Berlin’s Jewish community is increasingly concealing its identity due to a surge in antisemitic incidents, German news outlet Bild reported on Friday. Fearing attacks, the community has adopted new security measures, including withholding the full names of children celebrating bar and bat mitzvahs in local publications—a long-standing tradition now abandoned for safety reasons, reports The Jerusalem Post.
A local Jewish newspaper explained the precaution: „Dear community members, due to the current anti-Israel and anti-Jewish incidents, we are currently only printing the names of our birthday and Bar/Bat Mitzvah children with abbreviated surnames in order not to potentially put anyone in danger.”
Berlin Jewish community spokesman Ilan Kiesling revealed that this decision was made in November 2023, shortly after Hamas attacked Israel. „This threat to Jewish life seems to have reached a new dimension, not only in Berlin, which has led to great uncertainty among our community members,” he told Bild.
Germany’s Federal Association of Departments for Research and Information on Antisemitism (RIAS) reported a dramatic increase in antisemitic incidents in Berlin. In the first half of 2024, the city recorded 1,383 incidents—already surpassing the total of 1,270 in 2023. This equates to an average of eight incidents per day.
The report detailed the nature of these incidents:
Two cases of extreme violence resulted in serious bodily harm.
Twenty-three attacks, including six targeting children.
Thirty-seven instances of property damage.
Twenty-eight threats, including 71 incidents containing calls for annihilation.
1,240 cases of abusive behaviour, many in public spaces.
Seventy-four incidents occurred in academic institutions.
With antisemitism rising to alarming levels, Berlin’s Jewish community faces growing fear and insecurity. Many now feel compelled to hide their identity in a country that once vowed to ensure Jewish life would always be protected.
Photo credit: Lisi Niesner/Reuters
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