Germany —
A group that tracks antisemitism in Germany said Tuesday that it documented a drastic increase in antisemitic incidents in the country in the month after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7.
The RIAS group recorded 994 incidents, which is an average of 29 incidents per day and an increase of 320% compared to the same time period in 2022. The group looked at the time period from October 7 to November 9.
Among the 994 anti-Jewish incidents were three cases of extreme violence, 29 assaults, targeted damage to 72 properties, 32 threats, four mass mailings, and 854 cases of offensive behavior.
Many Jews in Germany experience antisemitic incidents in their daily lives and even those who are not exposed to antisemitic incidents report feelings of insecurity and fear, said RIAS, which is the German acronym for the Antisemitism Research and Information Department.
RIAS said there were 59 incident reports related to people’s homes or neighborhoods. In the southwestern German city of Giessen, two men forced their way into the home of an Israeli citizen to remove an Israeli flag hanging from a window. Some Jews also reported that their homes were marked with the D Star
One of the most serious anti-Jewish crimes was a synagogue in Berlin attacked on October 18.
There was also an increase in anti-Jewish and anti-Israel propaganda at universities in Germany, with a total of 37 incidents recorded by RIAS. Jewish students reported cases in which fellow students blamed them personally for Israeli politics. Some of them no longer attend lectures for fear of attack.
The monitoring group said that during the time period analyzed, about one in five incidents, or 21%, was related to the anti-Israel movement. (lt/hour)