Anti-Semitism Commissioner: Greens are calling for a new Anti-Semitism Commissioner from the Federal Government

The Greens have called on the federal government to quickly fill the position of anti-Semitism commissioner. “At every appropriate and inappropriate opportunity, the federal government presents itself as a “champion against anti-Semitism,” said Green Party domestic politician Marlene Schönberger. However, the words would not match her actions. According to Schönberger, political education work against anti-Semitism is being weakened. The federal government is not even able to appoint an anti-Semitism commissioner.

Since the federal government's previous anti-Semitism commissioner, Felix Klein, left office at the end of August after eight years, the position of anti-Semitism commissioner has been vacant. It is led provisionally by Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Christoph de Vries. For Jews, “the state of emergency has become part of everyday life,” as Schönberger said. She therefore expects “the federal government to act immediately.”

The federal government had previously reaffirmed the government's commitment to combating anti-Semitism on the third anniversary of the attack on Israel by the terrorist organization Hamas on October 7, 2023. Chancellor Merz said that the federal government would “do everything in its power to consistently combat anti-Semitism in all its new and old forms.” »Jews throughout Germany must be able to live without fear. Jewish life must be able to continue to develop in our society, said Merz.

The federal government also “counters those who relativize or even question Israel’s right to exist. Not just on October 7th, but every day." Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul also said that both the federal government and he personally opposed anti-Semitism "with determination." Anti-Semitism is an attack on “our community.”

Central Council of Jews calls for changes to criminal law due to “current anti-Semitism”

The President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, also criticized the fact that some anti-Semitic slogans have not yet been prosecuted in Germany. In a guest article for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, he called for a change in criminal law. “We need an amendment to our law that addresses current anti-Semitism for what it is: an ongoing attack on Jewish life,” Schuster wrote. Hatred of Jews has “returned in a new guise” and is expressed in anti-Semitic numerical codes, word games or slogans such as “From the River to the Sea”.