In 2021, a total of 965 anti-Semitic incidents were reported to the Anti-Semitism Reporting Office of the Jewish Community Vienna (IKG). This corresponds to an increase of 65 percent compared to the previous year with 585 incidents and thus the highest number recorded since documentation began 20 years ago.
President Oskar Deutsch spoke of a negative record when presenting the report for 2021 on Friday. “The most important thing: As frightening as that is, we will not be intimidated,” he emphasized. Fight anti-Semitism with Jewish life. However, this requires massive expenditure for security. The IKG spends 20 percent on it, more per capita than the state of Israel.
Video: Statement by IKG President Oskar Deutsch
More reports after escalation in Gaza
A dramatic increase in incident reports in the first half of the year was followed by a decline over the summer, reported IKG Secretary General Benjamin Nagele, who is also the chairman of the reporting office. However, the atmosphere intensified again in the autumn, reports the reporting office. From the point of view of the reporting office, the negative record of incidents in May (167) was mainly due to the military escalation between Palestinian terrorist organizations in Gaza and the State of Israel and the right-wing extremist activities in the context of the pandemic, which have been increasing since the end of 2020.
The second most registered anti-Semitic incidents in the previous year were reported in November with 113 incidents. According to the registration office, these were primarily in the context of new corona protection measures and the compulsory vaccination announced at the time. The majority of reported incidents took place on social networks (386). 292 of the cases are based on personal perception. 131 incidents were recorded online. However, several comments on one incident were often combined.
Often Muslim background in attacks
In terms of ideological background, the report categorizes 48 percent of anti-Semitic incidents as right-wing, 15 percent as left-wing, and 11 percent as “Muslim,” with the remainder unassignable. For Nagele, it is striking that the Muslim background predominates when it comes to attacks and threats: seven out of twelve were attacked and 14 out of 22 threatened.
Nagele mentioned the attacks on a boy who was identified as Jewish on the Salztor Bridge in Vienna, but also the threat to a non-Jewish student on the subway who had read a book on Jewish history. “Anti-Semitism affects not only the Jewish community, but society as a whole,” he emphasized in this context. The police initially did not want to record this as an anti-Semitic incident, and they are now raising awareness. Deutsch also saw it this way: “Anti-Semitism is anti-democratic per se.” Anyone who wants to defend a democratic and free society must intervene.
In a statement on the anti-Semitism report, the Ministry of the Interior announced that there would be close networking between the registration office and the Directorate for State Security and Intelligence (DSN). Anti-Semitic incidents have increased massively, especially due to the corona pandemic, it was explained. “Resolute action against any form of anti-Semitism is not only a historical responsibility, but above all a current challenge – which the police and state security are taking on comprehensively,” emphasized Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP).
Source: Nachrichten
