Anti-Semitic verbal abuse 'part of everyday life for Jews in Germany'

Anti-Semitic abuse is "part of everyday Jewish life in Germany", the head of the Central Council of Jews has said.

The council's president, Dr Josef Schuster, made the claim in an interview with the founder of the Faces of Democracy initiative, Sven Lilienström, published in The Local Germany.

Schuster said it was impossible to speak of "individual cases of verbal attacks" against Jewish people in Germany.

"It is part of everyday Jewish life that our institutions are under police protection, Jewish pupils are under police protection and we are increasingly reluctant to make ourselves known as Jews in public," he said.

Anti-Semitic views were more openly articulated now than several decades ago because of the internet. "In the social networks we find a verbal lack of inhibition which is dangerous, especially on the far-right of the political spectrum," he said.

An "anti-Israel attitude is spreading in society," he added.

"Israel's right to exist is called into question, or Jews in general are held liable for the policies of the Israeli government. That's anti-Semitism," he told Lilienström.

Israeli flags were burned in Berlin in December after President Donald Trump recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

His decision to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem sparked protests around the world. In Germany 2,500 demonstrators took part in a pro-Palestinian protest outside the Brandenburg Gate and in Sweden three people were arrested for allegedly throwing a firebomb at a synagogue.

Anti-Semitism across Europe has risen in recent years, with anti-Jewish incidents rising to a record high in the UK in 2017 and the vandalism of Jewish stores in Paris earlier this month.

In Germany, there has also been a noticeable increase in anti-Semitic attacks. In 2016, the government recorded 1,468 anti-Semitic incidents, an increase of 7.5% compared with the previous year.

Jewish culture and tradition

Some 62% of Jews said in a 2017 survey commissioned by the Bielefeld University that they experienced anti-Semitism in their everyday lives, USA Today reported. More than a quarter, 28%, said they were victims of verbal attacks and harassment in 2017.

Schuster said that education could help reduce anti-Semitism.

"Schoolchildren only learn about Jews as victims. Jewish culture and tradition are not taught enough," he said.

"That is why, together with the Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs, we have adopted a declaration with a view to broadening the dissemination of Judaism in the future."