‘Horror’ in Germany over bullying of Jewish boy

BERLIN• The case of a British Jewish child forced to leave his Berlin school after being subjected to anti-Semitic violence has provoked outrage and soul-searching in Germany.

The 14-year-old, who cannot be named under child protection laws, was beaten, kicked and threatened with a replica gun after he revealed he was Jewish.

He endured a campaign of intimidation by Muslim pupils who told him “Muslims hate Jews. All Jews are murderers.”

His British mother told The Daily Telegraph the school had done little to stop the bullying. “They told us this is normal for adolescents from this background, that they’re just trying to find their identity. But it shouldn’t be normal. I’ve never experienced such direct anti-Semitism before in all the years I’ve lived in Germany,” she said.

The case, which follows several incidents in which people wearing skullcaps or other outward signs of Jewishness have been beaten on the streets of Berlin, has prompted concern over the extent of anti-Semitic feeling in the Muslim community.

“In some German mosques, anti-Semitism is being actively encouraged,” said Josef Schuster, head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany.

The boy was born in London to a German father and British mother, but the family moved to Berlin when he was a baby and he has lived there all his life. Ironically, his family chose the Friedenauer Gemeinschaftsschule in part because they were attracted to the school’s ethnic mix. The majority of pupils at the school are Muslim.

The trouble started when he attended a class on religion and told his fellow pupils he was Jewish.

“The next day was his birthday. He was looking forward to going to school — he had this friend and they were planning to rap together,” said his mother.

But the other child asked her son if he was really Jewish. “He said, ‘Listen, you’re a cool guy, but I can’t be friends with you. Muslims aren’t friends with Jews,” she said.

The boy was later pushed and threatened. On one occasion, another student hit him twice in the back.

The family arranged for the boy’s grandparents — both Holocaust survivors — to give a talk to pupils. But his mother remained dismayed at the lack of support from the school.

One older pupil pulled a replica gun on the boy, leading his parents to decide to move him to another school.

The school has issued a statement expressing its “regret and horror” at the case.

I’VE NEVER EXPERIENCED SUCH DIRECT ANTI-SEMITISM BEFORE IN ALL (MY) YEARS ... IN GERMANY.