The German state of Schleswig-Holstein has adopted a comprehensive action plan to combat antisemitism, covering measures ranging from education and prevention to security and law enforcement.
“Antisemitism is not an opinion,” said Gerhard Ulrich, the state Commissioner for Jewish Life and against Antisemitism. “Antisemitism is a threat to our democracy and our social cohesion. Antisemitism is an attack on human dignity.” He warned that antisemitism is particularly dangerous because ideological boundaries appear increasingly blurred.
According to Ulrich, the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution recorded 97 antisemitic offences in 2025, while Schleswig-Holstein’s State Information and Documentation Centre for Antisemitism (LIDA-SH) documented 411 incidents, including cases that did not constitute criminal offences. Both figures represented a slight decrease compared with 2024.
Ulrich nevertheless stressed that the situation could not be considered more relaxed. He pointed to increasingly explicit and targeted offences, as well as “increasingly vulgar language and an almost complete lack of self-restraint, including a willingness to use violence”.
The state action plan contains more than 100 existing and newly introduced measures, according to Culture Minister Dorit Stenke (CDU). Its priorities include preventing antisemitism, strengthening security and promoting education.
“We protect Jewish life. Education and knowledge are fundamental to this,” Stenke said. “And if awareness and education are no longer sufficient, we have a vigilant state and a strong judiciary.”
Stenke also emphasised that Jewish life and culture are an integral part of Schleswig-Holstein. “With this action plan, we are taking a stand against all forms of hatred and antisemitism.”
In the foreword to the 80-page action plan, Minister-President Daniel Günther (CDU) writes that antisemitism attacks the foundations of society: human dignity, the rule of law, respect and tolerance.
“Anyone who threatens Jewish life threatens everyone’s freedom,” Günther states.
He called for a united response whenever Jewish people in Schleswig-Holstein feel unsafe, whenever hatred threatens to become normalised, and whenever antisemites spread slogans under the guise of political debate.
“We must not tolerate any of this, because this cannot and must not be the Germany in which we live today,” Günther stressed.
Schleswig-Holstein is home to nine Jewish communities with around 1,500 members. Communities are located in Ahrensburg, Elmshorn, Bad Segeberg, Flensburg and Pinneberg, with two communities each in Kiel and Lübeck.
The state parliament’s political groups unanimously backed the action plan, sharing the conviction that antisemitism has no place in Schleswig-Holstein.
