DThe security situation for Jews in Frankfurt following Hamas’ terrorist acts in Israel is still assessed by the board of the Jewish community as tense. This is what the chairman of the board Salomon Korn and his colleagues on the board Benjamin Graumann, Marc Grünbaum and Leo Latasch as well as Jennifer Marställer, the director of the community, told the Federal Minister for Climate and Economics, Robert Habeck (The Greens). The Vice Chancellor visited the community on Sunday morning for an informal discussion. Like many well-known politicians, Habeck was in Frankfurt at the weekend for the book fair, but did not want to leave the city without speaking to the community. He wanted to know how the members were doing. The answer is: bad.
According to the findings of the police and state security in Frankfurt, there is only an abstract threat situation, but the sense of security of many Jewish families and survivors of the Holocaust is severely disturbed. There have been no more Jewish school or daycare outings for two weeks. The majority of Shoah survivors did not come to a ceremony in the Römer on Wednesday for fear of attacks. Benjamin Graumann reported that 80 percent of parents did not send their children to school on Friday a week ago because they were afraid that something could happen to them.
Lack of willingness to talk
Friday was declared a “Day of Wrath” by Hamas. There were no acts of violence in Frankfurt; But the fear of it has taken hold. Also because anti-Jewish acts are reported in Berlin and other cities. In Giessen, two men hit a man in the face who had hung an Israeli flag on his balcony as a sign of solidarity, and then stole the flag.
As Latasch, who is responsible for community safety, said, the community’s buildings are arguably safer than public streets or homes. But because parents wanted to protect their children from unpleasant experiences along the way, many decided to leave the children at home, said Marställer. However, community facilities will not be closed. The head of political relations, Michaela Fuhrmann, clearly distanced herself from calls to remove Jewish symbols such as Star of David chains in order not to “provoke”. Latasch said that the community would continue to not allow itself to be intimidated by the terror of Hamas or anti-Semitism, whether from the right or from Islamist milieus: “We are showing our teeth.”
On the part of the Muslim associations, the community complained about a lack of willingness to talk and a lack of will to distance themselves from Hamas. The community has also been receiving threatening and insulting emails “from among the Germans” for two weeks, as Marställer said. It asks how the Jews could allow themselves to ban Palestinian demonstrations. However, the municipality has no influence on the bans on gatherings that the Hesse Administrative Court issued for some of the pro-Hamas rallies, as crimes were expected there.
Increase security personnel
Habeck, whose visit was seen by the board as an important signal of solidarity, was affected by the descriptions. He confirmed that he would continue to stand firmly on the side of the Jews in Germany and support Jewish-Muslim dialogue. The board members asked the economy minister to review relations with Iran. The Islamic Republic, whose stated goal includes the destruction of Israel, funds the Lebanese militia Hezbollah and likely supported the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7th. Germany is Iran’s most important trading partner in Europe.
In response to these developments, the municipality will not only increase its security staff, as Marc Grünbaum said, but also invest in psychological care for children and promote educational campaigns against anti-Semitism. “That’s actually not our job as a Jewish community,” said Grünbaum. “But who will do it if we don’t do it?” Benjamin Graumann added afterwards.
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