There have been 2,249 antisemitic crimes committed in Germany since the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, according to the German government’s Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt or BKA).
The figure was quoted in Berlin on by the government commissioner charged with combating antisemitism, Felix Klein. He said that “a significant number” of the crimes were committed not in the immediate aftermath of the October 7 attack, “but weeks and months later,” as Israel’s military operations in Gaza ramped up.
The figure for the roughly three-and-a-half months since Hamas’ attack on Israel is more or less comparable with the number Germany would expect in a more typical full year.
Klein said that there had even been incidents of antisemitic assaults at recent nationwide protests against right-wing extremism.
Saying that Jews in Germany had been “attacked, threatened, insulted and frightened” and that antisemitic hate had been “spread publicly,” Klein called for tougher sentencing laws on hate crime to combat antisemitism.
He added that he was “appalled” that coverage of the “shamefully high level” of anti-Jewish crime had largely disappeared from German media and the public debate.
“Jewish life has become less visible,” agreed Josef Schuster, president of Central Council of Jews in Germany, reporting a decrease in visits to synagogues and other events. He said the BKA figures were weighing heavily on the minds of Jews in Germany.
According to both Klein and Schuster, Jews in Germany are more reluctant to speak Hebrew on the streets or use Jewish-sounding names when ordering taxis or other app services, and that some have removed mezuzah scripture capsules from their doors to make their faith less outwardly visible.
