Corona: "The specter of anti-Semitism makes Jews responsible for the pandemic"

display

During the corona pandemic, the victims of Nazi violent crimes will be commemorated this Wednesday in Germany and many other countries.

On January 27, 1945 soldiers of the Red Army liberated the German extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Since 2005, the victims of the Holocaust have been commemorated on January 27th.

The focus is on remembering and rejecting hatred.

But the hatred has long since returned.

In connection with demonstrations by opponents of the Corona measures, there were expressions and gestures that Jewish organizations and associations viewed with concern - not only in Germany.

"Corona has made everything worse, inhibitions continue to sink, attempts are being made to rewrite and trivialize history," said Pinchas Goldschmidt, President of the European Conference of Rabbis.

“There is no question that in this climate Jews feel increasingly insecure, no longer dare to go out on the streets and isolate themselves.

That is absolutely unacceptable. "

display

Anti-Jewish conspiracy theories boomed during the pandemic, Goldschmidt complained.

“Our congregations and members feel this very clearly.

Anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist hate messages, both online and in everyday life on the street, are being chanted ever more openly.

It is always easy to hold Jews “responsible for everything” in order to divert attention from one's own deficits - for Corona as well as for an alleged vaccination conspiracy and the economic crisis.

“We urgently need healing powers in society and politics in order to suppress this terrible anti-Semitism and, above all, to reunite society in these difficult times,” demanded Goldschmidt.

"The epitome of lack of empathy, delusion and cynicism"

Maram Stern, Vice President of the World Jewish Congress, called it "particularly disgusting" in a statement when so-called corona deniers tried to claim a victim role for themselves that was equivalent to the victims of the Holocaust.

“I don't know what could be more shameful than to attack the history of suffering in the face of the very old survivors of Auschwitz, Majdanek and thousands of other concentration camps and ghettos.

It is the epitome of lack of empathy, delusion and cynicism. "

display

One should not just watch this goings-on.

There always had to be two answers, one state and one from civil society.

Regulatory authorities and the police have been too passive and disinterested for too long, Stern criticized.

He called for the AfD to be monitored by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the examination of a party ban.

Rüdiger Mahlo, representative of the Claims Conference in Germany, also emphasized that anti-Semitic, holocaust-relativizing actions must be consistently pursued.

The organization represents the claims of Holocaust survivors.

The survivors would have to experience "how Holocaust denial and distortion as well as anti-Semitic failures in the wake of the pandemic increase," said Mahlo.

“Teenagers see themselves in the role of Anne Frank due to the restrictions during the pandemic;

Pop singers compare the pandemic conditions with conditions in the concentration camps.

The specter of anti-Semitism is again blaming Jews for the pandemic.

All of this stresses and scares the survivors, ”says Mahlo.

display

In addition, because of their age and their physical and psychological condition, the survivors of the Shoah are particularly vulnerable in the global health crisis, according to Mahlo.

With the approval of the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Claims Conference was able to reallocate funds and set up a special fund.

With this money, the problems of elderly survivors should be addressed worldwide.

“The loneliness and fears caused by social distancing and isolation can only be absorbed to a limited extent,” Mahlo admitted.

For Roman Jeltsch, the deputy head of the Response advice center for those affected by anti-Semitic, right-wing and racist violence, the movement of the so-called corona deniers from the esoteric scene to conservative alternatives and anti-vaccinations to conspiracy ideologues has "dangerous potential for radicalization".

For people who are already affected by racism or anti-Semitism, this is particularly threatening.

"After all, we know that right-wing assassins like those from Halle and Hanau also networked online and that their actions were confirmed on the basis of deadly ideologies and that they felt encouraged to do their thing."