The streets of Germany’s biggest cities are increasingly witnessing frequent anti-Semitic incidents.
Despite the fact that Germany regards the fight against anti-Semitism as part and parcel
of its domestic policy, in recent years Jews living in Germany have reported that they feel under
threat, to such an extent that 44% of them are considering migration. Debates on the presence
of ‘imported anti-Semitism’ among refugees from Arab states who have come to Germany in
recent years have been held for several months. Anti-Semitism among asylum seekers is a new
element in the dispute that has been evident in Germany over the attitude of specific parties to
anti-Semitism and methods for combating it. Both Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the Left
Party are accused by other parties of insufficient efforts to eliminate instances of anti-Semitism
in their ranks. The AfD, for its part, accuses Chancellor Angela Merkel of having contributed to
an increase in xenophobic tendencies by pursuing a liberal migration policy.
Significant differences between the statistics concerning incidents (which suggest that the perpetrators
are most often right-wing extremists) and the accounts given by the victims (who
point to individuals of migrant origin as the perpetrators) have triggered doubts regarding the
methodology used to compile these statistics. Attempts by the Federal Ministry of the Interior
to monitor anti-Semitic incidents, which is a practice recommended by non-governmental organisations,
may help to improve the credibility of the statistics by showing the motivation behind
such attacks in a broader context. Activities carried out by the federation and by individual
German states focus on curbing anti-Semitism on the internet and in schools, which is where
incidents involving discrimination and attacks are becoming increasingly common
