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Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
German, Israeli ministers commemorate Holocaust ahead of Berlin talks
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar was in Berlin on Thursday for talks with his German counterpart Johann Wadephul, amid high international pressure on Israel over the humanitarian situation in the embattled Gaza Strip. On the first stop of his visit, Saar joined Wadephul at the Holocaust memorial in the centre of the German capital, which commemorates the six million Jews killed by the Nazi regime across Europe. "The fight against anti-Semitism, standing up for Jewish life in Germany and the commitment to the security and peaceful future of the state of Israel is and will remain our obligation," Wadephul said as he laid a wreath at the memorial in central Berlin with Saar. The memorial "reminds us Germans to remember the victims, to honour the survivors and to learn the lessons from the crimes against humanity of the Shoah," said the German minister. For his part, Saar said that 80 years after the end of the Holocaust, "the lessons seem to have been forgotten." "In Germany, there's an anti-Semitic incident once every hour," said Saar, referring to a report published by a monitor on Wednesday. Wadephul said he was "deeply" ashamed that the number of anti-Semitic offences in Germany has reached a new high, that Jewish residents no longer feel safe in the country and that they are advising their children not to speak Hebrew on the street. "And that is why the federal government will oppose all forms of anti-Semitism with clarity, rigour and consistency," he added. Second meeting in a month Wadephul met Saar in Israel on May 11 during his first official visit after taking office. The ministers are expected to discuss Israel's military campaign in Gaza and the catastrophic situation facing the civilian population in talks later on Thursday. The meeting comes after Wadephul on Wednesday pledged further German arms deliveries to Israel during an address to parliament. Wadephul had caused concern within the German government for earlier comments to a newspaper in which he said arms deliveries to Israel were dependent on a legal review of Israel's military conduct in the Gaza Strip. 'Jewish people are afraid' During the visit to the Holocaust memorial, the Israeli minister stressed the importance of paying attention to the recent rise in anti-Semitic crimes in Germany and across Europe. "Anti-Semitism is raging today unchecked in the world and especially on European soil," he claimed, adding that one anti-Semitic incident was recorded in Germany every hour, with 8,600 recorded in 2024. The minister was apparently citing figures released by Germany's Federal Association of Departments for Research and Information on Antisemitism (RIAS), which documented 8,637 anti-Semitic incidents in the country in 2024, a rise of 77% year-over-year. However, the independent organization has been criticized by the German-Israeli journalist Itay Mashiach on behalf of the Diaspora Alliance, an organization that fights anti-Semitism, of "opaque methods," accusing it of overemphasizing "Israel-related anti-Semitism." "Today in Europe, today in Germany, Jewish people are afraid," Saar continued. "They don't feel safe in public." "Ancient hatred has been transformed into a modern plan of action to deprive (...) the Jewish people's right to its own nation state," Saar said. "To remove the right of Israel, the most attacked and threatened country in the world, to defend itself. And to put the Jewish people once again under the threat of elimination by enemies who are openly calling and acting to eliminate." Calls have been growing including among Israel's European allies to slap an embargo on weapons exports to the country over the devastating humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Boston Globe
6 days ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Since Oct. 7, perpetrators of antisemitic attacks in US increasingly cite Israel's war in Gaza
In 2024, 58 percent of antisemitic incidents 'contained elements related to Israel or Zionism,' according to the Anti-Defamation League's annual antisemitism report released this year. That has risen since the group began tracking the data with a new definition two years ago. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'For antisemites, the Israel issue has been a convenient tactic to pile onto the Jewish community,' said Oren Segal, ADL's senior vice president of counterextremism and intelligence. Some people intentionally conflate being Jewish with support for the Israeli government, he said. Advertisement The overlap is complicating life for many US Jews and Jewish organizations living with increasing antisemitism and the deep divisions sparked by the war in Gaza. 'People like me made arguments for years about how you should be able to criticize Israel and not be seen as antisemitic. Now that's collapsed, and attacks on Zionism now target Jews. They see no difference, and so here we are,' said Joel Rubin, a deputy assistant secretary of state under former president Barack Obama who also served as Jewish outreach adviser to the 2020 presidential campaign of Senator Bernie Sanders, a Vermont Independent. Advertisement Since Israel's post-Oct. 7 war in Gaza began, polls have shown that more Americans have negative views about Israel, and support for the Palestinian solidarity movement has grown stronger. With antisemitic incidents at historic levels, some American Jews say they feel like a political football, and that it can be agonizing at times to tell the difference between prejudice and criticism of the Israeli government. Jews in the United States 'have a real psychological challenge in this moment,' said Dove Kent, US senior director of the Diaspora Alliance, a progressive group that works to fight the weaponization of antisemitism. 'Whenever there is an increase in Israeli lethal action, there is an increase in antisemitism directed at Jews. But Jews don't cause antisemitism,' she said. 'Conversations about if and when these attacks [in the United States] are antisemitic are only useful to the degree they help us understand how to stop them,' she said. 