German Jews 'no longer safe' due to anti-Semitism and 'deteriorating security'

Some Jews have talked about 'packing their bags' after rise in hate crime

Eleanor Ross
Wednesday 20 January 2016 20:19
0 comments
A woman wears a kippah in Berlin
A woman wears a kippah in Berlin

Jewish people no longer feel safe living in Germany, it has been claimed.

The leader of Hamberg’s Jewish community, Daniel Killy, told the Jerusalem Post: “We no longer feel safe here.”

He went on to explain how a combination of extreme right-wing forces, deteriorating security, and Germany welcoming of refugees brought up in cultures "steeped in hatred" for Jews were resulting in anti-Semitism.

Hamburg has a 2,500-strong Jewish population, and there are around 118,000 in Germany overall. One million Muslim refugees arrived in Germany over the last year.

Mr Killy referenced a report published on tagesschau.de, authored by expert in extremist ideology Patrick Gensing.

In the report he said: “Anti-Semitic sentiments have diverse manifestations in Germany. [There are studies that point to] “historical defensive guilt [about the Holocaust], obsessive criticism of Israel, National Socialist racism, Muslim anti-Semitism [and] Christian anti-Semitism.”

An article published on dw.com included an interview with 22-year-old Jewish man, Elliot Reich, who took part in a pro-Israel demonstration in 2014.

Reich said he was surprised at the animosity against the marchers, claiming counter-protesters shouted things like: "’Hamas, Hamas! Jews into gas!’ Words like this have nothing to do with Israel - they are purely anti-Semitic.”

Mr Gensing also pointed to a reported attack on a synagogue near Dusseldorf.

Leonie Goldberg, head of Wuppertal’s Jewish Community, told Der Spiegel: “I thought the time of the packed suitcases was for always over. Now I am considering when we need to pack these suitcases again.”

The Jerusalem Post said 200 German Jews moved to Israel in 2015.

It pointed out that the figure is actually quite high considering the older age of Germany's Jews.

Early in 2015 there was a backlash against Jewish council leader Dr Josef Schuster after he encouraged German Jews to look less Jewish when walking through predominantly Muslim neighbourhoods in Berlin.

On New Year’s Eve 2014, Shakah Shapira, an Israeli man, suffered an apparently anti-Semitic attack by seven "Arabic-speaking" men in Berlin.

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