The fight against anti-Semitism has been going in circles for years. We don’t have an answer to this sad reality. We’d rather lose ourselves in outrage and forget the actual task: finally finding an effective solution.
Sadness, horror, shock. These are the emotions with which we in society react to anti-Semitic incidents. The incidents are people using anti-Semitic slogans in public and with frightening implicitness, shouting “dirty Jew, shitty Jew”, attacking police officers and journalists.
Or the many demonstrations in May last year where “Jewish pigs” were chanted, or the burning of the Star of David in 2017 at the Brandenburg Gate. The many everyday anti-Semitic attacks, the bullying on German streets, in schools and in many other places and especially on social media. And of course not to forget the anti-Semitic attack in Halle.
Ahmad Mansour, who has lived in Germany for 14 years, is the namesake and managing director of the Mansour Initiative for the Promotion of Democracy and the Prevention of Extremism. As a young Palestinian in Israel, Ahmad Mansour almost became a radical Islamist. Today he is one of the most important experts on Islamism in Germany.
Antisemitism in Germany and in many parts of Europe has become more commonplace. He acts more brutally and confidently, regardless of whether it is about Muslim, classic right-wing extremism or left-wing anti-Semitism. The anti-Semitism can also be found openly among the Corona deniers, in science and in the NGO landscape, who compare Israel’s policies with an apartheid regime and send corresponding allegations to Israel.
But anti-Semitism is also increasingly found in mainstream society: it is voiced by ordinary people at dinner, in the pub or in the cafe, sometimes in rather subtle jokes, sometimes in obvious hate speech against Israel and vile opinions about Jews.
I am an Arab Israeli of Palestinian Muslim background. I was raised to hate Jews and Israel. My grandfather fought against the newly founded Israeli state as early as 1948. This hatred has been passed down to us from generation to generation. Sometimes it was based on nationalism, sometimes on religion. Sometimes he expressed himself through insults, sometimes through physical violence. Almost every day I saw how hatred eats people away and how this leads to wars and terror.
That’s why I wanted to leave my homeland, that’s why I came to Germany, only to experience again a few years later here in Germany exactly what I wanted to leave behind. Not only at demonstrations or in my job, but also on a personal level. My public statements on the subject of Israel and my work in the fight against anti-Semitism have meant that I am threatened, defamed and even spat on on the street every day, in the middle of Germany, here in Berlin.
My work has made two things clear. First: The hatred is greater than the German majority society and the Islamic associations want to know. Second, much more needs to be done to curb anti-Jewish resentment than is currently being done. There needs to be more emotional education and more targeted knowledge transfer, more digital social work in social media and more police and legal prosecution of perpetrators.
If Jews in certain parts of Germany do not wear a kippa, that is an alarm signal. Because Jews in Germany should never again be afraid to identify themselves as Jews. We as a society cannot accept that. Especially not here in Germany. For almost 70 years, intensive efforts have been made here to combat anti-Semitism and put anti-Semites in their place. Schools, politicians, artists, writers – the majority of our society – work to ensure that German responsibility in the face of the Holocaust is also recognized by future generations.
But the fact that there is endemic hatred of Jews in communities of Arab, Turkish or Muslim origin in Germany is often put into perspective. No one deals with it within these groups, regardless of whether in traditional or in political milieus, nor is one from the outside ready to clearly name this type of anti-Semitism. The word “Jew” has become one of the most common swear words among youth from these groups. Prejudices, stereotypes and conspiracy theories are rampant in these communities. “Jews are cunning, greedy and warmongers,” one hears. “They rule the media, the banks and the world. They are cursed by Allah”.
In Germany, people are still being insulted in a way that is anti-Jewish. This often contributes to the spread of conspiracy theories.
With a series of articles and videos, FOCUS Online is supporting a police crime prevention campaign against anti-Semitism and the spread of conspiracy myths. The Civilian Heroes campaign is for everyone. The topic concerns each of us!
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The “enemy Israel” appears to the youth as a monolithic block. Many do not know that around two million Arabs live there. Ignorance and misinformation among young people are of enormous proportions – and at the same time are the sad norm. The world view begins in the parental home, in the circle of friends, on Instagram and Tiktok it then develops in the face of hateful hate speech against Israel and the Jews. The same thing happens in many mosques, and the stereotypes are reinforced in the peer groups. Add to that an upbringing based on authority and obedience, which avoids critical thinking and independent opinion-forming, and encourages violence.
History classes or social studies, as they are currently practiced in German educational institutions, are almost completely powerless against the anti-Semitism of these communities. The lessons do not reach the young people. It is designed for “purely German” children and young people and is exclusively structured historically. Accordingly, it is very easy for young people to ask the rhetorical question: “What do I have, what did my parents or grandparents have to do with the Holocaust?”
After cowardly anti-Semitic incidents, politicians usually react. There will be avid tweeting, emphasizing Germany’s historical responsibility, showing outrage and calling for tough action. Others will blame Israel and its policies for the hate. The media will report about it for 1 to 2 days, and the trivialization that has been institutionalized today will play a major role. The government will soon provide more money for prevention work.
However, I seriously doubt whether such steps will have any effect in combating anti-Semitism in the affected communities. This will not be enough if you want to achieve a real change in these dangerous resentments that exist on the fringes of society. Over the years, while officials and donors have been dealing with “anti-right” applications, project descriptions and documentation, the anti-Semitism of some Muslim citizens has gradually become an everyday phenomenon.
When it comes to combating anti-Semitism in these communities, the pedagogical programs must address all groups of students much more clearly and specifically and not remain in the domestic German context. It must also be about the needs and interests of the communities in which simple dichotomous thinking is anchored. That needs to be resolved. To do this, the communities themselves must recognize and name the problem. It must be possible for them to deal with it and seriously question their religious-political, ideological content.
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