Anti-Semitism on the rise in Germany, report says
German official advises Jews against wearing skullcaps
BERLIN — Germany’s top official responsible for efforts against anti-Semitism suggested this weekend that Jews should not wear their skullcaps everywhere in public, setting off a debate about balancing personal safety and the right to religious freedom in the country.
The recommendation by Felix Klein, a federal official, came amid growing evidence that, three-quarters of a century after the Holocaust, anti-Semitism is on the rise.
In the interview published by the newspaper Die Welt and other outlets Saturday, Klein said his thinking on the issue had changed.
“I cannot tell Jews to wear the kippa everywhere in Germany,” he said, referring to the traditional skullcap.
The remark suggested a sobering state of affairs in Germany, analysts said.
“When a representative of the federal government officially tells the Jewish community that ‘You are not safe against antiJewish hate everywhere in Germany,’ then that is a pathetic display for the rule of law and political reality,” said Michel Friedman, a journalist and politician who has served as president of the European Jewish Congress.
Some rejected Klein’s comments, with Interior Minister Horst Seehofer saying, “It would not be acceptable if Jews had to hide their faith in Germany.”
He added, though, “Given the growth of anti-Semitic criminal offences, we must be worried and vigilant.”
Klein said Sunday in a telephone interview with The New York Times, “I wanted to shake up the debate and am happy that it caused such ripples.”
A government report released two weeks ago showed that while politically motivated crimes were down generally in Germany, anti-Semitic crimes were up by 20 per cent. Nearly 90 per cent of the episodes — which include internet posts and physical attacks — were linked to the country’s far-right groups, which appear to be growing more radical while not increasing in numbers.