Mthente Research and Consulting Services (Pty) was appointed by the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Kaplan Centre in Jewish Studies and Research to undertake research, by way of a survey, to measure the attitudes and perceptions of Black (African) South Africans towards the Jewish community in three metropolitan cities namely Cape Town, eThekwini (Durban) and Johannesburg.

The methodology employed for this study was exclusively quantitative and took the form of a survey. The survey sought to measure the attitudes and perceptions of a sample of 800 Black (African) South Africans towards the Jewish community in three metropolitan cities.

Accordingly, the survey questionnaire contained indicators (questions) which aimed to collect data across five thematic (content) areas. The five thematic areas were:

• Demographics,
• Respondents’ behaviour patterns in terms of contact with Jewish people as well as media consumption and political engagement,
• Respondents’ levels of awareness and knowledge of the Jewish community in South Africa and of some of the socio-political current and historical events related to the Jewish community,
• Respondents’ attitudes and beliefs of the Jewish community , and
• Respondents’ perceptions and understanding of the Jewish community

The pilot study was conducted among 40 households in 10 enumerator areas in Cape Town on 6th and 7th August 2016 while the main survey fieldwork in Cape Town, eThekwini and Johannesburg took place between 12 and 22 August 2016.

Various quality control measures were utilised/put in place for the duration of the study. Mthente ensured the involvement of the Kaplan Centre in all phases of the study’s implementation, from inception to data analysis and report writing. Additionally, data quality control checks and data cleaning activities were undertaken as part of the data finalisation process.

As is the case with all research undertakings, there were a few methodological limitations to this study that are detailed in the body of this report. In summary, these limitations overall relate to the ability to generalize results to the broader population of Black (African) South Africans.

Report by UCT Kaplan Centre in Jewish Studies and Research