'Otherwise it's almost just an exercise -- a thing that has the potential to grab people's attention and cause fractures among people who are otherwise completely aligned that we need to stop these attacks.' This trend has become more apparent after a recent series of antisemitic events. In April, the residence of Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who is Jewish, was set on fire by a man who allegedly blamed him for Middle East violence against Palestinians. A month later, two Israeli Embassy employees were fatally shot as they left a reception at a Jewish museum in Washington, D.C., by a man who yelled 'Free, free Palestine.' And Sunday, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, allegedly used a flamethrower to attack a Jewish event in Colorado. Advertisement All three incidents reflect rising antisemitism, but they also have a common feature: The alleged perpetrators cited their objections to Israel's war in Gaza as part of their motives, say hate crime experts. Soliman 'said this had nothing to do with the Jewish community and was specific [to] the Zionist group,' according to Boulder police. While the war in Gaza has fueled criticism of Israel from some on the left, even among some politically left-leaning Jews, many US Jews have also said the administration of President Trump shares some blame for a more hostile climate. During his last presidential campaign, Trump said Jewish voters would be to blame if he lost -- despite being only 2 percent of the population. Multiple Jewish leaders have been critical of Trump and some administration officials for using antisemitism as a rationale for deporting immigrants and eliminating some diversity initiatives, stoking backlash. 'Since Trump came in they are weaponizing Jewish fear to advance a very specific agenda,' said Kevin Rachlin, Washington director of the Nexus Project, which advocates against antisemitism and for free speech. 'What will you do to protect us?' he said. 'Shutting down and defunding schools, deporting people? That doesn't protect Jews.' Harrison Fields, principal deputy press secretary at the White House, wrote that the president 'received unprecedented support from the Jewish community in his historic reelection, and this support continues to grow as he combats the left's rampant anti-Semitism is exposed daily. The Trump administration is the most pro-Israel and pro-Jewish in our nation's history, and the President's record stands as a testament to this commitment.' Advertisement US Jews are wary equally of both conservatives and liberals, according to a 2024 survey by the American Jewish Committee. Asked 'how much of an antisemitic threat' the 'extreme political right' and the 'extreme political left' represents, the numbers were almost the same: 55 percent said the far right is a very serious or moderate threat, and 57 percent said that of the far left. Jews outside of Israel have long been attacked by people trying to change Mideast policy, Rachlin said. But those attacks have taken on a new dimension in recent years, he said. What's changed is the very high death toll in Israel and Gaza, the growth among young Americans -- compared with older ones -- in sympathy for the Palestinian cause, and, Rachlin said, the internet. 'We see everything that's happening. Nothing is hidden, and no amount of spin can turn away video. You can see bad actors in both camps.'
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Record number of anti-Semitic attacks recorded in Germany in 2024
Anti-Semitic incidents in Germany were up by 77% in 2024 compared to the previous year, according to figures published by a monitoring organization on Wednesday, with the increase being partially attributed to the ongoing war in Gaza and the far right. "Never before have we been aware of more attacks against Jews in a calendar year than in the past year," said Benjamin Steinitz, managing director of the Federal Association of Departments for Research and Information on Antisemitism (RIAS). The 2024 report details 8,627 anti-Semitic incidents, including eight cases of extreme violence, 186 attacks, 443 cases of property damage and 300 cases involving threats. Cases classified as "offensive behaviour" were reported most frequently with 7,541 incidents, including 1,802 cases recorded at public gatherings. The latter category defined incidents as anti-Semitic based on the content of speeches or other material used as calls to action. A total of 544 cases were attributed to right-wing extremist views, a record since RIAS began documenting cases nationwide in 2020. Meanwhile, 5,857 cases were classified as "anti-Semitism related to Israel" - meaning incidents in which Jews living in Germany are held responsible for the actions of the Israeli government, or where Israel's right to exist is disputed. The figure was more than twice as many as recorded in 2023. Steinitz stressed that the category did not include cases of mere criticism of the Israeli government. The rise in anti-Semitic attacks since the October 7 attacks in Israel recorded by RIAS, which documents cases reported by victims or eyewitnesses, is also reflected in official data. However, a recently published report by the German-Israeli journalist Itay Mashiach on behalf of the Diaspora Alliance, an organization that fights anti-Semitism, accuses RIAS of "opaque methods," criticizing it for overemphasizing "Israel-related anti-Semitism." RIAS recorded a total of 450 anti-Semitic incidents at universities last year, followed by 284 at schools, including 19 attacks. Steinitz described the Hamas-led attacks on Israel in October 2023, which triggered Israel's devastating military campaign in the Gaza Strip, as a turning point. "The risk of being attacked as a Jew in Germany has objectively increased since October 7," he said. Among the cases of extreme anti-Semitic violence recorded by RIAS last year is that of a Jewish student who was attacked by a fellow student outside a bar in Berlin. In the same category, the association also included a terrorist attack on a city festival in the western city of Solingen, which left three dead, as well as an attack by a suspected Islamist on the Israeli consulate general in Munich. Among the 186 registered attacks was the case of a Jewish pupil who was held by two men on her way to school who called her a "dirty Jew." In another incident in a park in the eastern city of Leipzig, 10 to 15 right-wing extremists attacked three men who had been talking about anti-Semitism. Among the cases of property damages, 50 incidents were recorded in residential areas. In March 2024, unknown perpetrators daubed two swastikas next to the front door of the home of a Jewish couple in Hamburg, while in April, a Star of David was smeared onto the house of a Jewish person living in Leipzig. Steinitz rejected the accusations levelled against the association, and the German government's anti-Semitism commissioner Felix Klein said he has "great confidence in the work of RIAS." Klein described the new figures as shocking and stressed the need for the fight against anti-Semitism to become "even more focused, intensive and successful." Cooperation with states, municipalities, associations, organizations and individuals is necessary "so that we can ideally see the numbers of anti-Semitic incidents fall again as soon as possible."
