewry? Q2: Secondly, how has the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinians in the Middle East changed your perception of Turkish Jews?
The Israeli Palestinian Conflict It s effect on World and Turkish Jewry... is responsible of the policies of Israel Only the State of Israel % 68 ALL Jews in the World % 20 No idea/no response % 12 Only the State of Israel % 74 ALL Turkish Jews % 14 No idea/no response % 12 28 Q1: Do you think World Jewry can be held responsible of the policies of Israell or is the State of Israel responsible for its policies? Q2: Secondly, do you think Turkish Jews can be held responsible of the policies of Israell or is the State of Israel responsible for its policies?
In Short Democracy The mean of satisfaction of the way democracy works in Turkey is 4.3 over 10. Those whose education level is low, are living in the rural areas, AKP supporters, with high levels of religiosity and women have given higher votes for satisfaction with democracy. Trust Generally speaking trust of the other is very low. The mean is 2.8 over 10. It seems that the response to this question is being given based on memorized stereotypes and teachings. As level of trust increases acceptance of the other increases as well. The aged, university graduates, those who define themselves as Turks have a generally higher level of trust vis a vis the other. The lowest trust level is perceived in those who define themselves as Muslims. Comparing the results of international surveys, Turkey is among the countries with lowest level of trust. 29
In Short Contact with different Identities The ratio of those who know Jews one way or another is 10%. That means 90% have no personal contact with Jews in any way (in the district, work, school etc). 80% have no personal contact with any non-muslim Turkish citizen. 25% of the population live only with people like themselves with no different identity or background (Greek, Armenian, Jewish, Alawite, Kurdish, Atheist) people around. Definition of Identity 51% responded to the question of self identity as Turkish citizen. 19% see themselves as Muslims first; and 19% identify themselves as Turks first. Those who primarily see themselves as Turkish citizen are among the CHP voters. Those who primarily identify themselves as Muslim are AKP voters from rural areas, and low education groups. Self identity as Turkish is higher among MHP voters and the university educated. 30
In Short Tolerance Tolerance to the other, namely to those with a different identity from self is low. The percent of negative response to acceptance of all the others as neighbors is much much higher than World means. Meanwhile anti-semitism per se is not perceived to be an intense reaction or approach. Based on the questions asked those who accept all the others but not the Jews are about 1.6%. Those who refused the Christians only, or anyone from a different sect only are around 1%. On the other hand those to refuse and are not tolerant of atheists only are 17% (It should not be ignored that results change when comparisons are made with different groups) 31
In Short Tolerance In short, 6% do not want any different people as neighbors and 36% accept any of those in the list as potential neighbors. 42% do not want to have Jewish neighbors. This increases to 61% among those who identify themselves as Muslims; to 57% among those who do not have any different people aound them; to 52% among those with low education levels, Those who live in rural areas, women, AKP and MHP voters are generally those who are highly against Jewish neighbors. Those who said 19% no to Jewish neighbors have the lowest ratio and are among the university educated. 32
Research on Perception of Different Identities and Jews is part of the Project Presenting Turkish Jews and Jewish Culture of the Beyoglu Musevi Hahamhanesi Vakfı The Beyoğlu Jewish Rabbinate Foundation and is supported by the European Commission EIDHR Program ofis@turkyahudileri.com www.turkyahudileri.com September 2009