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| The political right, rather than jihadism, is behind most attacks on Jews in Germany, official figures suggest |
Anti-Semitic crimes have risen to a five-year high in Germany, according to a new report which finds it is recording more incidents than any country in Europe.
There were 1,596 recorded hate crimes against Jewish people last year in the country, the highest level since 2009 and a greater level than recorded in any other EU state. It was an increase from 1,275 the previous year, and it reverses a long-term trend of declining incidents.
Jewish leaders yesterday warned of hundreds of thousands of Jews are preparing to emigrate from Europe in the face of resurgent anti-Semitism.
EU officials warned against “singling out” Germany, with the official report by the bloc’s Agency for Fundamental Rights cautioning that data collection is patchy with some countries refusing to count anti-Semitic attacks at all, while others are more scrupulous.
Nevertheless, the “notable increase” in incidents raises difficult questions for Berlin some seventy years after the end of the Second World War. Of the incidents, 45 were classed as violent by the German police. » | Matthew Holehouse, Brussels | Thursday, October 1, 2015
