Germany warns of spike in anti-Semitism linked to
coronavirus
7 April
2020
16:19
CEST+02:00
Hatred against Jews has spiked in Germany with the
spread of the new coronavirus, the government's anti-Semitism commissioner
warned Tuesday.
"There
are direct links between the current spread of the coronavirus and that of
anti-Semitism," Felix Klein said in Berlin at the launch of a new
government research project into the issue.
"There
is a boom in conspiracy theories in times of crisis," he said, describing
anti-Semitism as a virus of its own that is "contagious on a social
level".
For
example, he cited claims circulating online that the pandemic is the result of
a failed bioweapon test by the Israeli secret service.
"In
recent weeks, right-wing radicals have increasingly tried to leverage the
coronavirus crisis for their own ends," Klein said.
Anti-Semitic
crimes have increased steadily in Germany in recent years.
According
to government figures, the country recorded 1,799 anti-Semitic offences in
2018, up nearly 20 percent on the year before. Of those, 69 were classed as
violent attacks.
Last
October, a suspected neo-Nazi gunman tried to storm a synagogue filled with
worshippers in the city of Halle.
After
failing to break down the door, he shot dead a female passer-by and a
man at a
kebab shop instead.
With €12
million of funding between 2021 and 2025, the new research project involving
several German universities will aim "to better understand the causes and
manifestations of anti-Semitism," according to Education and Research
Minister Anja Karliczek.
"We
want to tackle anti-Semitism with science," Karliczek said.
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