Antisemitic crimes increase in Germany, police report
Central Council of Jews in Germany President Josef Schuster points to the spread of conspiracy theories surrounding coronavirus to explain the recent rise in antisemitism.
By ABIGAIL ADLERARE WE doing enough to confront antisemitism?(photo credit: REUTERS)
Registered antisemitic hate crimes in Germany significantly increased in 2020, according to the German government. The data provided by the German police indicated that most of the hate crimes committed came from the far-right, whereas cases involving Islamists, left-wingers and others accounted for a minimal amount of cases.Police have monitored at least 2,275 crimes with an antisemitic background until the end of January 2021, some 55 of which were violent, according to Deutsche Welle (DW) Apparently, this is the highest number of antisemitic crimes since German police started gathering data on criminal activity motivated by prejudices towards specific groups.The number of antisemitic hate crimes in Germany has been steadily increasing from 1,799 recorded in 2018, to 2,032 in 2019, DW reported.Central Council of Jews in Germany President Josef Schuster points to the spread of conspiracy theories surrounding coronavirus to explain the recent rise in antisemitism.According to Schuster, the increase in hate crimes illustrates that "the radicalization of society is progressing and respect for minorities is declining."Antisemitism commissioner Felix Khan told German newspaper Tagesspiegel that the spike in criminal activity towards Jews is "a clear sign that democracy must show itself to be defensible, especially in crises like the ongoing pandemic."Khan added that social unity and solidarity "is measured, especially here in Germany, by how firmly we stand together against hatred of Jews."
