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News > World

Germany: Anti-Semitism, Hate Crimes On The Rise

  •  Participants of the neo-Nazi festival 'Shield and Sword Festival' in Germany, 21 April 2018.

    Participants of the neo-Nazi festival 'Shield and Sword Festival' in Germany, 21 April 2018. | Photo: EFE

Published 8 August 2018
Opinion

Crimes relating to anti-semitism have increased by ten percent in Germany, according to official data.

The number of crimes based on anti-semitism has increased by 10 percent in Germany in the first six months of this year; they were almost always committed by extreme right-wing actors, according to a report released Wednesday by German authorities.

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The German government released the data, following pressure from leftist lawmaker and vice-president of the federal Parliament, Petra Pau, on the number of anti-semitic crimes reported in the last year. In the first quarter of 2018, 401 anti-semitic crimes were reported, representing an increase of 10 percent when compared to the 362 that occurred in the same period in the previous year.

In the majority of cases, 349 out of the 401 cases, the perpetrators of these crimes were linked to the far right-wing, and the rest are based on religious reasons or ideological discrepancies against Israel. 80, the highest number of crimes were committed in Berlin, the country's capital state, followed by Bavaria with 43 anti-semitic crimes committed.

Other sources, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), has also confirmed the rise in hate crimes over the last few years. Mainly these crimes are perpetrated against immigrants and refugees, who in several cases have been insulted, intimidated and even attacked in Germany and across Europe

In one example, the scene where a 9-year-old Syrian boy died in a traffic accident, has recently been vandalized by neo-Nazi. The scene has been repeated painted with swastikas, to intimidate members of the community. "This type of crime could have only come from the confused mind of a right-wing extremist who isn't capable of telling the difference between right and wrong," said town Mayor Lutz Gotze, as reported by local media.

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