The recorded incidents included seven instances of what RIAS called “extreme violence,” which RIAS defined as life-threatening attacks. Those included a Molotov cocktail attack on a Berlin synagogue last October that caused shock and alarm among much of the city’s Jewish community. RIAS also recorded 121 attacks, 329 property damage and 183 threats.
“Since October 7, anti-Semitism has become visible in an unprecedented way in all sectors of German society,” RIAS wrote in its report. “The experience that the Jews living here have had over the years has become an incredibly strong, omnipresent and daily visible burden.”
According to RIAS, more than 70% of anti-Semitic incidents recorded since October 7 were ‘Israel-related’. “In many cases, existing stereotypes that deny, relativize or justify violence against Jews were transferred to the events of October 7,” the report authors wrote.
RIAS uses the “Working Definition of Antisemitism” devised by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). The definition includes “comparing modern Israeli policies to those of the Nazis” and “holding Jews collectively responsible for the actions of the State of Israel.”
This definition also includes “applying double standards” by “requiring Israel to take actions that are not expected or required of any other democratic country.”
Some critics have argued that IHRA’s working definition is too broad, making legitimate criticism of Israel difficult.
