German antisemitism commissioner’s home torched, marked with Hamas symbols

The home of Andreas Büttner, Germany’s commissioner for Combating Antisemitism, was torched and marked with Hamas' characteristic red triangle symbols overnight between Saturday and Sunday.

“My work against antisemitism is probably pushing people toward violence,” Büttner stated in response to the attack on his home in Brandenburg.

The antisemitism commissioner told the German-Jewish newspaper Jüdische Allgemeine that he knew the attack on his home was deliberate.

“When we saw that someone had set fire to our property, it was immediately clear: this was a targeted attack. It was a shock for me and for my family,” Büttner said, stressing that the incident has shattered his family’s sense of security. “When your front door is attacked, it cuts you to the core,” he explained. Thankfully, none of his family members were physically harmed in the direct attack. However, the emotional damage was considerable.

Büttner stressed that the police and other relevant authorities acted swiftly to address the serious incident, indicating that Berlin will not tolerate antisemitism.

He specifically addressed the Hamas symbol that was left at his home as part of the attack.

“Hamas’ red triangle is an internationally recognized symbol of jihadist violence and antisemitic incitement,” Büttner emphasized. “Anyone who uses it wants to intimidate and glorify terror. This is not a protest – it is a threat.”

Like in many Western countries, anti-Jewish and anti-Israel incidents have been on the rise in Germany following the Hamas massacre in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Radicalized Muslims and some far-left individuals have played a leading role in the rise of antisemitism worldwide.

In June 2025, Germany’s antisemitism monitor organization RIAS reported that antisemitic incidents in the country had increased by 77% compared to 2023 and involved 186 physical attacks and eight assault cases of a severe nature. The majority of the cases were linked to Israel and the conflict in Gaza against Hamas.

Israeli Ambassador to Germany Ron Prosor condemned the attack on Büttner’s home in a post on 𝕏. Prosor also decried the radical wing of the “pro-Palestinian solidarity” as being extremists who embrace both antisemitism and terrorism. He warned that hatred against Israel and Jews is a threat to democracy and called on German authorities to dismantle terrorist elements in the country.

Germany is one of Israel’s strongest allies in the European Union. German leaders have repeatedly stressed that due to Germany’s Nazi past and the Holocaust of six million Jews, Berlin remains steadfast in supporting the world’s only Jewish state. Today, there is a close and mutually beneficial military and intelligence cooperation between Germany and Israel.

At the reopening of the historic Reichenbach Synagogue in Munich in September, the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz vowed to fight antisemitism in all its forms and shapes.

“We are declaring war on every form of old and new antisemitism in Germany,” Merz said. “We will not tolerate antisemitism even when it is disguised under the pretense of freedom, of art, of culture, or of science,” the German leader pledged.

He specifically addressed the rise of antisemitism in Germany after the Oct. 7 attack.

“Since October 7, we have been experiencing, you have been experiencing, a new wave of antisemitism, in both old and new forms, sometimes blatant and sometimes thinly veiled, in words and in deeds, on social media, at universities, in public spaces,” Merz assessed.

“We owe our Jewish fellow citizens the promise to breathe life into ‘Never Again’ as our collective historical duty.”