The commissioner for Jewish life in Saxony, Thomas Feist, does not expect any weakening of open anti-Semitism after the Gaza deal. Ideologies are not swayed by arguments, said Feist. Gaza had become a symbol. They would continue to try to instrumentalize it.
The security authorities in Saxony had registered an increase in anti-Semitic crimes in recent years. According to the State Criminal Police Office, politically motivated crime with a foreign ideology has increased fivefold. In 2020, 9 offences were registered, in 2024 it was already 49. In addition, around 200 anti-Semitic offences from the far-right spectrum were registered.
Mixed feelings in the Jewish community
The hard-won Gaza agreement is viewed with mixed feelings in the Jewish community in Saxony, said Feist. "The best news is that the hostages who are still alive have returned." However, it is difficult that many terrorists, some of whom have brutally murdered people, should also be released.
Israel and the Islamist Hamas have agreed on a roadmap to end the fighting in the Middle East. Within 72 hours, all hostages held by Hamas and other terrorists are to be released and the bodies of dead hostages handed over. In return, Israel is to release around 250 Palestinian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment for serious crimes and around 1,700 other Palestinians who were imprisoned after October 7, 2023.
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