In a piercing warning, Dr. Felix Klein, Germany's Federal Government Commissioner for Jewish Life in Germany and the Fight against Antisemitism, has sounded the alarm on the disturbing rise of antisemitism in Germany. In an interview with a French news agency, Klein described the current wave of antisemitic sentiment as a "tsunami," noting a surge in open and aggressive hostility toward Jews since October 7.
Klein asserted that the atrocities committed on October 7 shattered the already fragile barriers against antisemitism in German society. He cited a staggering 5,000 antisemitic crimes in Germany for 2023, more than half occurring after October 7. The absurdity of the situation deeply troubles him: "Hamas murdered more Jews than any event since the Holocaust," Klein remarked, "yet the German public has not shown the solidarity with the Jewish community that I would have expected. We are now witnessing antisemitism in Germany in its most severe form since 1945."
He noted the rise in antisemitism predates both Israel's response and the subsequent conflict in Gaza. However, he emphasized, "Antisemitism has nothing to do with Israel's actions or policies, nor with the Jewish community in Germany. Thus, German citizens must not contribute to the existing antisemitic pressures by blaming German Jews for events in the Middle East. Antisemitism, like any form of discrimination, is a poison for our social unity."
Although there hasn't been an increase in the number of Jews leaving Germany, and many still trust the country's ability to protect them, the rise in crimes against Jews has led many to conceal their identity and refrain from reporting attacks. Antisemitic crimes, primarily committed by men from Muslim countries, have increased since the refugee influx in 2015. Post-October 7, this has escalated into a tsunami, manifesting in demonstrations by the Muslim population in many major German cities.
According to Klein, "All taboos related to antisemitism were broken after October 7, making it entirely acceptable for parts of the population. The determination, nature, and dimensions of this antisemitism are truly dramatic. Due to political developments, people find fertile ground to openly express what they previously kept to themselves."
Klein warns that antisemitism has spread from the far-right to the far-left and radical Islam, and it now permeates the center of German society. "We are turning a blind eye to the fact that the Israeli conflict is against a terrorist organization that disregards democracy and international law."
Pro-Palestinian students in Berlin
(Video: Reuters)
Even Germans who support Israel face criticism, sometimes violently. About 50 demonstrators, wrapped in keffiyehs, disrupted a speech by Joe Chialo, Berlin's Culture Senator, during the reopening ceremony of an art center about two weeks ago. They stormed towards the entrance, fired pyrotechnics into the air, threw a microphone stand at him, injuring a woman in the process, and chanted slogans like "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" and "There is only one solution, the intifada revolution." The police had to intervene to rescue Chialo.
In another incident, overnight between Sunday and Monday, the walls and entrance gate of Chialo's home in Berlin's Mitte neighborhood were vandalized with red paint, bearing the words "Chialo is a genocidal killer." These violent protests follow Chialo's decision at the end of 2023 to cut funding for Oyoun, a cultural center in the Neukölln immigrant neighborhood, due to antisemitic content presented by the anti-Zionist and BDS-supporting group "The Jewish Voice for a Just Peace in the Middle East," one month after October 7.