Investigation: Three anti-Semitic incidents in Berlin – a day
Report 2021 of the Observatory RIAS
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Three anti-Semitic incidents in Berlin – a day
The number of anti-Semitic incidents has risen again: damage to property, threats, mass anti-Semitic letters and violence. Restrictions in data collection, however, hinder the detailed examination of the development.
The Research and Information Center on Antisemitism (RIAS) documented a total of 1,052 antisemitic incidents in Berlin in 2021.
22 attacks, 28 threats, 43 damage to property, 895 cases of “injurious behavior” and 62 anti-Semitic mass letters were recorded, as the research and documentation facility announced on Tuesday. For the first time, two cases of “extreme violence” have become known, said Rias managing director Benjamin Steinitz. These are physical attacks that result in serious bodily harm or the death of a person.
One of the focal points for attacks: the Internet
More than half of the cases recorded happened on the Internet, for example in social media or by e-mail. 181 anti-Semitic incidents expressly pointed to the flare-up of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in spring 2021 – around 80 percent of them in May alone (145), when there were many anti-Israeli demonstrations by Palestinian groups. According to the information, more than 250 incidents were related to the corona pandemic.
Data protection prevents precise data-based development monitoring
In 2020, 1,019 anti-Semitic incidents were recorded in Berlin, in 2019 there were 886. However, a direct comparison with previous years is difficult, explained Steinitz. He said he expected up to 1,472 incidents in 2021. The background to this figure – which deviates from the official statistics – is that due to a lack of data comparison with the police, it is not clear how many cases recorded there are already included in the 1,052 cases counted by civil society. Contrary to preferred practice, the police imposed a ban on providing information to civil society organizations on the grounds of data protection.
Steinitz warned that Berlin was at risk of losing its pioneering role in making anti-Semitism visible. He spoke of a step backwards in illuminating the dark field. However, a clear picture is needed. The more than 1,000 counted incidents correspond to around three incidents a day. According to Steinitz, all districts of Berlin and all social milieus are affected. The two violent incidents with shots at a Jewish community center and a brutal physical attack on a man in Spandau show a potentially deadly danger.
According to the experts, there was a clear increase in May 2021. The Covid 19 pandemic and the containment measures often provided a pretext for anti-Semitic acts. The relativization, trivialization and denial of the National Socialist crime is “a significant part of the anti-Semitic background noise in the federal capital”.
Broadcast: rbb24 Inforadio, May 24, 2022, 4:20 p.m
