interview
Jews are currently living in great worry and fear, says Josef Schuster from the Central Council of Jews in an interview tagesschau.de. But simply blaming the anti-Semitism evident in street demonstrations falls short.
tagesschau.de: Every year we commemorate the pogrom night of 1938 on November 9th – is the day different for you this year?
Joseph Schuster: In relation to 1938, it is a semi-circular anniversary of 85 years. But it is clear that October 7, 2023 changed everything. One can of course ask what Hamas’ attack on Israel has to do with Germany. The result of this pogrom in Israel is that since then I have seen demonstrations on German streets in which anti-Semitic, anti-Jewish statements are made. And if we experienced an attack with a Molotov cocktail on the synagogue in which we celebrated today – then one has to say: There are parallels, even if they have very different causes.
To person
Josef Schuster has been President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany since November 2014. He is also Vice President of the World Jewish Congress. He has been committed to the Jewish community for many years, since 1998 as chairman of the Jewish Community of Würzburg and Lower Franconia. From 1988 to 2020 he ran a practice as an internist in Würzburg. Schuster has been a member of the German Ethics Council since 2020.
tagesschau.de: Hamas’ attack targeted Jews. How do Jews in Germany currently feel against this background?
Cobbler: There is a lot of feeling and uncertainty and fear. Jewish institutions and synagogues have been well protected both in terms of personnel and technology since the attack in Halle four years ago. The problem is that, especially in large cities – in Berlin, but also in North Rhine-Westphalia – many Jews no longer dare to show themselves as such, for example by wearing a yarmulke or a Star of David as a decorative necklace. This is unbearable.
“Muslims not under General suspicion place”
tagesschau.de: Are we currently dealing primarily with anti-Semitism in the migration society?
Cobbler: What we are currently seeing on the streets since the Hamas attack are actually more people with an Arab migrant background. But it would be wrong to narrow the whole thing down to Muslim-influenced anti-Semitism. We shouldn’t place Muslims under general suspicion anyway. Even though the last few weeks have unfortunately shown how many people from this milieu are susceptible to hatred of Jews and hostility to Israel.
But even before October 7th, we had seen an increase in anti-Semitism in Germany in recent years – including in the middle of society. And it’s clear that anti-Semitism is strong on the far-right political side – and, to be honest, it causes me great concern.
“The state’s ability to defend itself is reaching its limits”
tagesschau.de: At the memorial service in the synagogue, Chancellor Scholz said that it was unbearable that Jews had to live behind ever larger protective shields. How could Jewish life here soon be more carefree again?
Cobbler: I hope that what we are currently experiencing on German streets will disappear again – and that is where my appeal goes to the judiciary: We have good laws in Germany – but regardless of this, the constitutional state must now show itself to be defensive and apply them to anti-Semitic incidents . In some cases we see that resistance is reaching its limits. Something has to change about that. We need punishments that also have a deterrent effect.
tagesschau.de: The Federal Government’s anti-Semitism commissioner criticized German civil society this week for not showing strong solidarity for Israel after October 7th. Would you agree with that?
Cobbler: I would also expect that there would be somewhat clearer signals for Israel from civil society. On the other hand, there are currently many more participants in memorial events. In Würzburg we have never had as many people attend the pogrom night commemoration as this year – we shouldn’t downplay that either.
“Important, already in Kindergarten age to sensitize”
tagesschau.de: Does German society have a problem with Israel? How do you explain the hesitant pro-Israel demonstrations?
Cobbler: I would not say that. Although at the beginning of German-Israeli diplomatic relations people here reacted with euphoria and in Israel they reacted with skepticism, things have turned around 180 degrees. Criticism of the Israeli government, the judicial reform or settlement policy, for example, is completely legitimate. But where Israel’s right to exist is questioned and the Jewish state is demonized, anti-Israel anti-Semitism begins.
I believe that it is not entirely clear in German society at the moment that the far too many civilian victims in the Gaza Strip are being used by Hamas as human shields – and that Hamas is a terrorist organization that is responsible for this because it is consciously behind it holed up in civilian places such as hospitals.
tagesschau.de: In this country, we perhaps thought we were immune to anti-Semitism for too long because of our history – and are sometimes considered world champions in memory. Isn’t the culture of remembrance enough to reach society today?
Cobbler: Memorial days and memorial culture are extremely important. But it is necessary to educate them accordingly from an early age. We need child-friendly awareness of anti-Semitism from kindergarten age onwards. Teachers need to know how to deal with anti-Semitism at school – there is now a course on “anti-Semitism critical education” in Würzburg. There should be this at every university – because no one is born an anti-Semite.
The interview was conducted by Corinna Emundts, tagesschau.de.