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Local Germany
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Local Germany
German Chancellor suggests immigrants have 'imported antisemitism'
Following his first meeting as German Chancellor with US President Donald Trump in Washington on Thursday, Friedrich Merz gave a televised interview with US right-wing outlet Fox News in which his use of a controversial phrase raised eyebrows in Germany. Citing a report by Germany's Federal Association of Research and Information Centres on Antisemitism (RIAS) – which found an increase in antisemitic incidents in Germany in 2024 – the interviewer asked the chancellor what he was doing to address the issue. 'We are doing everything we can to bring these numbers down," Merz told Fox News. "We are prosecuting those who break the law, and frankly, we have a sort of imported antisemitism with this big number of migrants that we have within the last ten years.' Merz's reply appeared to put blame for increasing antisemitism on migrants who have arrived in the country during the last ten years. In particular, the phrase "imported antisemitism" has been highlighted as problematic by an independent German organisation that keeps track of words and phrases linked with xenophobia. 'Ugliest word of the year' Controversial in Germany, the phrase 'imported antisemitism' ( importierter Antisemitismus) received press coverage earlier this year when it was nominated as Germany's Unwort des Jahres -- in other words the ugliest word of the year for 2024. Every year, Unwort des Jahres – an independent, voluntary organisation – attempts to draw attention to the most discriminatory and malicious phrases which have sprung up or gained popularity in Germany. A jury of experts including journalists, linguists and rotating guests assesses thousands of public submissions -- this year there were 3,172 submissions nominating 655 different phrases, of which 80 were accepted by the jury. Germany's official Unwort des Jahres 2024 was Biodeutsch . READ ALSO: Biodeutsch - Why this is Germany's ugliest word of the year However, publicist and political scientist, Saba-Nur Cheema, and Director of the Anne Frank Educational Centre, Meron Mendel, chose 'imported antisemitism' as their personal Unwort des Jahres for 2024. According to the jury, the expression is used to suggest that hatred of Jews has become a problem in Germany due to the influx of migrants. The term is used primarily in right-wing circles to discriminate against Muslims and people with a migration background 'and to distract from their own antisemitism'. Advertisement Of 8,627 cases of antisemitism recorded in the RIAS report for 2024, 5,857 cases were classified as 'Israel-related antisemitism,' more than twice as many as in the previous year. RIAS defines 'Israel-related antisemitism,' as Jews in Germany being held responsible for actions of the Israeli government, the state of Israel being demonized, and its right to exist being denied (among other criteria). The report also recorded 544 individual incidents with a right-wing extremist background, the highest number since the nationwide comparison began in 2020. President Trump repeatedly criticised former chancellor Angela Merkel for her decision to welcome a large number of Syrian refugees in 2015 during his televised meeting with Merz on Thursday, a policy which Merz has also previously criticised.
DW
14 hours ago
- Politics
- DW
Migrants responsible for increase in antisemitism, says Merz – DW – 06/06/2025
Skip next section Merz: 'We have imported antisemitism with big numbers of migrants' 06/06/2025 June 6, 2025 Merz: 'We have imported antisemitism with big numbers of migrants' Chancellor Friedrich Merz has told US media that migration is a factor behind the rise in antisemitism in Germany. In an interview with Fox News, Merz was asked what he was doing to combat antisemitism in Germany and he said: "This is, especially for Germany, a terrible challenge that we are faced with such an amount of cases of antisemitism in Germany." "We are doing everything we can to bring these numbers down," Merz continued. "We are prosecuting those who are against the law. And frankly, we have a sort of imported antisemitism with the big numbers of migrants we have within the last 10 years, and we have to tackle this and we have to resolve this problem." "I would like to make it very clear, that the German government, and the vast majority of the German parliament, is strictly against antisemitism and against these people and we are doing everything we can to bring these numbers down." Merz's comments come on the back of data which earlier this week showed the rising numbers in antisemitic incidents in Germany. In 2024, 8,627 antisemitic incidents occurred — 77% more than in 2023. The data published by the Federal Association of Departments for Research and Information on Antisemitism (RIAS) showed that of the cases documented, 5,857 were classified as "antisemitism related to Israel." A total of 544 cases were attributed to right-wing extremist views.
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Germany's Merz blames migration for 'imported' rising anti-Semitism
Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said migration is a significant factor behind the rise of anti-Semitism in Germany, calling it a "terrible challenge" for the country. "We have a sort of imported anti-Semitism with the big numbers of migrants we have within the last 10 years," Merz said late on Thursday in an interview with US broadcaster Fox News. The phrase "imported anti-Semitism" has stirred controversy in Germany. It suggests that anti-Semitism is mainly a result of immigration, a view often echoed in right-wing circles. Critics say the term unfairly targets Muslims and migrants, while downplaying anti-Semitism within broader German society. Anti-Semitic incidents in Germany surged sharply in 2024, according to figures published by a monitoring organization on Wednesday. The report from the Federal Association of Departments for Research and Information on Antisemitism (RIAS) documented 8,627 anti-Semitic incidents — a 77% increase compared to the previous year. Of these, 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. A total of 544 cases were attributed to right-wing extremist views, a record since RIAS began documenting cases nationwide in 2020. "We are doing everything we can to bring these numbers down," Merz said, adding that Germany was prosecuting those who break the law.
Yahoo
a day 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.
Russia Today
2 days ago
- General
- Russia Today
Germany reports spike in anti-Semitism
The number of anti-Semitic incidents recorded in Germany surged by around 77% in 2024 compared to the previous year, according to a report by watchdog RIAS. The authors linked the spike to 'collective blame' over Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza. The document, published on Wednesday, recorded a total of 8,627 anti-Semitic incidents in the country last year, up from 4,886 in 2023. 'The extent and quality of anti-Semitic incidents in Germany in 2024 were very similar to the situation in the first months after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel,' the watchdog said, noting that the Gaza conflict 'became a pretext for many people to make anti-Semitic statements.' 'For Jews in Germany, anti-Semitism remains a phenomenon that shapes everyday life,' the report stated. RIAS said the increase was especially visible in anti-Israel activism. It recorded 5,857 instances tied to anti-Semitism at protests, through posters and stickers, and at schools and universities. Cases targeting Jews and Israelis directly nearly tripled in two years, it said, from 331 in 2022 to 966 last year. The number of right-wing extremism-linked cases hit a record 544 since tracking began in 2020. RIAS recorded eight cases of extreme personal violence, 186 assaults, and 300 threats. Reported incidents also included vandalized Holocaust memorials and anti-Semitic graffiti. Germany's federal police also track anti-Semitic crimes, though only if they meet criminal thresholds. The agency logged a 20.7% increase in crimes against Jews in 2024 compared to the year prior, with 6,236 incidents. Josef Schuster, the president of the Central Council of Jews, said the RIAS report 'bears witness to a daily life that is increasingly characterized by hostility and hatred for many Jews.' He called for more training for police and the judiciary to better identify and prevent these incidents. German Anti-Semitism Commissioner Felix Klein, who previously linked the rise in anti-Semitic incidents to the country's growing Muslim population, said the Gaza war has come to 'serve as a justification' for anti-Semitic acts. 'It's a sad trend that every year we hear how sharply the number of anti-Semitic incidents has risen,' Klein said. 'The increase in 2024 was particularly striking – hatred against Jews in Germany has normalized to a shameful level.' He called for a stronger, more focused effort to counter the trend. Germany is home to an estimated 125,000 Jews.
