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Germany, still shocked by the latest anti-Semitic and xenophobic attack

Nearly five days after the bombing of Halle last Wednesday, Germany is still under the attack of the anti-Semitic and xenophobic attack that has killed two people. A young man tried unsuccessfully to attack a synagogue in this eastern city and killed a passerby and the client of a Turkish restaurant. What is the atmosphere since last Wednesday in Germany and what reactions aroused this attack?

from our correspondent in Berlin,

The Halle attack continues to dominate German news. Also during the weekend, demonstrations took place in different cities to denounce anti-Semitism and xenophobia. This Sunday in Halle, 2000 people participated in a rally. They were about 10,000 in Berlin.

Many debates have emerged about the responsibilities for this attack as well as the consequences to be drawn from it. Did the police respond quickly enough? Why did not the synagogue in Halle receive police protection? Do the authorities have enough resources, on the ground but also to fight against neo-Nazi cybercrime? More broadly, critical voices are the compassionate grievances of politicians deemed hollow and denounce an insufficient awareness of what must be called extreme right-wing terrorism. The remark of the President of the CDU on a "warning signal" was strongly criticized. The Jewish community has rightly recalled that attacks against its institutions or members have long been perpetrated.

What is the importance of anti-Semitism today in Germany and what is the danger for the Jewish community of the most radical extreme right ?

Official statistics for 2018 show an increase in antisemitic offenses including threats, insults or degradations. But beyond that, the Jewish community denounces everyday anti-Semitism that is not necessarily reprehensible. The RIAS organization publishes significantly higher figures than the authorities. In an international study last year, 85% of Jews surveyed in Germany felt that antisemitism has increased in their country in recent years. This community has grown significantly since reunification to reach 200,000 people. Hostility to him is a barometer for German democracy and the country's capacity after the Holocaust to accommodate a Jewish community.

The fact that the number of potentially violent right-wing extremists is increasing, that they are more often armed and that radical terrorism is developing, is worrying. Four months ago, a Christian Democrat prefect favorable to the reception of migrants had been killed at close range.

Various politicians on the left but also in the conservative camp have denounced the role of the movement present in all German parliaments and credited with about 15% of votes in the polls. These voices criticize denounce a party which by statements relativising the holocaust or the responsibility of Germany during the Second World War would reinforce violent elements. Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer ruled yesterday that the AfD "was the armed wing of radicalism on the right". The boss of the Bavarian CSU compared the AfD party to the neo-Nazi NPD movement. The Secretary-General of the Social Democrats asked him to put the AfD under surveillance by the intelligence services.

Party leaders denounce what they see as an instrumentalization of the Halle bombing to campaign against the AfD. They believe that the political class wants to make forget its mistakes and emphasize their solidarity with the Jewish community.

► See also : How to explain the return of extreme right-wing violence in Germany?

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