Many people in Germany and many Jewish people in Germany are losing their sense of security. This must be done.
Green politician Sergey Lagodinsky, the only Jew among German MEPs, calls for an educational offensive, a critical look at the role of religious communities – and the strengthening of German secret services to prevent anti-Semitism.
What goes through your mind when you see Hamas sympathizers celebrating and rioting on the streets of Berlin?
This is terrible. Many people in Germany and many Jewish people in Germany are losing their sense of security. Even worse: the feeling of security for the future is lost. Something like this has far-reaching consequences for life planning over several generations. I know Jews who are now asking themselves whether their children and grandchildren should still grow up in Europe or would it be better to grow up abroad, for example in the USA?
We have been observing anti-Jewish attacks for many years. Has the current conflict in the Middle East exacerbated this problem?
Yes. I am horrified by the massiveness of the attacks. And the perpetrators often grew up in Germany and were educated at schools and universities in Germany. It’s no longer just about people who consciously approve of terrorist attacks. This should be treated criminally. There is now a level in between. Many people feel uncomfortable with the Jewish state simply because it is Jewish. And they openly oppose the position of the German government, which supports Israel, and our conclusions from Germany’s history. The problem cannot be solved by “deporting” these people from Germany. We must not forget: These people and their sometimes disgusting views are now part of our society.
Was this phenomenon not taken seriously enough?
It is clear: we have treated the problem of anti-Semitism carelessly. We have to talk about migrant anti-Semitism. Calling this just Muslim anti-Semitism is too simplistic. I also observe a misguided relationship to violence as a means of confrontation, the inability to resolve conflicts without being aggressive, and to keep the tendency towards enemy images and emotional reflexes in check. This is an erosion of the culture of discourse that is very dangerous, no matter who it is directed against. For example, Armenians have been telling me for years that they are being attacked and treated with hostility, particularly by the Turkish community.
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Criticism of the Central Council of Muslims
Marco Buschmann recently said in the Bundestag that it is unacceptable for Jewish places of worship in Germany to burn again. What does that mean if the criminals grew up here? Some suggest that deportations are necessary.
Many of these suggestions are based on good motives. But it is often just an expression of helplessness. I believe that the group of perpetrators who can be deported is very small. Many people are German citizens, others are stateless. Where should they be deported? To Lebanon, where they have never been? We can only find answers if we understand the phenomenon as our own problem.
And how does it work?
We need a massive education offensive. We need to examine the extent to which we can make religious communities more responsible. It cannot be the case that the Central Council of Muslims in Germany took so long to condemn the terrorist attacks by Hamas in Israel. We must demand these institutions, but not as foreign but as domestic actors. We also have to finally question where the boundaries of these community identities are. Frankly, we may also need to think more critically about the role of religion in such conflicts. We have uncritically overemphasized the religious component of the diverse society. But there are important secular traditions in these communities. And these traditions need to be strengthened. Then we will hopefully take the wind out of the sails of uncritical solidarity. After all, many of the communities now protesting have nothing to do with Palestine; the emotionalization runs along the Islamist and pan-Islamic lines.
The AfD is currently again using hatred of Israel as an argument against Muslims. What do you think?
That doesn’t surprise me at all. The AfD has always done that. It is a joke that the right-wing radicals are suddenly acting as the biggest rhetorical friends of Israel and Jews.
How do I handle this?
As with all abbreviations and instrumentalizations that come from this corner. We have to demystify it without trivializing the problem. What has the AfD ever done to solve the problem? She constantly used it to get someone thrown out of the country. I have never seen any concrete plans from the AfD to deal with anti-Semitism. Suggestions for an educational offensive or a policy of remembrance? Completely non-existent, nothing comes of it. In this respect, we must not absolve the AfD of responsibility at this point, but rather see it as part of this overall problem in our society. They prepare the ground for the relativization of history throughout society.
Why Jews are missing from German politics
You are the only Jew among the German MEPs. There is not a single one in the Bundestag. Why is that?
First of all, I want to dispel an unpleasant theory from conspiracy ideologists. They paint the picture of a Bundestag that is full of Jewish representatives. They act as if millions of Jews live in Germany. That’s wrong. The Jewish community in Germany is very small. We have approximately 100,000 formal members. Most are from Ukraine and other successor states to the USSR. And that is perhaps one of the answers to the question: People who come to Germany are not initially concerned with becoming politically active, but rather with building an existence for themselves. I am an exception. But I also know other people who come from the community and would like to get involved politically in parties. But our party system is such that migrants in particular as career changers do not find it so easy to get offices and positions.
Have society and security authorities learned lessons from the anti-Semitic attacks?
One can never learn enough lessons from these attacks. It is never enough. We must strengthen the BND and the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. Because many violent anti-Semites cannot be caught using normal, common investigative methods. We saw this just a few days ago in Duisburg. Someone is said to have been interested in Jewish institutions. And who did the tip come from? From foreign secret services. For me this means clearly: The security authorities need to get a better overview. This is what the Jewish communities want. This does not mean that Germany should become a high-security prison. But decisive action would be important. But this does not mean that we ban all waving of a Palestinian flag. You have to make trade-offs here.
Can we as a German society learn from other EU countries how to do things better?
When I look at what’s going on on the roads in other states, I don’t see who we could learn from. This is a pan-European challenge. But when I at least hear the political commitments of the relevant actors in Germany and when I see how the police are currently proceeding, then I am optimistic that the urgency has arrived.
By Damir Fras and Franziska Klemenz
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