Reuters
6 days ago
- General
- Reuters
Antisemitic incidents in Germany almost double in 2024, report says
BERLIN, June 4 (Reuters) - The number of antisemitic incidents in Germany almost doubled last year, at a time of continued war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, the semi-official German body that tracks antisemitism reported on Wednesday. The Federal Research and Information Point for Antisemitism (RIAS) said it had registered 8,627 incidents of violence, vandalism and threats against Jews in Germany last year, almost twice the 4,886 recorded in 2023, and far ahead of 2020's 1,957. "Objectively, the risk of being persecuted as a Jew in Germany has increased since October 7, 2023," Benjamin Steinitz, head of RIAS, told a news briefing on the report, referring to the start of the Gaza war. "But debates about what counts as an expression of antisemitism seem to take up more space than empathy for the victims." The largest category of incidents reported by RIAS - about 25% of the total - fell within the category of "anti-Israeli antisemitism", which covers criticisms of Israeli policy that some regard as legitimate political expression in a democracy. In a report published last month, Jewish activist group Diaspora Alliance questioned what it said was RIAS methodology equating such criticism with antisemitism. Alliance activist Jossi Bartal said RIAS' approach "delegitimises criticism of the Israeli state, marking every expression of Palestinian identity as suspect", alluding to Israeli policy towards Palestinians in occupied territories. Steinitz told the briefing in response to questions that the Diaspora Alliance report distorted RIAS' work. "I think the aim of publishing the report now was to present our work as somehow controversial and discredit the experiences of victims." Antisemitic violence, vandalism and threats have surged in recent years, with far-right Germans responsible for around three times as many incidents as Islamists, RIAS reported. For Germany, tracking such incidents and countering antisemitism is central to its post-war project of atoning for the Nazi-era Holocaust of Europe's Jews.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Antisemitic incidents in Germany almost double in 2024, report says
By Thomas Escritt BERLIN (Reuters) - The number of antisemitic incidents in Germany almost doubled last year, at a time of continued war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, the semi-official German body that tracks antisemitism reported on Wednesday. The Federal Research and Information Point for Antisemitism (RIAS) said it had registered 8,627 incidents of violence, vandalism and threats against Jews in Germany last year, almost twice the 4,886 recorded in 2023, and far ahead of 2020's 1,957. "Objectively, the risk of being persecuted as a Jew in Germany has increased since October 7, 2023," Benjamin Steinitz, head of RIAS, told a news briefing on the report, referring to the start of the Gaza war. "But debates about what counts as an expression of antisemitism seem to take up more space than empathy for the victims." The largest category of incidents reported by RIAS - about 25% of the total - fell within the category of "anti-Israeli antisemitism", which covers criticisms of Israeli policy that some regard as legitimate political expression in a democracy. In a report published last month, Jewish activist group Diaspora Alliance questioned what it said was RIAS methodology equating such criticism with antisemitism. Alliance activist Jossi Bartal said RIAS' approach "delegitimises criticism of the Israeli state, marking every expression of Palestinian identity as suspect", alluding to Israeli policy towards Palestinians in occupied territories. Steinitz told the briefing in response to questions that the Diaspora Alliance report distorted RIAS' work. "I think the aim of publishing the report now was to present our work as somehow controversial and discredit the experiences of victims." Antisemitic violence, vandalism and threats have surged in recent years, with far-right Germans responsible for around three times as many incidents as Islamists, RIAS reported. For Germany, tracking such incidents and countering antisemitism is central to its post-war project of atoning for the Nazi-era Holocaust of Europe's Jews.
