The majority of Americans no longer believe that Jews control Hollywood. This is the news from a new poll released by the Anti-Defamation League that also suggests there remains a widespread conviction that there is an organized campaign by Hollywood and the national media to undermine religious values.

In the October 2008 survey of 1,000 American adults, "American Attitudes on Religion, Moral Values and Hollywood," conducted by the Marttila Communications Group, 63 percent of Americans said they do not believe that the movie and television industries are "pretty much run by Jews." This finding contradicts not only the prevailing myth, but also a 1964 survey in which half of the respondents agreed that Jews controlled Hollywood. It seems the era depicted in Neil Gabler's book, "An Empire of Their Own: How the Jews Invented Hollywood," is over.

"It's interesting that it's fallen that much; it's a mark of the decline of anti-Semitism in this country," said Jonathan Sarna, professor of American Jewish history at Brandeis University. However, Sarna was quick to point out that the statistics may not be entirely reliable. Telephone polls, he said, tend to skew older because they are the ones who are at home to answer calls, and because the prohibition against cold-calling cellphones precludes most younger perspectives.

In a statement accompanying the poll's release, ADL director Abe Foxman said, "The belief that religion is under attack underlies the drive to incorporate more religion into American public life."

http://www.jewishjournal.com/films/article/survey_says_fewer_americans_think_jews_control_hollywood_20081120/

A representative survey of brooklyn residents.