Germany think-tank reports antisemitism has risen in country since October 7 attacks News
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Germany think-tank reports antisemitism has risen in country since October 7 attacks

German anti-bigotry NGO the Amadeu Antonio Foundation published the findings of their latest antisemitism in Germany report on Tuesday. Dr. Nikolas Lelle, the main contributor to the report, stated that the actions of Hamas against Israel on October 7 saw a massive decrease in public solidarity with the Jewish people and an increase in anti-semitism. He reported seeing swastikas on the Buchenwald concentration camp and Hanover’s Ahlem memorial,  the Israeli flag being defaced and moves towards Nazi rhetoric. The think tank also pointed out an increase in young neo-Nazi groups in Germany and Holocaust skepticism, which is making it difficult to tackle anti-semitism according to the foundation.

Shortly after the report was published, in a livestream, the foundation presented a civil situation report highlighting the impact of Hamas’ October 7 attacks on the increase in German antisemitism, including evidence of National Socialist extremism and radicalization. Lelle accused the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party of influencing the rise in anti-semitism; other members of the foundation have called them “right-wing extremists” who, according to data, are still popular among the German electorate.

Throughout the Israel-Hamas conflict, and especially on October 7, online antisemitism has been rising on platforms like Telegram, 4chan, X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube. According to ISD research, antisemitism online can be difficult to spot as it can rely on the context of the speech to determine whether it is antisemitic or not. Due to this, using AI technology to spot specific offensive words is not always effective.

The foundation said that they will continue with their education and action weeks against anti-Semitism and work closely with the Federal Government Commissioner for Jewish life in Germany.

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