Monitoring group reports a steep rise in antisemitic incidents in Germany last year
A group that tracks antisemitism in Germany says it recorded an overall increase of more than 80% in incidents last year, with well over half of the total coming after Hamas-led militants’ attack on Israel in early October
BERLIN (AP) — A group that tracks antisemitism in Germany said Tuesday it recorded an overall increase of more than 80% in incidents last year, with well over half of the total coming after Hamas-led militants attacked Israel in early October.
The RIAS group said it recorded 4,782 antisemitic incidents in 2023, ranging from anti-Jewish comments to attacks. That compared with 2,616 in 2022.
The group said that 2,787 of last year's recorded incidents — more than the previous year's total — took place after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel, which triggered the ongoing war in Gaza. Those incidents included a mid-October attack on a synagogue in Berlin, which caused widespread alarm.
The incidents RIAS documented last year included seven cases classified as “extreme violence,” which did or could endanger lives or result in severe injury, 121 attacks, 329 cases of targeted damage to property, 183 threats and 4,060 incidences of offensive behavior.
