The number of anti-Semitic crimes in Germany has increased dramatically since Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel on October 7th. In connection with the Middle East conflict alone, the Federal Criminal Police Office recorded more than 1,100 offenses in its registration register for cases of politically motivated crime by December 21st, as a BKA spokesman told the German Press Agency upon request. That’s about twice as many as in any other of the first three quarters of this year. Above all, it concerns damage to property and incitement to hatred.
Israel’s ambassador: “We have to wake up”
Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor calls for a decisive response to this development. “The fact that Jews are afraid to go out on the streets with a yarmulke or speak on their cell phones in Hebrew, that simply cannot be true. We have to wake up,” he told dpa. “People who are afraid to bring their children to school if the school is not protected: these are conditions that are not normal,” warned Prosor, who has been representing his country in Berlin since 2022. “The fear is really there.”
Government representative: “A turning point” for Jews in Germany
The federal government’s anti-Semitism commissioner, Felix Klein, had previously made similar statements. He called the Hamas terrorist attack a “turning point for the security of Jews in Germany.” It can already be said that the number of anti-Semitic crimes this year will be higher than ever before in the Federal Republic, he told the Funke media group a few days ago. “Since the Holocaust, Jews in Germany have not been in as much danger as they are today.”
The total number of anti-Semitic crimes is probably even higher
According to the latest information from the Federal Ministry of the Interior in November, significantly fewer anti-Semitic crimes were registered in the first three quarters. In the first quarter there were 558, in the second quarter 609 and in the third 540. These numbers include all crimes – those motivated by left-wing and right-wing extremism as well as those in the categories “religious ideology” and “foreign ideology”.
The more than 1,100 crimes since the beginning of October, however, are only those recorded in connection with the escalation of the Middle East conflict. The total number is likely to be significantly higher. As of November 2023, a total of 2,874 anti-Semitic crimes were registered last year, including 88 violent crimes.
BKA President sees new dimension
In total, more than 4,800 crimes related to the Middle East conflict have been reported to the BKA by the state criminal investigation offices since October 7th. However, after an individual case check, only 2,600 of these are recorded in the registration register for politically motivated crime, in which anti-Semitic crimes are recorded. This also suggests that the number could rise significantly.
A few days ago, BKA President Holger Münch spoke in the “Neue Züricher Zeitung” about a new dimension in anti-Semitic crimes. He particularly pointed out “imported” anti-Semitism. “Many people have come to our country from regions where Israel is seen as an enemy and where the idea prevails that Jews must be fought,” said Münch. This anti-Semitism imported from abroad must be named and action taken against it.
Ambassador calls for closing educational gaps
Prosor called for starting in schools and closing gaps in education. “We have a real problem with young people. The younger people are, the more alienated they are about Israel,” he told dpa. “We have a task, we have to ensure better education about Israel, for example in schools.”
Prosor emphasized that increasing anti-Semitism is not a purely German problem. “But in Germany it is even more important than elsewhere to change that,” he said. “When Molotov cocktails are thrown to set synagogues on fire, you can’t just respond with words, you have to do something practical.”
Danger of terrorism in Germany: Prosor urges vigilance
The diplomat also urged vigilance regarding possible terrorist attacks in Germany. In mid-December, four suspected members of the Islamist Hamas were arrested in Berlin and Rotterdam, Netherlands. The federal prosecutor’s office accuses the three suspects from Berlin – an Egyptian and two Lebanese-born – of having searched for weapons that were to be kept ready for possible attacks on Jewish institutions in Europe.
“I believe that the German authorities are aware of the danger. We must remain vigilant because international terrorism is constantly arming itself,” warned Prosor. “The rule of law must always be one step ahead of the terrorists.”
