Germany must fight antisemitism to avoid Jewish ‘exodus’, foreign minister says

Antisemitism has become part of everyday life now for Jews in Germany, says Heiko Maas on 75th anniversary of liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp

German minister for foreign affairs Heiko Maas on stage at the Global Ireland 2025: Making it Happen conference, at the Dublin Castle Conference Centre Jan 8 2019 (PA)

Germany’s foreign minister has called for strengthened efforts against antisemitism to ward off the possibility that many Jews may decide to leave the country.

Heiko Maas said in an article for Der Spiegel that German politicians must do more “but there is one thing they can’t do: replace solidarity in everyday life”.

Mr Maas’s comments came a day before the 75th anniversary of the Soviet liberation of the Nazis’ Auschwitz death camp and at a time of rising concern in Germany and elsewhere in Europe about antisemitism.

In October, a man tried to force his way into a synagogue in Halle, northwest of Leipzig, on Judaism’s holiest day, later killing two passers-by before being arrested. The suspect posted an anti-Jewish message before the attack.

Mr Maas said antisemitism had become part of everyday life now for Jews in Germany and “it doesn’t surprise me that nearly every second Jew in Germany has thought about leaving the country”.

“We must urgently take countermeasures so that such thoughts don’t turn into bitter reality and it doesn’t come to a massive exodus of Jews from Germany,” he wrote.

“That people of Jewish faith no longer feel at home here is a real nightmare – and a disgrace, 75 years after the liberation of Auschwitz.”

Mr Maas said too few European Union countries have national commissioners against anti-Semitism. He said when Germany holds the EU presidency later this year, it will step up the fight against online hate and disinformation.

He said the security of Jewish facilities and communities must be improved throughout Europe. Germany will give the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe €500,000 (£420,000) this year to that end.

Germany’s main Jewish leader told Der Tagesspiegel that he has seen a “change in the social climate” over the past decade, pointing among other things to the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany party.

Asked if Jews in Germany are “sitting on packed suitcases”, Josef Schuster, who heads the Central Council of Jews, said he would not put it that drastically.

“The suitcases are unpacked, but people are checking where the empty suitcase is,” he said.

Mr Schuster added: “Is there a European country in which things are better? Jewish facilities have been the target of attacks in the US too. And you’re not safe from terrorist attacks, even in Israel.”

Associated Press