In dramatic rise, Germany records over 1,000 antisemitic cases in 2025

Germany has recorded a dramatic increase in antisemitic cases in 2025. Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) has so far reported 1,047 incidents against Jews. They include 27 violent attacks and 422 cases of hatred and incitement against Jews. The report was divided into several categories ranging from property vandalism to verbal and physical attacks including some life-threatening cases. 

By June, German authorities had identified 470 suspects and arrested seven individuals. According to the BKA, most antisemitic cases were linked to the far right. A total of 554 anti-Jewish incidents were attributed to far-right extremists, including 11 violent attacks. Another 267 cases were linked to radical Islam and other foreign ideologies, while 15 were associated with far-left actors.

Josef Schuster, the head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, expressed concerns about the rise of antisemitic incidents in the country. 

“Antisemitism risks becoming a new normal,” Schuster warned. He consequently urged German authorities to act forcefully beyond “empty solidarity statements.”

Clara Bünger, a lawmaker from the Left Party articulated concerns while emphasizing the need to focus on education. 

“We need real investment in education, victim protection and tackling all forms of antisemitism, including its local and historical roots,” she assessed. 

A Holocaust memorial was badly vandalized this week in the German city of Baden-Baden. 

“The memorial commemorates the darkest chapter in German history,” a city official told the Jewish news outlet Juedische-Allgemeine. “An attack on this symbol is simultaneously an attack on the fundamental values of the city’s society."

Like in many other Western societies, antisemitism and anti-Israel incidents have increased dramatically in Germany since the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre. However, there appears to be disagreements concerning the main source of the antisemitic incidents in Germany. 

Germany registered a record number of 8,627 antisemitic cases in 2024, according to a June report from RIAS, a watchdog organization that monitors antisemitism in German society. It was reportedly a 77% increase in antisemitic cases in Germany compared to 2023. The report noted that the statistics included 186 physical attacks and 8 very serious assault cases against Jews. 

While the report attributed 544 antisemitic cases to the extreme right, a whopping 5857 incidents or 67% of all antisemitic cases were defined “Israel-related antisemitism.” Radical Muslims and far-left individuals have played a leading role in disseminating Israel-linked Jew-hatred across the Western world and beyond after the Oct. 7 attack. 

Looking ahead, Ron Dekel who heads the Union of Jewish Students in Germany, predicted that an end to the Gaza war would likely ease tensions in German society. 

“If the war in Gaza ends at some point, tensions in Germany and on university campuses will likely ease,” Dekel predicted. “But antisemitism linked to Israel is currently the main issue for Jewish students – and from my perspective, unfortunately, it’s likely to stay that way,” he warned. 

German authorities appear to have gradually internalized the fact that much of the rising antisemitism in German society is linked to the mass immigration from Muslim-majority countries where antisemitism is prevalent. 

In March 2024, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser announced that immigrants who harbor antisemitic views would not receive German citizenship. 

“Antisemitism, racism, and other forms of contempt for humanity rule out naturalization,” Faeser said in an interview with the news outlet Der Spiegel. 

“Whoever does not share our values, cannot receive a German passport. We have drawn a crystal-clear red line,” she emphasized. 

In September 2024, Germany announced that it would deny citizenship to individuals who call for Israel’s destruction with chants like “From the River to the Sea,” "Let's go bomb Tel Aviv" and "Death to Israel."