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| A Synagogue Attack Shocks Germany. But Why? | A Synagogue Attack Shocks Germany. But Why? |
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| BERLIN — On Wednesday a gunman attacked a synagogue in the eastern German city of Halle while 51 Jews, including a group of young Americans, were inside observing Yom Kippur. When he found the door locked, he killed two people nearby and fled. The man filmed his assault and streamed it live on the internet. Journalists who have seen the video say that the man can be heard rambling anti-Semitic slurs. The police have arrested a suspect and confirmed that he is a 27-year old German. | BERLIN — On Wednesday a gunman attacked a synagogue in the eastern German city of Halle while 51 Jews, including a group of young Americans, were inside observing Yom Kippur. When he found the door locked, he killed two people nearby and fled. The man filmed his assault and streamed it live on the internet. Journalists who have seen the video say that the man can be heard rambling anti-Semitic slurs. The police have arrested a suspect and confirmed that he is a 27-year old German. |
| The episode, coming on the holiest day of Judaism, has the country reeling. Could Germany have anticipated this anti-Semitic assault? Has Germany, of all countries, failed its Jewish community? | The episode, coming on the holiest day of Judaism, has the country reeling. Could Germany have anticipated this anti-Semitic assault? Has Germany, of all countries, failed its Jewish community? |
| German right-wing extremism is dangerous, deadly and growing. There were about 1,200 far-right racist hate crimes committed in Germany in 2017, according to police statistics; a year later, the number was 1,664. In June, a local politician in the state of Hesse, Walter Lübcke, was assassinated at his home by a right-wing extremist (who first confessed the crime and later renounced it after changing lawyers). | German right-wing extremism is dangerous, deadly and growing. There were about 1,200 far-right racist hate crimes committed in Germany in 2017, according to police statistics; a year later, the number was 1,664. In June, a local politician in the state of Hesse, Walter Lübcke, was assassinated at his home by a right-wing extremist (who first confessed the crime and later renounced it after changing lawyers). |
| This is not a recent phenomenon: Earlier this year prosecutors tried two men and a woman associated with the right-wing terrorist group Nationalsozialistische Untergrund (National-Socialist Underground). The group was discovered in 2011. By then, they had killed 10 people. | This is not a recent phenomenon: Earlier this year prosecutors tried two men and a woman associated with the right-wing terrorist group Nationalsozialistische Untergrund (National-Socialist Underground). The group was discovered in 2011. By then, they had killed 10 people. |
| The police, Germany’s interior secret service and independent experts find that right-wing-extremists have only become more dangerous in recent years. Their numbers are growing and they seem more prone to committing violent crimes. | |
| Much of the violence is aimed at recent immigrants, but anti-Semitic crimes in Germany have surged, too. In April, Holger Münch, head of Germany’s national police, said that the country experienced 1,800 anti-Semitic crimes in 2018, a 20 percent rise from 2017. Violent crimes against Jews rose from 28 in 2017 to 48 in 2018, according to statistics from Germany’s domestic intelligence service. Several Jewish organizations, like the American Jewish Committee in Berlin, say that the real number is probably higher. | Much of the violence is aimed at recent immigrants, but anti-Semitic crimes in Germany have surged, too. In April, Holger Münch, head of Germany’s national police, said that the country experienced 1,800 anti-Semitic crimes in 2018, a 20 percent rise from 2017. Violent crimes against Jews rose from 28 in 2017 to 48 in 2018, according to statistics from Germany’s domestic intelligence service. Several Jewish organizations, like the American Jewish Committee in Berlin, say that the real number is probably higher. |
| So why are so many people shocked by the Halle attack? It’s not that Germany’s political class isn’t sensitive to the concerns of the country’s Jewish population. But it is still the case that when it comes to concerns about far-right hate crimes, the nation’s attention was focused elsewhere. Why? | So why are so many people shocked by the Halle attack? It’s not that Germany’s political class isn’t sensitive to the concerns of the country’s Jewish population. But it is still the case that when it comes to concerns about far-right hate crimes, the nation’s attention was focused elsewhere. Why? |
| One reason is that the most gruesome crimes that have caught the public attention were directed at immigrants, mostly with a Muslim background, or were crimes connected to the immigration crisis. Mr. Lübcke, the politician murdered in June, was known for his pro-immigration views, and nine of the 10 victims of the N.S.U. were from immigrant families (the 10th victim was a police officer). | One reason is that the most gruesome crimes that have caught the public attention were directed at immigrants, mostly with a Muslim background, or were crimes connected to the immigration crisis. Mr. Lübcke, the politician murdered in June, was known for his pro-immigration views, and nine of the 10 victims of the N.S.U. were from immigrant families (the 10th victim was a police officer). |
