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Anti-Semitic incidents registered at 123 corona demos

2020-09-08T17:57:26.224Z


During protests against the Corona measures, demonstrators wear "Jewish stars" with the inscription "Unvaccinated" and spread conspiracy myths. But many anti-Semitic incidents are not recorded at all.


Icon: enlarge

Anti-Semitic print on the T-shirt of a demonstrator in Frankfurt am Main in May

Photo: 

Boris Roessler / dpa

The Anti-Semitism Research and Information Center (RIAS) registered numerous anti-Semitic incidents during demonstrations against the corona measures.

In the period from mid-March to mid-June alone, there were anti-Semitic remarks at 123 such rallies and demonstrations, according to a report by the RIAS Federal Association.

These include anti-Semitic references to National Socialism or the use of anti-Semitic conspiracy myths.

However, "due to the large number of meetings, their regional distribution, especially in rural areas, and the lack of monitoring resources", a "considerable number of unreported cases" must be assumed.

As examples of anti-Semitic remarks, T-shirts are mentioned in the report, on which a so-called "Jewish star" with the inscription "Unvaccinated" could be seen.

It is an anti-Semitic self-victimization: With self-portrayal as a victim, the Shoah and National Socialism are played down, and the roles of perpetrators and victims are reversed.

This relativization is not only unbearable and hurtful for survivors and their descendants, it also goes hand in hand with defense against guilt and aggression against Jews.

In addition, demonstrators at many gatherings expressed blame for the corona pandemic based on conspiracy myths, such as "Zionists", "Rothschild" or "Soros".

Of 431 anti-Semitic incidents in the same period, almost half (191) were related to the corona pandemic, as the report further explains.

For example, a man who went shopping with a bag with a Star of David printed on it heard another customer say: "It was that with the virus."

In the wake of the pandemic, anti-Semitism has also shifted into the digital space, it continues.

This is how the phenomenon of "zooming" arose, during which video conferences of Jewish communities were disrupted.

In the first four weeks of the contact restrictions, at least seven such cases were registered.

The RIAS Federal Association records anti-Semitic incidents using an online register.

It was founded in Berlin in 2018.

The reporting office assumes that there should be a high number of unreported cases, especially with regard to anti-Semitism in protests.

An increase or decrease in anti-Semitic incidents compared to the same period of March to June 2019 could not be determined overall on the basis of the figures.

However, the incidents had shifted: when, for example, football stadiums, pubs and clubs had to close due to the Corona and buses and trains were less frequented, there were significantly fewer anti-Semitic incidents at these specific crime scenes.

"Nevertheless, the protests against the state measures to contain the pandemic in particular quickly developed an immense dynamic, which led to a large number of anti-Semitic statements in the public space," the report says.

These developments pointed "to the existence of a relatively large spectrum of conspiracy ideology in Germany, which can also be mobilized promptly when the opportunity arises".

Icon: The mirror

mes / dpa

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2020-09-08

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