The number of antisemitic crimes committed in Saxony remains high. In 2016, at least 90 of them had been reported, left-wing politician Kerstin Köditz said in Dresden on Wednesday. This means that the number may be lower compared to the number recorded last year, but still remains above the long-term average. For this reason, she did not wish to describe this rise as a consistent trend.
The expert on radical movements in her party makes a habit of regularly studying the numbers in addressment to parlement. In most cases, the incidents reported include hate speech and incitements against Jews as well as Holocaust denial. In 2012, 51 incidents were reported, which constitute the lowest number recorded since 2004. By 2015, the number reached its current record levels at a peak of 120 incidents.
Köditz claims that in almost all cases, one must take into account that „The incident was brought about by right-wing sentiments or motives“. This conclusion was reached by meticiously comparing single incidents against the statistical analysis of right-wing motivated crimes: „The development seen in antisemitic crimes in recent years also resulted from a general rise in the number of right-wing incidents and the increasingly widespread propaganda on social networks.“
