The belief that Diaspora Jews are more loyal to Israel than to the countries in which they live is the most widespread of classic negative attitudes toward Jews, according to an Anti- Defamation League survey of five European countries.

The survey, released last week, found that 51 percent of respondents believe that Jews are more loyal to Israel than to states of which they are citizens. The stereotype that was second in popularity is the belief that Jews wield excessive power in the international financial markets.

In commenting on the results, ADL national director Abraham Foxman depicted such beliefs as traditional anti-Semitism - and while he is quite likely correct, it's impossible to ignore the problematic manner in which both Jews and Israelis view those same stereotypes.

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Accusing Diaspora Jews of dual loyalty is, of course, a relatively new phenomenon, but Foxman sees it as a version of an old anti-Semitic perception that views Jews as not being loyal to their homeland or their leaders. A prominent example of such a belief, according to Foxman, was Joseph Stalin's use of the word "cosmopolitan" as a code for the Jews, implying their disloyalty to the Soviet Union.

There is, of course, a fine line between the traditional and contemporary formulations, since the State of Israel sees itself as belonging to all the Jews in the world and grants automatic citizenship to anyone with at least one Jewish grandparent. At times, Israeli politicians have caused a stir by emphasizing this inflammatory notion, as when then-prime minister Ariel Sharon called on French Jews to "come home" to Israel in 2004, in light of the rising anti-Semitism in their country. It was still worse when then-foreign minister Silvan Shalom declared, on a visit to Istanbul in 2003, following the bombing of two synagogues there, that Israel would protect Jews everywhere. When asked his opinion on such comments, Foxman said, in something of an understatement, that certain remarks by Israeli politicians in recent years have been insensitive.

But those who think that only Jews in Turkey and France confront accusations of dual loyalty, are mistaken. Suspicions regarding the loyalty of American Jews are behind the U.S. government's insistence on not commuting the life sentence of Jonathan Pollard, the American citizen convicted in 1986 of spying for Israel. The Pollard case came to the fore once again this week, when U.S. Ambassador to Israel Richard Jones said it was unlikely that Pollard would ever be released. For this reason, one can say that the threat posed to U.S.-Israel relations by the public struggle for Pollard's release pales in comparison to the risk that struggle poses to the standing of Jews within American society.

Meanwhile, 68 percent of the Spanish respondents in the ADL survey, 54 percent of the Polish, 42 percent of the Italians, 28 percent of the French and 25 percent of the Germans said it was "probably true" that Jews have too much power in international financial markets.

Although the survey found that the myth of Jews' economic power is the second most popular stereotype about Jews, it could actually be the most widespread Jewish stereotype in the world. Even in countries where there were never large Jewish communities, like China and Japan, Jews are considered to have the golden touch in business. The myth of Jewish political power is also prevalent in Japan, and there are anecdotes about Japanese giving their Jewish acquaintances a copy of the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" as a gift.

There is no question that the myths about Jewish power stem from classic anti-Semitism, but at the same time, it's hard to come up with a single international Jewish organization that hasn't made use of the exaggerated admiration extended to Jews. For instance, Edgar Bronfman, Sr., takes pride in having met many world leaders in his capacity as World Jewish Congress president. It would be interesting to find out how many of those people would be chasing after Bronfman if they were better able to assess the WJC's power.

Foxman appeared uncomfortable when asked about this matter. He said Jewish leaders and organizations don't need to inflame the myth of Jewish power, but he doesn't consider it illegitimate for such individuals and groups to passively benefit from the inflated image of such power.

I prefer the more open and self- deprecating line of Malcolm Hoenlein, the executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, who said at the President's Residence in Jerusalem two years ago that Jewish power is what other people consider it to be. As to our real power, he said at the time, it's fortunate that only we know what it is.