| But there’s more to it than that. As in other countries, German politics are increasingly polarized, with a sober assessment of the facts overtaken by a quick search for easy places to lay blame. | But there’s more to it than that. As in other countries, German politics are increasingly polarized, with a sober assessment of the facts overtaken by a quick search for easy places to lay blame. |
| These days, whenever a crime occurs in Germany, social media heats up quickly, as both right-wing-populists and liberals immediately claim the event as a building block in their respective ideological struggles. The far-right Alternative for Germany party is constantly searching for “evidence” to support its belief that immigration is a threat to German society. Liberals, in contrast, look for evidence to exculpate immigrants and cast blame on the right. | These days, whenever a crime occurs in Germany, social media heats up quickly, as both right-wing-populists and liberals immediately claim the event as a building block in their respective ideological struggles. The far-right Alternative for Germany party is constantly searching for “evidence” to support its belief that immigration is a threat to German society. Liberals, in contrast, look for evidence to exculpate immigrants and cast blame on the right. |
| A woman and her son are pushed in front of a train in Frankfurt? What’s the nationality of the perpetrator? A man is shot on his porch in Hessen? Was he pro-immigration? It was no different yesterday, after the news of the assault in Halle broke. Was this Arab or German anti-Semitism? seems to have been the first question for many, instead of: what really happened and how could it have been prevented? | A woman and her son are pushed in front of a train in Frankfurt? What’s the nationality of the perpetrator? A man is shot on his porch in Hessen? Was he pro-immigration? It was no different yesterday, after the news of the assault in Halle broke. Was this Arab or German anti-Semitism? seems to have been the first question for many, instead of: what really happened and how could it have been prevented? |
| In this vain struggle, one group often goes missing: Germany’s Jews. The rise in anti-Semitic violence does not fit easily into either narrative; the social media attention is more muted, and the events tend to pass with little comment. | In this vain struggle, one group often goes missing: Germany’s Jews. The rise in anti-Semitic violence does not fit easily into either narrative; the social media attention is more muted, and the events tend to pass with little comment. |
| Anti-Semitism in Germany is complicated. We know that a number of recent attacks on Jews were committed by immigrants, many of them from the Arab world, but there is disagreement on how many. Mr. Münch, the head of the national police, says that 90 percent of the anti-Semitic crimes committed in Germany last year were committed by right-wing extremists. The American Jewish Committee in Germany disagrees, saying that many of these crimes have been miscategorized and are actually the work of immigrants. | Anti-Semitism in Germany is complicated. We know that a number of recent attacks on Jews were committed by immigrants, many of them from the Arab world, but there is disagreement on how many. Mr. Münch, the head of the national police, says that 90 percent of the anti-Semitic crimes committed in Germany last year were committed by right-wing extremists. The American Jewish Committee in Germany disagrees, saying that many of these crimes have been miscategorized and are actually the work of immigrants. |
| Liberals historically have stood beside German Jews, but in doing so they worry they might undermine their pro-immigrant bona fides. They are therefore loath to question Mr. Münch’s numbers, even as the far right tries to exploit Arab anti-Semitism for its own benefit. Which means that even when anti-Semitism is recognized, it is only as a political tool to achieve some other end. | Liberals historically have stood beside German Jews, but in doing so they worry they might undermine their pro-immigrant bona fides. They are therefore loath to question Mr. Münch’s numbers, even as the far right tries to exploit Arab anti-Semitism for its own benefit. Which means that even when anti-Semitism is recognized, it is only as a political tool to achieve some other end. |
| On Wednesday evening, Chancellor Angela Merkel rushed to the New Synagogue in Berlin to grieve with the city’s Jewish community. Her sympathy, and the country’s, is sincere. For all its recent changes, Germany has not forgotten what happened here, and the additional horror that accompanies anti-Semitism in Germany. | On Wednesday evening, Chancellor Angela Merkel rushed to the New Synagogue in Berlin to grieve with the city’s Jewish community. Her sympathy, and the country’s, is sincere. For all its recent changes, Germany has not forgotten what happened here, and the additional horror that accompanies anti-Semitism in Germany. |
| Hopefully, this sympathy will last longer than the next few days and even lead to a new awareness: Germany’s Jews are increasingly a target of violence and aggression. Germany, of all countries, needs to protect them. | Hopefully, this sympathy will last longer than the next few days and even lead to a new awareness: Germany’s Jews are increasingly a target of violence and aggression. Germany, of all countries, needs to protect them. |
| Anna Sauerbrey, a contributing opinion writer since 2015, has been an editor and writer at the German daily newspaper Der Tagesspiegel since 2011. | Anna Sauerbrey, a contributing opinion writer since 2015, has been an editor and writer at the German daily newspaper Der Tagesspiegel since 2011. |
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