Israeli flag thrown in the trash
Israeli flags denigrated on German streets
In recent test by a German newspaper, Israeli flags were hung on German streets to test citizens' reactions; flags ended up being taken down, stepped on, set aflame or just thrown in a nearby garbage can.
Against the backdrop of recent rise in anti-Semitic incidents in Germany, the popular tabloid Bild decided a week ago to hang Israeli flags in different locations throughout the country to—with the aid of hidden cameras—examine how they will be treated.
"The results of the test were shocking," the paper wrote, noting most flags were either taken down, torn to shreds, stepped on, lit on fire or thrown in the trash.
Passerby trying to set Israeli flag on fire
A flag displayed in Berlin was removed only 42 minutes after its hanging, with the two individuals removing it tearing and then stepping on it. Later, another person filmed himself with his mobile phone trying to set the flag ablaze, without success.
In Munich, the flag was removed after 61 minutes from the moment it was hung. Two people, who the Bild described as "Arab-looking", noticed the flag, removed it and threw it in the garbage, near the city's main train station.
When a Bild reporter approached them to ask why they did it, one of the two retorted, "It's none of your concern."
In Frankfurt, 11 "Arab-looking" people were documented spitting on the flag and continuing on their way. After 81 minutes one passerby removed it and threw it on the ground.
In Duisburg, in a district densely populated with Muslim immigrants, a citizen removed the flag and when inquired by a Bild reporter on his reasoning responded that the district "is a multicultural area and we want to avoid conscious provocation out of fear of riots."
In response to Bild's report, German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said he saw the incidents with severity, and that, as far as he was concerned, a "rule of zero tolerance for any kind of anti-Semitism" should always apply.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas echoed Seehofer's assertion, adding Germany "will not stand" such acts.
German media have long reported anti-Semitic and anti-Israel harassment of school children by immigrant children.
Israeli flag thrown in the trash
Last month, two rappers won the prestigious Echo award, Germany's top music honor. The decision to award them with the prize caused outrage in Germany. One of their songs, "0815," includes the lyrics: "My body is more defined that those of Auschwitz inmates," as well as the line: "Commit another Holocaust, come with a Molotov cocktail."
The wave of protest that followed the decision to honor the rappers, which saw some German artists announce they would return their Echo awards, led organizers to cancel the ceremony.
