Seven decades on from the Holocaust, Germany is confronting what political and Jewish leaders call a “new phenomenon” of anti-semitism.
While it’s difficult to gauge the extent of the issue from official figures, Jewish leaders have for some time warned of a rise in anti-Jewish sentiment.
A series of recent incidents – one caught on camera – have prompted outrage and widespread condemnation from political, social and religious bodies.
What sparked the outrage?
The issue made international headlines when footage released earlier this month showed an attack on a young man wearing a kippah in a Berlin area.
A man could be heard shouting “Yahudi”, meaning Jew in Arabic, as he hit the victim with a belt.
A 19-year-old Syrian refugee later turned himself into police.
The attack prompted thousands of Jews and non-Jews to wear the religious skullcap in a demonstration of solidarity in Berlin on Thursday.
One breakaway demonstration of three people in the heart of Berlin’s Muslim area was called off when they said they were confronted by counter-protesters shouting “terrorists” and spat at.
Organisers of a major German music award have also cancelled the main prize in a row over antisemitic rap lyrics.
The prize had been handed to rap duo Kollegah and Farid Bang, who have a song that features a line that their bodies are “more defined than an Auschwitz prisoner”.
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