Anti-Semitism rose threefold in Germany in one year, new official figures have revealed. The figures come as part of a wider focus on online hate speech.
According to newly released figures from the Ministry of Justice, there were 2,083 cases of attacks on Jews, Jewish property, and hate speech last year, up from just 691 cases in 2014, The Times has reported.
Previous analysis of crime figures had put the number of anti-Semitic cases in 2015 at 1,366, but closer analysis revealed that crimes such as the smashing of headstones in Jewish ceremonies, or starting fires at synagogues had been incorrectly classified as criminal damage or attempted arson in some states, with no mention made of the anti-Semitic nature of the crimes.
The revised data comes from a study by the Ministry of Justice into the rise of xenophobic and “far right” crime, obtained by Süddeutsche Zeitung. It represents the first attempt by the Federal government to level the reporting criteria for such crimes across the German states.
Last spring, at a Justice summit of ministers from the federal and state governments, it was noted that although “right wing” and xenophobic crimes had been recognised as a category of their own since 1992, no data was being collected on those crimes specifically.
The data since collected confirms the government’s view that “far right” crime is exponentially on the rise in Germany, especially on the internet. The government’s analysis appears to attribute any and all crimes with a racial or religious aspect to the “far right”.
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