A week after the monstrous massacre carried out by Hamas near the Gaza Strip, Yael Sobinsky found a drawing of a Star of David not far from her home in Berlin. "The marking was on the street where I go to my son's school – and it was a punch in the stomach," she told Israel Hayom at the time.
In Gedenken an die Opfer der #Reichspogromnacht vor 85 Jahren und als Zeichen gegen #Antisemitismus wurde am Donnerstagabend das Brandenburger Tor mit dem Schriftzug #NieWiederIstJetzt angestrahlt. #9November pic.twitter.com/6BOMCD8Ztv
— Berliner Zeitung (@berlinerzeitung) November 9, 2023
Almost a month later, her feelings as a Jew and an Israeli in the German capital are still harsh. "Fear God," says Sobinsky, who has lived in the city for eight years. "Since the massacre, we haven't taken public transportation with our children, don't move around certain parts of the city, and generally avoid leaving the neighborhood too much. There is a lot of pressure. We have a pleasant and friendly neighborhood, but for example, the ads of the abductees who were in front of my house were ripped off and thrown to the floor."
GERMANY 2023 - The Star of David has been graffitied on Berlin homes where Jews live, once again.
Just unfathomable to me. pic.twitter.com/WfGcVnx45v
— Elander & the News (@ElanderNews) October 15, 2023
The insecurity experienced by Jews in Germany has become particularly acute in the past 85 hours, as the country marks the 7th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the night the Nazis destroyed hundreds of synagogues and looted some 500,91 businesses. At least <> German Jews were murdered and hundreds more committed suicide following the Nazi pogrom, which was only the prelude to the Holocaust.
A Jewish shop damaged on Kristallnacht, Photo: AP
Suddenly, 85 years later, Jews once again feel threatened – whether because of spitting at a man who spoke Hebrew, because of drawings of a Star of David on Jewish homes, or because Molotov cocktails were thrown at synagogues. At the same time, there are pro-Palestinian demonstrations, mainly by Muslim immigrants, in which calls were heard not only to "liberate Palestine from the river to the sea" but also "Jews to the gas!" and "Adolf Hitler is alive."
Chancellor Scholz speaks at a synagogue on Thursday. 'We will not tolerate anti-Semitism', Photo: AP
The reactions of Germany's political establishment to both the massacre and the spike in anti-Semitic incidents were extremely harsh. Just yesterday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he felt "shame and outrage" and clarified: "Any form of anti-Semitism poisons our society, we will not tolerate it."
It's almost four weeks since the horrific terrorist attack on #Israel. A lot has happened, the public debate has become heated and confused. Find thoughts from Vice-Chancellor Robert #Habeck in the video, putting the events in context. 📣With English, Hebrew and Arabic subtitles. pic.twitter.com/5jdXAZr7ey
— Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz (@BMWK) November 2, 2023
His deputy, Robert Habeck, recorded an unprecedented speech of support a week ago. Among other things, he criticized the radical left in its country and the young activists from its ranks, who see Hamas' crimes as an "anti-colonialist struggle." "Anti-colonialism must not lead to anti-Semitism. The left needs to examine their arguments and question the larger narrative of resistance."
Samidoun's Facebook page. The organisation will be dismantled, Photo: GettyImages
Beyond the rhetoric, the government in Berlin completely banned Hamas activity in the country and decided to disband Samidoun, a support organization for the Palestinians, which was responsible for celebrating the massacre, among other things. At the same time, German newspapers highlighted Hamas atrocities on their covers.
A recent ARD opinion poll found that 35% of Germans thought the Israeli response in Gaza was appropriate, 8% thought it was too weak, but 41% thought it was exaggerated. 52% believe anti-Semitism in Germany is on the rise.
At this stage, it is still difficult to assess the deeper effects of the massacre on Germany, but one change is already apparent: the attitude toward Muslim immigrants, many of whom supported Hamas. Following this, Interior Minister Nancy Fazer called for the expulsion of Hamas supporters. Chancellor Scholz told Der Spiegel: "It will be necessary to deport immigrants who have not been granted citizenship in large numbers."
"Understanding what it means to be European"
"The Muslim demonstrators are preparing their own expulsion," says sociologist Prof. Nathan Schneider. "You can't shout 'Adolf Hitler is alive' and 'Jews to the gas' in Germany." Schneider believes the massacre celebrations exposed the unbridgeable gaps between the general population and immigrants — and also changed the political map.
Prof. Schneider. "The migrants are preparing their own deportation" (archive photo), photo: Yehoshua Yosef
"In 2015, Germany absorbed more than a million people from the Middle East. It is clear that when you bring in more than a million Muslims, they bring their cultural baggage and do not share the perception that sees Israel's security as part of Germany's political consideration. They also fled Syria and Lebanon because they wanted a better life for themselves and their children, but they consume the news on social networks and Arabic news channels, and identify with the Palestinians, partly because of their guilt feelings as immigrants."
Pro-Palestinian protesters at Alexanderplatz, a few days ago, Photo: GettyImages
According to Schneider, it was clear to everyone that there were large gaps between the absorbing society and the immigrants from the Middle East, but "the child should not have been called by his name. In peacetime it is possible to live side by side and from time to time the gaps would burst. Now, with such a war, the problems are floating in full force and this is an opportunity to address them."
The biggest beneficiary of the Muslim riots is Alternative for Germany, which has already become the second most popular party in polls. "The right-wing conservative CDU party admits that they failed with integration and this concept is no longer relevant. The government also reads the zeitgeist and understands that if it does not deal with the issue of stateless migrants, the coalition parties will not be in power. But it must also be said that this goes deeper than a tactical move; It's a deeper understanding of what it means to be German, what it means to be European."
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