German study: The October 7 attack changed the lives of Jews in Germany and made them feel unsafe

The October 7, 2023, attack on Israel represented a turning point in the lives of Jews in Germany, and turned the lives of many of them into a major challenge, according to a German study that monitored how the effects of the Hamas terrorist attack changed the lives of Jews in Germany.

It is noteworthy that the Hamas movement, a Palestinian Islamic armed group, is classified by Germany, the European Union, the United States and other countries as a terrorist organization.

People surveyed reported a “new reality characterized by anti-Semitism,” increased mistrust, and feelings of exclusion and insecurity.

The study was funded by the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency, and the results of the study were presented today, Monday (October 5, 2026). Over the course of two years, the Competence Center for Education and Critical Research on Anti-Semitism (KOAS) and the “Institute for Research on Right-Wing Extremism” at the University of Tübingen conducted individual interviews and group discussions with 118 Jewish people, including Israelis, living in Germany.

According to the data, the study included, for the first time, a survey of the opinions and experiences of children and young people from the age of seven years, and even adults up to 80 years old, according to the German NTV news channel.

Study participants talked about what the October 7 attack meant to them personally, how their lives changed after it, whether they noticed any physical or psychological changes, and how they viewed their future in Germany.

Jews in Germany do not feel safe

Study participants reported that the way the attacks were portrayed and their deliberate dissemination through the media conveyed to them the message that they were not safe despite living in Germany, and that they could be considered a target for attack.

They said that after the attack, they faced a state of indifference and silence, even among friends and acquaintances, and they spoke of situations in which they were not only deprived of sympathy and sympathy, but were treated as representatives of Israel, simply because they were Jews.

Participants spoke in the interviews about being exposed to “aggressive confrontations on the ground and in the digital space, some of which actually began on the evening of October 7 and have continued since then.” In general, the participants in the study reported that they suffered severe shock due to the violence caused by the attack, and they felt the collapse of their sense of belonging to a community that provides protection.

All of this led to a decline in public aspects of Jewish life; The public space has turned into “a place that entails potential dangers, as it has become very difficult to display Jewish identity freely and without worry.” Many of those who participated in the study explained that they have begun to avoid going to certain bars and entertainment places, or even entire neighborhoods. Some of the study participants were also subjected to attacks on buses and trains.

Discrimination and exclusion also affected children

The German government's anti-discrimination agency reported that exclusion and discrimination against Jews took place from various segments of society, including in places that were thought to be safe; Cases have been recorded in which doctors pressured their patients to make political statements, or in which co-workers deliberately kept a distance from Jews.

This discrimination does not only fall on adults, but also on children. The pressure that some Jews were exposed to, resulting from having to justify their origins and identity, led children, adolescents, and adults alike to social withdrawal, exposure to psychological pressures, increased security precautions, and limited their community participation.

“The study reveals the full extent of anti-Semitic discrimination,” said Ferda Ataman, the Independent Federal Anti-Discrimination Commissioner. “Anyone who openly declares that he is Jewish or that he comes from Israel risks being exposed to consequences that affect his existence, starting with discrimination against him in searching for housing or work, through refusal to serve him in restaurants, and all the way to bullying in kindergartens and classrooms.”

Ataman called for “better protection for Jews from discrimination, for example in schools and universities,” and said: “Unfortunately, there are still significant gaps in legislation regarding this protection.”

Disappointment among the Jewish community

The effects of the October 7 attack on the Jewish community and Israelis in Germany were not limited to feelings of insecurity, but rather went deep into their social relationships, as some participants in the study reported that they were disappointed by the reactions in non-Jewish communities and the lack of indifference or sympathy with them because of what happened on October 7, which radically changed the form of their relationships with the non-Jewish community, as they put it.

A woman participating in the study narrated that she celebrated her birthday with her friends on the evening of October 7, and everyone knew that she was Jewish except for one person. She said: No one asked “how I am,” according to the German news channel NTV.

Another woman reported that she was shocked that so few people in her non-Jewish social circle talked to her about October 7. However, she said that she did not experience any hostility within her circle of friends, but that even her friends did not realize what “the terrorist attack meant to me and many others” and continues to mean, “and it shocks me.”

Even within the work environment, not everyone found a safe haven. One participant in the study said that she sought help from the anti-discrimination official at her employer, but she was asked to communicate with her “Jewish community,” “because they have extensive relationships,” and instead of receiving help, she was asked not to address “this political issue” at work “because it spoils the atmosphere.”