Anti-Semitism | Jewish students hide their identities

The action weeks against anti-Semitism should also be about strengthening groups critical of anti-Semitism. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Arne Dedert Ron Dekel is a committed young man. At the beginning of September he was traveling in Saxony-Anhalt with the “Stop Democracy Enemies” campaign. He recorded what he experienced there on videos on social networks. One encounter is particularly impressive. An older gentleman confesses to being a Hitler fan and NSDAP supporter. The Lord knows what to say about Jews that they only “bargain” and “hollow out” the country. It takes minutes until a passerby comes and tells the man to leave.

The encounter shows that Ron Dekel is used to a lot when it comes to anti-Semitism. As president of the Jewish Student Union of Germany (JSUD), he reported on the experiences of Jewish students at German universities on Tuesday. Dekel says the situation is "dramatic" and that it is "not possible to study at German universities without experiencing anti-Semitism." Many people believed that the situation had calmed down since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, but that is not the case.

Anti-Semitic slogans and calls for murder in toilets and on house facades were still part of everyday life today. Dekel is particularly concerned that anti-Semitism is becoming more and more open: “Instead of indirect formulations, you read direct calls for violence against Jews. In addition, there is a new visibility of classic anti-Semitic narratives - such as Talmudic anti-Semitism or conspiracy stories. Dekel goes on to say that many Jewish students have learned to hide their identity. Every step on campus is planned according to safety aspects. Students do not make incidents public because they fear that it would make the situation even worse.

“Many incidents never become public because we are afraid that this will make the situation even worse for us Jews.”

Ron Dekel reports as part of a press conference by the Amadeu Antonio Foundation, which also presented a situation report on anti-Semitism at universities. Part of the situation report is a qualitative survey by the Anti-Defamation League, in which Jewish students worldwide were surveyed. In Germany, 205 students responded to the survey. 85 percent of them said they had hidden their Jewish identity at some point. 20 percent said they knew fellow Jewish students who had already been physically attacked.

In total, the Amadeu Antonio Foundation has five core observations on anti-Semitism at universities. Since October 7, 2023, German universities have become “even more of an unsafe place” for Jewish students. Anti-Semitism appears to be “open and uninhibited,” which is also due to a climate in which it is normalized. Those affected often feel neither taken seriously nor adequately protected. One reason for this is the reactions of the universities, which are often “overwhelmed or unwilling”.

In order to counteract this, this year's action weeks against anti-Semitism by the Amadeu Antonio Foundation are focusing on anti-Semitism at universities. Almost 250 events are planned in more than 50 cities over the next four weeks. Nikolas Lelle, project manager of the education and action weeks against anti-Semitism, thinks it is important that the “perspective of those affected becomes visible.” Although there is a lot of anti-Semitism at German universities, the situation is not “hopeless”. »There are many committed people who are doing something to counteract this catastrophic situation. The action weeks against anti-Semitism combine this commitment and advocate for a campus without hatred of Jews," explains Lelle. The foundation calls on universities to live up to their responsibility to protect all students. Every university must develop protection concepts, appoint qualified, independent anti-Semitism officers and organize mandatory prevention and training courses against anti-Semitism.

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