Reporting office: an anti-Semitic incident almost every day

Almost every day there was an anti-Semitic incident in Saxony last year. The increase following the attack on Israel by the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas on 7 October 2023 has thus stabilized at a high level, announced the state association of the Anti-Semitism Reporting Office (Rias) and the OFEK Saxony victim counselling centre at the presentation of their annual report.

A total of 349 anti-Semitic incidents were documented last year - an average of 29 per month. Compared to 2023, the number increased by 82 percent. These included 40 acts of violence, i.e. physical attacks (16 cases), threats (8 cases) and targeted damage to property, such as the theft of stumbling blocks (16 cases). This is a very high number for Saxony, especially as the dark areas have not yet been illuminated, said Marina Chernivsky, Board Member and Managing Director of OFEK.

Insults, graffiti and hate online

A large proportion of the cases (270) are classified as offensive behavior, 53 of which occurred at gatherings. This includes, for example, insults, hostility on the internet or graffiti in public spaces.

According to the report, the main crime scene was the open street - around a third of the incidents (132) occurred there. Israel-related antisemitism was by far the most frequently documented form of antisemitism with 222 incidents, including 53 direct threats of extermination against the state of Israel, individual Jews or Jewish institutions.

"Nowhere safe": antisemitism is becoming part of everyday life

The report shows that Jewish people are no longer safe anywhere. Chernivsky spoke of a normalizing anti-Semitic mood in all parts of society and, above all, of anti-Semitism in right-wing movements and parties. "Right-wing extremist slogans, graffiti and attacks are part of everyday life for Jews and the threshold for open violence is increasingly falling."

A different dynamic has prevailed since October 7, 2023 in particular. The Middle East conflict is an outlet, not a cause. "Jews in Germany, including in Saxony, literally live surrounded by fantasies of extermination," said Chernivsky. This is noticeable at gatherings, but also at universities and in all other public areas, through stickers and posters, but also through statements that express this very clearly.