Society: Growing anti-Semitism: Israel’s ambassador sounds the alarm

Israel’s ambassador Ron Prosor is calling for a more decisive response to growing anti-Semitism in Germany. “The fact that Jews are afraid to go out on the streets with a yarmulke or speak on their cell phones in Hebrew, that simply cannot be true. We have to wake up,” he told the German Press Agency.

“People who are afraid to bring their children to school if the school is not protected: these are conditions that are not normal,” warned Prosor, who has been ambassador in Berlin since 2022. “The fear is really there.”

More than 1,100 anti-Semitic crimes

Since the terrorist attack by the Islamist Hamas on Israel on October 7th, anti-Semitic crimes in Germany have increased significantly. The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) recorded more than 1,100 offenses in the criminal police reporting service for cases of politically motivated crime in connection with the escalation of the Middle East conflict alone by December 21st, as a BKA spokesman told the dpa upon request. It is primarily a matter of damage to property and incitement to hatred.

This is significantly more than in each of the first three quarters of this year, for which the Federal Ministry of the Interior last published figures in November. According to this, 558 anti-Semitic crimes were registered in the first quarter, 609 in the second quarter and 540 in the third. These numbers include all crimes – those motivated by left-wing and right-wing extremism as well as those in the categories “religious ideology” and “foreign ideology”.

The more than 1,100 crimes since the beginning of October, however, are only those recorded in connection with the escalation of the Middle East conflict. The total number is likely to be significantly higher. As of November 2023, a total of 2,874 anti-Semitic crimes were registered last year, including 88 violent crimes.

Ambassador demands: close educational gaps

Prosor emphasized that increasing anti-Semitism is not a purely German problem. “But in Germany it is even more important than elsewhere to change that,” he said. “When Molotov cocktails are thrown to set synagogues on fire, you can’t just respond with words, you have to do something practical.”

Prosor called for starting in schools and closing educational gaps when it comes to Israel. “We have a real problem with young people. The younger people are, the more alienated they are towards Israel,” he told the dpa. “We have a task, we have to ensure better education about Israel, for example in schools.”

Anti-Semitism as a threat to the entire society

You have to ask yourself in which reality, in which society and in which country you actually want to live, said Prosor. “In a country where police officers have to protect kindergartens? In a country where Jewish schools have to be protected day and night? In a country where Stars of David are sprayed on houses where Jews live?” he asked. “You can’t see this as normal.”

The ambassador emphasized that anti-Semitism is dangerous, regardless of whether it comes from the right-wing extremist, left-wing extremist or Muslim corner. “He is always a danger – not just for Jews, but for society as a whole.”

Prosor appreciates the actions of the security authorities

The diplomat praised the actions of the German security authorities against anti-Semitism and the growing threat of terrorism. In mid-December, four suspected members of the Islamist Hamas were arrested in Berlin and Rotterdam, Netherlands. The Federal Prosecutor’s Office accuses the three suspects from Berlin – an Egyptian and two Lebanese-born – of having searched for weapons that were to be kept ready for possible attacks on Jewish institutions in Europe.

“I believe that the German authorities know the danger. We have to remain vigilant because international terrorism is constantly arming itself,” said Prosor. “The rule of law must always be one step ahead of the terrorists.”