Analysis of anti-Semitism: Significantly more right-wing extremist than Islamic anti-Semitism

epd/dpa | A study paints a differentiated picture of the extent of Islamic and Islamist backgrounds of anti-Semitism. This type of anti-Semitism only accounted for 1.8 percent of all documented incidents in the study period from 2019 to 2025, the Federal Association of Anti-Semitism Research and Information Centers (Rias) announced in Berlin on Wednesday.

Since 2019, anti-Semitism reporting centers have documented a total of 564 anti-Semitic incidents with an explicitly Islamic or Islamist background. “The proportion is therefore comparatively small,” says Rias in the new publication “Anti-Semitism in Islamic and Islamist Contexts”.

Nevertheless, the 564 registered cases with this motivation were characterized by threats, attacks or extreme violence at an above-average rate (15.1 percent). Of the more than 31,000 incidents since 2019, those involving violence accounted for 6.1 percent.

Rias cites the shooting at the Old Synagogue in Essen by suspected members of an Iranian terrorist cell in 2022 as well as the knife attack at the Berlin Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, in which a tourist was seriously injured in the neck in February 2025, as particularly drastic examples.

But anti-Semitism with an Islamic or Islamist background also exists in everyday life. In June 2024, two people wearing kippahs were publicly attacked in an anti-Semitic manner in Frankfurt am Main. A person who tried to intervene was threatened that Allah would kill him.

Rias documented a significant increase in anti-Semitic incidents with an Islamic or Islamist background since October 7, 2023. Almost 80 percent of the incidents with such a background have been recorded since the day of the terrorist attack on Israel by the Islamist Hamas. However, the numbers also rose across all incident types: While 2,610 cases were recorded in 2022, there were already 8,713 in 2024.

More often than Islamic or Islamist anti-Semitism in recent years has been right-wing extremist (3,662 incidents or 11.7 percent) or characterized by anti-Israel activism (5,445 incidents or 17.4 percent). However, in more than every second case, the political and ideological background remained unknown (55 percent). Incidents with reference to Islamic religious beliefs were considered Islamic or Islamistically motivated.

Rias also attributed almost 80 percent of all anti-Semitic incidents with Islamic or Islamist motivation to Israel-related anti-Semitism. Overall, this manifestation only accounted for 52.9 percent.

Rias managing director Benjamin Steinitz explained: "Anti-Semitism must be clearly identified and resolutely combated as an essential component of Islamist mobilization. This requires constitutional means and prevention measures." The confrontation with Islamism should not be left to right-wing extremist actors.

At the same time, a supplementary study by scientist Sarah Demmrich showed that there was no significant increase in anti-Semitic approval ratings among Muslims after October 7th. However, the connection between anti-Semitism and radical attitudes such as religious fundamentalism or an understanding of terror and violence has increased significantly.

In addition, Islamist actors sometimes achieved social connections. This is how the campaign “Never again reasons of state!” “openPetition” received more than 500,000 signatures – despite a note from the platform that the petitioner was part of the now-defunct “Reality Islam” network, which is in the tradition of the banned organization “Hizb ut-Tahrir”.

Rias maintains offices in twelve federal states where those affected or witnesses can report anti-Semitic incidents. It's not just about criminal acts such as attacks, threats or insults, but also about hurtful or intimidating statements and incidents in everyday life and on the Internet. The Rias statistics are therefore not congruent with the police crime statistics. Rias points out that there is a high number of unreported cases, which is another reason why the statistics are not representative.