Shocking Rise in Antisemitic Incidents: Report Reveals a 77% Uptick in Hate Crimes Against Jews in Germany
- Author: Jonas Fedders
- Estimated Reading Time: +- 3 Min
Antisemitic occurrences witnessed a dramatic surge, amounting to approximately 77% increase - Increase in anti-Semitic occurrences by approximately 77% reported
Last year, Lahav Shapira, a Jewish man from Berlin-Mitte, was brutally assaulted by a former classmate with ties to a Palestinian family. The attack left Lahav with a complex midface fracture, a brain hemorrhage, and lengthy hospital stays filled with operations. The court ultimately sentenced the attacker to a three-year prison term, citing antisemitic motivation as the driving force behind the vicious attack.
Sadly, Lahav's case is just one of the 8,627 antisemitic incidents documented by the Research and Information Center for Antisemitism (RIAS) in 2024, equating to about 24 such incidents each day. This was an astonishing 77% increase compared to the previous year (2023: 4,886 incidents). On Wednesday, RIAS officially released its 2024 annual report in Berlin.
The report highlights that the antisemitic incidents in Germany in 2024 mirror the climate observed in the immediate aftermath of the massacres in October 2023, with no signs of improvement during the reporting period. While physical assaults like the one Lahav suffered are certainly extreme, RIAS documents a wide range of antisemitic incidents, taking even seemingly minor occurrences into account. Through careful documentation, we can gauge the extent of antisemitism prevalent in Germany today.
Hateful messages and symbols are popping up everywhere––swastikas painted by the door of a Jewish couple's apartment in Hamburg, anti-Semitic graffiti at Chemnitz University, desecrated Stolpersteine, and posters at a Düsseldorf demonstration praising the deceased Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who masterminded the terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
RIAS classifies incidents into several categories, including eight cases of severe violence, 186 physical attacks, 300 threats, 443 targeted property damages, 176 mass mailings, and 7,514 examples of “offensive behavior.” The latter category encompasses antisemitic statements or graffiti, posters and stickers, as well as public assemblies where Jew-hating stereotypes were spread through speeches. RIAS logged a staggering 1,802 such demonstrations and rallies in 2024.
In 2024, the most common political background for antisemitic incidents was anti-Israel activism, accounting for 26% of cases. RIAS also reported the highest number of antisemitic incidents with a right-wing extremist background since they began nationwide comparisons in 2020, with a shocking 544 documented cases.
For Jews living in Germany, antisemitism has become an everyday problem.
According to RIAS, antisemitism presents a pervasive, day-to-day challenge for Jewish women and men in Germany. Tragically, incidents like the attack on the Israeli Consulate General in Munich or the synagogue in Oldenburg have only heightened already tense security conditions and further strengthened feelings of insecurity.
"We are closely monitoring the rising antisemitism in Germany with great concern," expressed Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) regarding the report. "Following the recently released 2024 crime statistics showing a new high in antisemitic crimes, the RIAS annual report now paints a similarly alarming picture."
Police statistics corroborate these findings, as they recorded a record-breaking 6,236 antisemitic crimes in 2023.
Community policy should be created to address the increasing antisemitic incidents, such as the implementation of vocational training programs to help individuals understand diversity and combat prejudice. As reported in the 2024 RIAS annual report, the general-news section and crime-and-justice sectors have seen a 77% rise in antisemitic incidents, with anti-Israel activism and right-wing extremism driving a significant number of these cases, making it a widespread and concerning issue in Germany.
