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Ben Solomon is a rapper and a devout Jew – an unusual combination in the German music scene.
For the past four years, Solomon has also been giving workshops on anti-Semitism, today for eleventh and twelfth graders in Potsdam, organized by the German-Israeli Society.
Ben Solomon, rapper:
"These conspiracy legends, especially the anti-Semitic ones, serve the feeling when you can't explain something. Ignorance and things you can't explain often create fear."
Normally, anti-Semitism is Solomon's topic in German rap – but since Hamas' attack on Israel, this is only marginally discussed in his lectures.
Ben Solomon, rapper:
"Not only is Hamas using all these videos for terrorist propaganda and getting excited about it, but they are now announcing a worldwide... So climate activists have Fridays for Future, they have a bloody Friday."
Germany is not taking consistent enough action against this Islamist threat in its own country.
Ben Solomon, rapper:
"Here they can form up, or their followers can collect donations and all the warnings that we have been sending to German society for years have simply never been heard. There I can tell you about things I hear in my own community. It feels like this to the people, a mood just before pogroms go off against them."
One cause of hatred in the Middle East lies in early childhood indoctrination. Solomon shows the young people a Palestinian propaganda video, we only show it pixelated – in a kindergarten in the West Bank, children play war, war against Israel.
For the pupils, this is a new, moving topic.
Student:
"I struggled with tears, especially when it was mentioned about children being indoctrinated. I didn't know anything, I didn't have any prior knowledge. I'm very distraught, I don't know what to do with myself. I can't describe it, it's really impressive."
Student:
"I found it very exciting to hear someone directly affected about it, so really direct opinions and a different point of view, so to speak. And it's also often difficult for us to understand how shocking it is from a distance."
Solomon reaches young people through emotion, but also returns again and again to the political level. His accusation against German politicians is that they do not look closely enough at the Middle East, for example when it comes to development aid.
Ben Solomon, rapper:
"Millions of German taxpayers' money have been transferred to these areas for years. And there is not really an audit of where the money goes, as Germany can actually be. But this terrorist organization, of course, takes this development aid and puts it in its own pocket, buys weapons with it, builds some terror tunnels, tries to fire rockets at Israel all the time, indoctrinates its own people, and the leaders of this Hamas are billionaires."
It is about 340 million euros that have come from Germany annually so far – money for development projects and not for terrorists, the responsible ministries emphasize. Now everything is under scrutiny, the outcome is open.
In his music, Jonathan Kalmanovich – Ben Solomon's real name – repeatedly deals with Israel, religion and anti-Semitism. The 45-year-old was born in Israel and grew up in Germany. He is best known for his events »Rap am Mittwoch«. Since his youth, he has had to defend himself against anti-Semitism, also and especially in the rap scene. Five years ago, he retired from the scene. German rap is a kind of early warning system for society.
Ben Solomon, rapper:
"In therap scene, teenagers, young adults from so many different parts of Germany, also from so many different backgrounds and backgrounds come together. And that means that this is actually an insight into these respective milieus. And when we start hearing what people rap, what people say, what people say in their interviews, then we learn what they think. And when we learn that they have very, very anti-democratic, anti-Semitic views, then that is actually an alarm signal for our society. Because these young people will grow up at some point, they will be voters, they will reject democracy altogether."
The coexistence between Jews and non-Jews – not only problematic in the Middle East, but also in German schoolyards. But some teachers don't dare to invite him, says Ben Solomon.
Two young women from the Jewish community of Potsdam, who also came to the lecture today, are experiencing hostility at their school.
Student:
"My whole class knows that I am Jewish. And they provoke me on purpose. Some people make jokes that are honestly unacceptable."
Student:
"I was out in the summer and some boys said, 'I guess sixth-graders, Jew, you shouldn't kill. I look at them like this: Okay. What the hell? This wasn't the kind of situation to worry about. It was just like, Oh my God, Jew? Wow."
These are examples that show once again that anti-Semitism is part of everyday life for many Jews in Germany, even in the schoolyard. Ben Solomon wants to tackle this with his workshops.