After pro-Palestinian demonstrations at the weekend, police are investigating several cases on suspicion of incitement. Chancellor Scholz speaks clearly against anti-Semitism.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) has called on people in Germany to “protect Jews” in the face of anti-Semitic incidents. “Anyone who attacks Jews in Germany is attacking all of us. That’s why we should all work to protect Jews in Germany; it’s about moral courage,” Scholz told “Mannheimer Morgen”.
The state protects Jewish institutions. “We will not accept anti-Semitism. We have crystal clear laws: It is a criminal offense to burn Israeli flags. It is a criminal offense to celebrate the death of innocent people. It is a criminal offense to shout anti-Semitic slogans,” Scholz continued. The law enforcement authorities have a duty to punish such violations. They have the necessary tools and have to use them consistently. “My impression is: police authorities and courts know what to do.”
Greens: Anti-Semitic slogans “simply unacceptable”
Top Green Party politicians also condemned the anti-Israel demonstrations of the last few days. They also called for stricter monitoring of Islamist institutions. “Anti-Semitic slogans and calls to support Islamist organizations, such as those recently seen at a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Essen, are simply unacceptable,” Green Party leader Omid Nouripour told the newspapers of the Funke media group.
Such acts require a tough response from the state, he added: “It is good that the police are investigating the perpetrators – what is now needed is the consistent application of criminal law.” At the same time, it is necessary to noticeably increase the capabilities of the security forces: “This applies to personnel as well as equipment.”
Watch other organizations
The parliamentary director of the Green parliamentary group, Irene Mihalic, called for consistent implementation of the bans on the activities of the organizations Hamas and Samidoun imposed last week: “Also the structures and activities of other Islamist organizations such as the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and the environment of institutions such as the Islamic Center There needs to be a lot more focus in Hamburg.”
Söder: withdrawal of double citizenship
In the event of anti-Semitic incidents, CSU leader Markus Söder called for the possibility of deporting criminals with dual nationality and taking away their German passports. “Anyone who does not commit to our values and our constitution has no permanent prospects in our country,” the Bavarian Prime Minister told the “Augsburger Allgemeine”: “In these cases, if you have dual citizenship, it must be possible to have your German passport revoked.”
Small: People of Turkish origin Focus on Germans
The federal government’s anti-Semitism commissioner, Felix Klein, warned against focusing primarily on migrants in the debate about anti-Semitism. Instead, greater attention must be paid to the Arab and Turkish population groups that have been living in Germany for a long time, he demanded.
The anti-Israel aggression in recent days has shown that basic anti-Semitic attitudes could easily be activated among part of the population of Arab origin. This also applies to some of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s supporters within the Turkish community, he added.
Deficits in integration
Since Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel, Israel-related anti-Semitism in the Arab community has come to the fore, Klein emphasized: “In order to address this problem, it is reductive to only look at migrants outside our national borders.”
Around 24 million people with a migrant background live in Germany, some of them for decades. “If we narrow our focus on migration, we miss the much larger part of the problem: the anti-Semitism that already exists in all parts of society and the deficits of integration policy in Germany.”