The Federal Criminal Police Office recorded 715 anti-Semitic crimes in Germany in the second quarter of this year, including 19 violent crimes that left seven people injured. The number is more than a third higher than a year ago.
Compared to the beginning of the year, the trend is only slightly downward: for the period from January to the end of March, the same statistics showed 793 crimes, including 14 violent crimes and seven injured people. This is the result of the federal government’s response to a query from the Left Party politician and Vice President of the Bundestag Petra Pau.
“The number of anti-Semitic crimes recorded by the authorities remains high,” Pau told the German Press Agency. She has been regularly surveying the figures for years. “The cases make it clear that the spread of anti-Semitic resentment repeatedly leads to active violence. Jews still cannot feel safe in public spaces. Whether at the university, in the pub or in the supermarket: hostility can lurk anywhere at the moment.” With a further escalation of various crises, a further increase is to be feared, warned Pau.
Figures may still change
The number of anti-Semitic incidents and crimes also increased sharply in Germany after Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The data is sometimes confusing and difficult to compare because, for example, the reporting centers of the Rias network record cases according to different standards than the police.
In its response to Pau, the Federal Ministry of the Interior refers to the official statistics on politically motivated crime, but to provisional figures. These may still change due to subsequent reports.
Of the 715 anti-Semitic crimes recorded between April and the end of June, 302 are cases of incitement. Of all the crimes, 298 cases are classified as “foreign ideology.” According to the ministry, another 256 crimes fall into the category of “right-wing politically motivated crime,” including two violent crimes.
Regional focus: Berlin
The statistics show twelve crimes for the left-wing spectrum, two of which were violent. Other categories of motivation are “religious ideology” (90 cases) and “other classification” (59 cases). The regional focus is Berlin: 320 crimes related to anti-Semitism were registered there alone.
According to the information, a total of 580 suspects were identified. Six people were temporarily arrested, but no arrest warrants were issued in any case. Six of the seven people injured by anti-Semitic violence were in Berlin, and another in North Rhine-Westphalia. All of the people were slightly injured, it was reported.
