Despite numerous educational campaigns, the number of antisemitic crimes in Bavaria rose sharply again last year. While the number of anti-Jewish acts recorded by the police in 2020 was 353 – and thus already at an all-time high – the number climbed by more than 44 percent to 510 within a year.
As in previous years, Rinderspacher called for consistent criminal prosecution of anti-Jewish crimes and the strengthening of prevention and political education: “Almost all crimes are motivated by right-wing extremists. Hate and hate speech and the high number of antisemitic crimes in Bavaria are alarming,” he emphasized. Anti-Jewish criminals should not get away with it, but must be quickly and consistently identified and punished.
In addition, prevention must be further expanded and political education strengthened – in all types of schools and in youth and adult education. Rinderspacher said that every individual was required to stand up and speak out against antisemitism.
“I cannot say that I was shocked by the sharp increase in the number of antisemitic crimes in 2021,” said Charlotte Knobloch, President of the Jewish Community in Munich and Upper Bavaria, the German Press Agency. “The truth is, many in the Jewish community are no longer shocked. For years, they have sensed that the social climate is going in the wrong direction in many places, and they have long seen signs of a growing threat.”
Breaking political taboos, verbal and physical assaults against Jewish people are now sadly normal, emphasized Knobloch. “It fits the picture that the overwhelming majority of crimes come from the right-wing spectrum: These groups have received a massive boost in recent years with the rise of the far-right AfD.” All of these trends have been reinforced by the pandemic , which has transported wild conspiracy theories with anti-Jewish content to mainstream society via online messengers and social media. For Knobloch, the state is therefore also required as a security guarantor for its Jewish citizens.
In the evaluation of the Ministry of the Interior, 198 criminal offenses are located on the Internet, the number of unreported cases is likely to be much higher here as well. “The Internet must no longer be a playground for anti-Jewish agitators, but must have rules that can be controlled like in public space,” said Rinderspacher. He therefore welcomes the obligation on social networks to report hate and hate speech to the authorities, which has been in force since February, and calls for consistent implementation. For example, news that threatens crime, incites against population groups, depicts violence and threatens the life, sexual self-determination and personal freedom of others must be reported.
“We must intensify the fight against antisemitic ideas and the resulting crimes in our society,” emphasized Bavaria’s Antisemitism Commissioner Ludwig Spaenle. “This dramatic development, with its parallels at federal level and in many countries in Germany, causes me great concern and demands that work against Jew-hatred be further intensified.” But Spaenle also sees a positive development: the sensitivity in society to recognize antisemitic behavior is growing throughout Bavaria and Germany. At the same time, there is increasing willingness in society and in politics to counter antisemitism more clearly.
The state government has declared war on all forms of antisemitism. Just last Friday, Bavarian authorities carried out searches because of hatred and hate speech on the Internet. Since October 1, there has also been a central antisemitism officer for all of Bavaria at the Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office.
