Bundesverband RIAS e.V. published the “Description of the problem antisemitism in Baden-Württemberg” (Problembeschreibung: Antisemitismus in Baden-Württemberg) report.
Antisemitism encounters Jews in Baden-Württemberg potentially in all spheres of life and takes forms up to deadly violence.
In 2019, the Federal Association of RIAS conducted a total of 20 interviews with representatives of Jewish communities of both state associations and with civil society actors in the state. Most respondents reported a wide variety of antisemitic incidents in all areas of their everyday life and from different social and political contexts. The interview partners saw antisemitism as a major problem and expressed very clear fears about another increase in the number of antisemitic incidents in Baden-Württemberg.
The Federal Association of RIAS also evaluated 671 antisemitic crimes committed in Baden-Württemberg between 2014 and 2018 In particular, in 2014, numerous crimes were recorded in connection with the escalation in the conflict between Israel and Hamas – not only in urban spaces, but in the area of the state. In total, two thirds of the crimes recorded in the statistics on politically motivated crime took place in central, small towns or rural areas, which distinguishes Baden-Württemberg from other states investigated by the Federal Association of RIAS.
During the same period, the Federal Association of RIAS announced 65 antisemitic incidents. From hurtful behavior like “Dirt Jews Club”, Calls during a football game broadcast in a bar to extreme violence such as the antisemitic robbery in Horb am Neckar 2018, these incidents took all forms. Around a third of the incidents became known through civil society documentation in the Southern Upper Rhine region, where numerous incidents were reported surrounding the conflict over the establishment of the place of memory for the Old Synagogue in Freiburg.
The “problem description” is justification and at the same time an important addition to the efforts made in Baden-Württemberg to establish community-oriented reporting and support services in antisemitic incidents.
Source: Bundesverband RIAS e.V.
