The German Federal Association for Research and Information on Anti-Semitism (RIAS) said on Tuesday that it documented 4,782 incidents last year that it deemed anti-Semitic – the highest number ever recorded by the group and an increase of 83% from 2022.
The association said the sharp increase came amid attacks and hostilities against Jews in Germany following the October 7 terror attacks in Israel led by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
According to the annual report published on Tuesday, RIAS registered 2,787 incidents between October 7 and the end of the year.
Benjamin Steinitz, director of RIAS, said the basic rights of Jews in Germany are under threat.
“Jews are treated with hostility, threatened and attacked in all areas of life. Since October 7, leading an openly Jewish life has become even less possible than before,” Steinitz said.
He called for an end to what he said is the normalization of anti-Semitism in the country.
RIAS maintains a network of reporting points in eleven states, where victims or witnesses can have such incidents documented.
This includes attacks and threats, as well as intimidation or hostility, which are not always prosecuted and are not necessarily criminal offenses under German law.
This means that the association’s figures can differ considerably from the official crime statistics.
The number of violent incidents increased towards the end of the year, RIAS reports. About two-thirds of all cases of extreme violence, attacks and threats that the association counts occurred after October 7.
