Increasing number of Anti-Semitism offenses in Germany: Report

Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-08 21:06:48|Editor: ying
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BERLIN, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- The number of anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli offenses in Germany is rising, the newspaper "WELT" reports on Friday with reference to a parliamentary inquiry by Green party (Gruene) delegate Volker Beck.

The government's official response obtained by "WELT" shows that the number of such offenses rose by 27 incidents (four percent) to 681 during the first half of 2017. Some 654 offenses were measured during the same period last year.

Violent anti-Semitic crimes increased slightly from 14 to 15 incidents, while sedition offenses rose from 425 to 434 incidents. In contrast, the number of propaganda offenses fell from 106 to 94 between 2016 and 2017.

Speaking to "WELT", Beck noted that only cases were those affected had "dared to go to the police" were accounted for.

"Unfortunately, the total number including unreported cases is likely to be significantly higher", Beck added.

According to the German Interior Ministry, 632 of the 681 offenses (93 percent) were committed by right-wing extremists. Only in 23 cases were suspects accused of having religious or foreign-motivated background. The latter category denotes a type of extremism related to foreign topics such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

A motive could not be assigned in 25 cases, and only one incident was seen as having been motivated by left-wing extremists.

The report raised doubts over the accuracy of such official data however.

"WELT" quoted Benjamin Steinitz, Director of the Research and Information Office for Antisemitism (RIAS) in Berlin, who saw a "discrepancy between the perceptions of those affected by anti-Semitic attacks and the police statistics." Steinitz hereby referred to a scientific report of experts commissioned by the German government in April.

The paper of the "Independent Expert Group Antisemitism" found that authorities generally tended denote racist and anti-Semitic offenses as motivated by right-wing extremism. This circumstance obscured the fact that perpetrators could be migrants themselves and often had Islamist backgrounds.

The authors pointed to a survey of Jews in Germany who had become victims of anti-Semitic offenses. Respondent attributed 81 percent of physical attacks and 62 of the insults they experienced to Muslims.

"WELT" further cited the example of a march organized by supporters of the Shia-militia Hezbollah in Berlin in 2014. Police records merely indicate that the group of demonstrators chanted "Sieg Heil" (a forbidden greeting used in Nazi Germany, note) but failed to mention their religious and ethnic background.

Nevertheless, Antisemitism remains a widespread phenomenon amongst native Germans as well. The "Independent Expert Group Antisemitism" identified a growing incidence of anti-Semitic slurs amongst youths at school, initiated by "pupils without migratory backgrounds, as well as Muslim pupils of German or foreign origin."

Reacting to the finding, Greens delegate Beck demanded a "firm stance against Antisemitism in all its forms." He called on the Federal Government to "better coordinate the effort with its appointees in the area."

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