‘A Disgrace to Our Country’: New Data Shows Sharp Rise in Violent Antisemitic Crimes in Germany in 2022

The number of violent antisemitic crimes in Germany rose nearly 40% in 2022 from the previous year, The Algemeiner reported, citing newly-released data compiled by the country’s Federal Criminal Police Office.

A total of 88 such incidents were recorded in 2022, up from 63 in 2021.

Overall, 2,639 antisemitic offenses were tallied in 2022, down slightly from the 3,028 of 2021, but officials emphasized that this was not the final count.

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser called the findings “a disgrace to our country” and urged stricter penalties for perpetrators of antisemitic crimes.

Josef Schuster — president of the Central Council of German Jews — told the Welt news outlet, “Antisemitism is becoming more violent.”

“It doesn’t stop with words and damage to property — the violence is increasingly directed against Jews themselves,” Schuster added.

Petra Pau — vice president of Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag — said that the data showed that antisemitism “poses a threat to society as a whole.”

In 2021, the total number of antisemitic incidents recorded in Germany was 2,738, up nearly 40% from the 1,957 of the previous year, according to an annual data report published by the Federal Association of Departments for Research and Information on Antisemitism (RIAS).