The Amadeu Antonio Foundation, a German anti-bigotry NGO, recently published a report revealing a rise in antisemitism in Germany. The report’s main contributor, Dr. Nikolas Lelle, attributes this spike to the actions of Hamas against Israel on October 7. The report states that these actions led to a significant decrease in public solidarity with the Jewish people and a sharp rise in antisemitic sentiments.
The rise in antisemitism was not restricted to offline incidents. Online platforms, including Telegram, 4chan, and YouTube, also witnessed an alarming upsurge. According to ISD research, identifying antisemitism online poses a particular challenge as it largely depends upon the context, making the use of AI technologies ineffectual in some cases.
Dr. Lelle cites explicit instances of this rising trend, including the sighting of swastikas on the Buchenwald concentration camp and Hanover’s Ahlem memorial, defacement of the Israeli flag, and a tendency towards Nazi rhetoric. An increase in young neo-Nazi groups and a resurgence of Holocaust skepticism were also reported, contributing to the difficulty in combating antisemitism.
In a subsequent livestream following the publication of the report, the foundation highlighted the influence of the October 7 Hamas attacks on the rise in German antisemitism. The foundation reported evidence of National Socialist extremism and radicalization, implicating the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as contributors to the rising antisemitic sentiment.
The Foundation has pledged to persist in their education and action weeks against anti-Semitism and to continue their close cooperation with the Federal Government Commissioner for Jewish life in Germany in order to curtail this concerning upward trend of antisemitism in the country.
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