On Tuesday, 19th November, Berlin’s police chief in Germany warned the Jews and LGBTQ+ people, and said that they should not disclose their identities in the Arab neighborhoods where people have sympathies for the terrorist groups.
“There are areas of the city, we need to be perfectly honest here, where I would advise people who wear a kippah or are openly gay to be more careful,” said Barbara Slowik, Berlin’s police chief.
“There are certain neighborhoods where the majority of people of Arab origin live, who also have sympathies for terrorist groups,” she said adding that, “violent crimes against Jewish people are few and far between, but every act is one too many.”
Meanwhile, Slowik said that her objective was not to devalue any community. “I do not want to ‘defame’ any particular group of people as perpetrators,” she said.
It took 90 years, but Jews and gays need to try and hide their identities in Berlin again. ? pic.twitter.com/qcohMwu234
— Saul Sadka (@Saul_Sadka) November 18, 2024
Earlier last month, an armed pro-Palestinian crowd ‘hunted down’ a Jewish junior football team in Germany, forcing them to seek police protection. Players from Makkabi Berlin’s young squad said they were followed by a crowd with sticks and knives after a game against local rivals last week.
The team, which consisted of players between 13 and 16-year-olds, said that they were being pursued by Arab youngsters. In an interview with the Berliner Zeitung, Slowik confirmed these changes, stating that while the city does not have ‘no-go zones,’ specific areas may be uncomfortable for visibly Jewish people or members of the LGBTQ community.
“There are, unfortunately, neighbourhoods in Berlin with a majority of residents from Arab backgrounds where there is open sympathy for terrorist organizations and very blatant antisemitism,” she reiterated.
As per the local reports, since Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7th, Berlin police have investigated 6,200 antisemitic crimes, including beatings, online hate speech, and attacks on police during pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Antisemitic events increased by 50% compared to 2022, with two-thirds of them happening after October 7th Hamas attack.
