Germany: Reports of antisemitism in 2025 remain high
The Federal Association of Departments for Research and Information on Antisemitism (RIAS) recorded over 8,700 cases they classify as antisemitic hostility in 2025, many of
The Federal Association of Departments for Research and Information on Antisemitism (RIAS) recorded over 8,700 cases they classify as antisemitic hostility in 2025, many of which were connected with the State of Israel. The 2025 report, published on Wednesday, documents a wide range of incidents collected by RIAS reporting centers across the country throughout the year and classified by the association as antisemitic. In the western German state of Hesse, for example, a rabbi was shoved in front of his children, and his cell phone was snatched from him. In their verbal attacks, the perpetrators blamed the rabbi for the actions of the Israeli government. Among the range of incidents, RIAS cites experiences reported by Jewish people in Germany in which they were subjected to verbal abuse, and some reported having received death threats on social media. A Jewish woman received a picture of a Zyklon B canister on Facebook with the description "Still in stock." Zyklon B was the gas used by the Nazis in concentration camps to murder Jews and other persecuted people during the Holocaust. RIAS, an association funded by the German government, was founded in Berlin in 2018 and tasked with collecting incidents reported as antisemitic across the country. RIAS has regional offices in 11 of Germany's 16 states. Germany's Jews and antisemitism: A complex reality To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video For RIAS, antisemitism begins before it becomes a criminal offense The data RIAS presented on Wednesday in its annual report is not representative; RIAS collects reports of complaints across the various offices and online portal and then attempts to categorize the results.
The nationwide RIAS findings for 2025 overall indicated a number of reported incidents classified as antisemitic that remained roughly at the 2024 level. The incidents are broadly separated into categories that targeted Jewish people and institutions, people and institutions perceived or addressed as Jewish, and other non-Jewish people and institutions. The incidents are categorized by type of incident and attributed motivations. There has been criticism of the organization's classification of the reported incidents and its methodology, and the fact that not every incident recorded formally constitutes a criminal offense. Julia Kopp, project manager at RIAS Berlin, says that antisemitism does not begin at the point at which it manifests as a criminal offense. Significant critique of RIAS's work and methodology also came from the Berlin-based international organization "Diaspora Alliance." It has accused the German government-funded association of disproportionately representing what it calls "Israel-related antisemitism" and underestimating far-right extremist activities, which are rising in Germany, and in doing so, threatening the fight against antisemitism. RIAS has rejected these allegations. Antisemitic attacks in Germany rise sharply amid Gaza war To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The impact of developments in the Middle East However, the number of incidents RIAS recorded as antisemitic in Germany increased sharply after the Islamist group Hamas attacked on Israel on October 7, 2023, during which more than 1,200 Israelis were killed and 251 people taken hostage. In the ensuing warin the Gaza Strip, more than 73,000 people have been killed. Israel's conduct in the war has been found by many international rights organizations and a United Nations commission to be a genocide.
The BriefWire