Antisemitism in Berlin surpasses entirety of 2023 in just six months

The number of antisemitic incidents in Berlin in the first half of 2024 was higher than the whole total for 2023, according to a report published by Germany's Federal Association of Departments for Research and Information on Antisemitism (RIAS) on Thursday.

From January to June, RIAS recorded 1,383 incidents of antisemitism in Berlin (about eight a day), which is a significant increase from 1,270 in 2023.

Among the 1,383 incidents, two were listed as cases of extreme violence and 23 as attacks (6 of which were against children).

Thirty-seven were recorded as property damage, 28 as threats, and 1,240 as abusive behavior.

Seventy-four of the incidents took place in academic institutions.

Seventy-one incidents contained threats of annihilation.

In both cases of extreme violence and attacks, Jews living in Berlin were inflicted with serious bodily harm.

The violent attacks

In the first, which occurred in February 2024, a Jewish student in Mitte was punched several times in the face on the street and then kicked in the face after he fell to the ground. He was taken to hospital with several broken bones in his face and had to undergo surgery. The victim had been a member of student groups working to combat antisemitism and had been doxed online as a "right-wing Zionist." 

In the second, in May, a Jewish Ukrainian in Mitte was physically attacked by an unknown person while on the way to the synagogue. The victim was wearing a visible tallit. The attacker yelled "Free Palestine," pushed him to the ground, and then injured him with an e-scooter. No one intervened. The victim had to be treated in hospital with a broken bone in his hand and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Other incidents of physical attacks include a woman being hit by a chair in a Jewish café in Neukölln in January and her partner being punched in the face. In Mitte in May, a man wearing an Israeli flag outside a bar was attacked.

Multiple other incidents are listed.

Since October 7, 71.6% of the cases of antisemitism were related to Israel or the Israel-Hamas war.

However, while many were related to the war, many had no substantive connection to it. As a result, RIAS said that "the boundaries of what is permissible to say have shifted overall, and some antisemitic statements seem to be acceptable even in normative society."

According to RIAS, a "downward trend is not foreseeable at the time of publication of the report," suggesting the rates of antisemitism show no sign of letting up in the German capital.

As mentioned, in the first half of 2024, 74 antisemitic incidents occurred in educational institutions, including 27 incidents in schools.

RIAS called these incidents "alarming" in nature. For example, there were reports of Jewish or Israeli children being beaten, spat on, or threatened by their classmates. 

Of the 12 districts of the city, only three did not report any antisemitic incidents.

RIAS added that the majority of attacks occurred in publicly accessible places – on public transport, on the street, in green spaces, in commercial premises, and in restaurants – where the victims were identified as Jewish or Israeli. RIAS added that the displaying of or wearing of the Israeli flag was the cause of violence in four cases.