Since Hamas’s bloody terrorist attack on Israel, coexistence here has become enormously complicated. Those who are irreconcilable are often louder than those who seek dialogue. Where is the way out?
It is an inconspicuous place for this Jewish-Muslim dialogue about diversity and tolerance, love and hate since October 7th. In the weather-beaten Altes Stadtbad in Berlin-Lichtenberg, in a room at the back left with gray tiles and brown linoleum, the imam Seyran Ates and the rabbi Boris Ronis are discussing in front of a few dozen people. But even in this remote corner they need bodyguards. The police stand guard in front of the bathroom. This is the state of affairs in Germany in spring 2024.
Around six months after the bloody attack by the terrorist organization Hamas on Israel with 1,200 dead and 230 kidnapped, not only the security situation in Germany remains tense. Living together has become extremely complicated. Nationwide, the number of anti-Semitic hostilities and attacks shot up, as did the number of anti-Muslim incidents. Conflict is breaking out on the streets, in schools and universities, in culture, everywhere. Activists denounce Israel for hardship and death following the military offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip – often with a hostility that deeply hurts and frightens Jews in Germany. At the same time, both sides hardly feel seen by the majority in the country. These are times of fear, anger, and speechlessness.
“Stupid with terror”
For that reason alone, this evening in the city pool is remarkable – and because the Muslim Ates and the Rabbi Ronis are in great agreement. “What happened on October 7th left me in a state of shock with horror and anger and incomprehensibility,” says Ates, founder of the liberal Ibn Rushd Goethe Mosque and, in her own words, an active leftist. Solidarity with Hamas? Unthinkable, she says. “There are a lot of Muslims, I can tell you, who would sign these exact words, word for word, that they are on Israel’s side.” At the same time, the 60-year-old talks about “hate speech” because of her attitude. Your mosque is under threat from terrorists. Ates says she has been providing personal protection for 18 years.
Those who are irreconcilable are often louder than those who seek dialogue. Angry pro-Palestinian activists shouted at the Leipzig Book Fair against Chancellor Olaf Scholz and then against Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Previously in Berlin alone there was: an attempted arson attack on a synagogue; Demonstrations and scuffles at universities; a dangerous beating attack against a Jewish student; Yelling during a discussion with an Israeli constitutional judge and during a reading of Hannah Arendt texts.
And then of course the scandal at the Berlinale Gala. There, filmmakers not only called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, individual participants accused Israel of “genocide” and “apartheid.” The President of the Central Council of Jews, Josef Schuster, promptly spoke of “incitement against Israel and Jews,” and politicians also branded the statements not only as one-sided, but as clearly anti-Semitic.
“Under the guise of supposed criticism”
This is exactly what it comes down to again and again: Isn’t it allowed to criticize the Israeli government in Germany, not point out the many thousands of deaths, not point out the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza? Of course, criticism is important in democratic discourse, says the Federal Government’s Anti-Semitism Commissioner, Felix Klein. “But anyone who accuses Israel of genocide is clearly acting anti-Semitic.” Because that would mean that the Israeli army is attacking to kill Palestinians – because they are Palestinians. “The fact is, however, that Israel is defending itself after the cruel, terrorist attack by Hamas,” emphasizes Klein.
In fact, it is “not difficult to see where the difference lies between legitimate criticism of Israel’s state actions on the one hand and anti-Semitic statements under the guise of supposed criticism,” says Klein. An important guideline is: “Do I apply the same standards in the assessment as I would apply to any other country?” If Israel is demonized, then it is not a criticism of specific policies, but rather an attempt at dehumanization and therefore anti-Semitic. This also applies if the state’s right to exist is denied, says Klein.
Rejection of Hamas – but little support for Israeli actions
For many, the topic remains confusing. In a January survey for the non-governmental organization European Leadership Network, eight out of ten of the 2,500 participants rated the role of the terrorist organization Hamas in the current war negatively. One in ten saw it differently. The rest were undecided. But there was no clear support for the Israeli military offensive either. In the same survey, only 41.8 percent found them appropriate – 41.1 percent did not. 17.1 percent were undecided. In the ZDF political barometer at the end of March, 69 percent found the Israeli military action unjustified given the many victims in the Gaza Strip.
The federal government is now expressing increasingly harsh criticism of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and is calling for more humanitarian aid for the Palestinians. But she basically sticks to it: “Israel’s security is our reason of state.” But in the ELN survey from January, only 37.4 percent of participants agreed with this sentence, 46 percent did not, and 16.6 percent were undecided. The number of undecided people also shows that many do not dare to make a decision or do not want to make a commitment.
“There was and is this speechlessness deep into the political sphere,” says Frank Schwabe, the Federal Government Commissioner for Freedom of Religion and Belief. “I’ve noticed this in myself too. It’s incredibly difficult to use language in this conflict. Every wrong word can immediately trigger protests.” The SPD member of the Bundestag knows that this leads to speechlessness, including in both communities.
“Projection surface for hatred of Jews”
But do you actually have to have an opinion about Israel or Hamas in Germany? Isn’t it primarily about taking a clear stand against hatred and incitement in your own country? In an ideal world the two could perhaps be separated, but in real life not so much. “There is this basic feeling among Muslims that they feel they are unfairly under general suspicion and that the concern to draw attention to the suffering of the Palestinians is not seen by German society,” says Schwabe. At the same time, there is deep uncertainty in the Jewish community.
The Central Council of Jews put it this way: “The feeling of constant hostility from a Muslim-dominated anti-Semitic scene and a lack of empathy towards these experiences that prevails in parts of society was a deep turning point, especially for young Jews.”
This is confirmed by a young woman from the Jewish community in Berlin, who first asks not to give her name. Then she writes in an email: “Today I only share my identity in protected spaces. I notice that many people are not interested in my opinion or position, but only use me as a projection surface to finally express their hatred of Jews, well disguised as a criticism of Israel, to give free rein.”
It is no longer possible to make phone calls on the topic on the street or in the S-Bahn. Wearing Jewish and Israeli symbols is not possible anyway. “How can it be that I put myself in danger in Germany if I wear a Star of David on the street, but people who symbolically show solidarity with Palestinians do not? There is clearly a structural imbalance there.” People of Jewish faith: scared and harassed, in Germany of all places. People with Arab roots and their supporters: angry and desperate. Where is the exit from this dead end?
“Ask yourself what you know about each other”
Radical Palestinian organizations like Samidoun are now banned in Germany, as are slogans that deny Israel’s right to exist. The naturalization test will be supplemented with questions about anti-Semitism, and the Berlin University Act will allow extremists to be expelled again in the future. And Berlin is currently discussing ways to stop a Palestine congress in mid-April that was branded a “Jew-hatred event.”
However, the religious representative Schwabe is certain: “You can’t get out of this with criminal law.” A solution only lies in “a very, very intensive dialogue”. He draws confidence from his own visits to classes with predominantly Muslim students. “Sometimes I don’t have an answer to every question. But it works, you can create understanding.”
In the Altes Stadtbad Lichtenberg they did it that evening, the progressive Muslim Ates and the Rabbi Ronis. “Ask each other what you know about each other, as it is often the case that most people don’t even know each other,” says Ates. “What can be done? Bring Palestinian and Jewish young people together.” And the rabbi: “There is coexistence, there is coexistence, there are people who can meet. And they will find that life together, that the problems are similar, that the joys are similar, that… Tears that are similar.” If we can talk to each other, “then this conflict will slowly but surely come to an end, and the hatred will slowly but surely go away.”