The police chief of the German capital, Berlin, urged Jews and gays to “be vigilant” or even avoid certain Arab-majority neighborhoods in the city, warning many of them contain pockets of antisemitism and residents who harbor support for terrorist groups.
"Jews and gay people should hide their identity in parts of Berlin with large Arab populations, the German capital’s police chief has warned." This looks like surrender. No one should have to hide their identity. https://t.co/9RvsFTjL2n
— Michael Osborne (@WMichaelOsborne) November 19, 2024
Speaking to the German newspaper Berliner Zeitung, Barbara Slowik admitted that “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.”
She also warned that “in many major cities, you should be vigilant in certain public places to protect yourself from any kind of crime.”
“There are certain neighborhoods where the majority of people of Arab origin live, who also have sympathies for terrorist groups,” Slowik also said, adding these individuals were regularly “openly hostile towards Jews.”
Or the police can do their jobs.
— Jonny Melamet (@jonnymelamet) November 19, 2024
Regarding incidents of antisemitism, Slowik said that “violent crimes against Jewish people are few and far between, but every act is one too many,” noting how crimes against Jews have surged in Germany since the war between Israel and Hamas began.
However, the police chief asserted that her intention is not to stigmatize any community, stating that she does “not want to 'defame' any particular group of people as perpetrators.”
Since October 7 last year, Berlin authorities opened more than 6,000 investigations into reported antisemitic incidents, according to Slowik, more than double the rate compared to previous years.
Including gays is an eyewash. Nobody cares about other’s personal lives.
However, the world has seen Jews celebrate the killing of children and women in thousands…they will get the response they deserve. The condemnation will be real and stark…and generational across the globe— Gabriel (@real_semite) November 19, 2024
While many of these reports concern hate speech or graffiti, Germany has also seen cases of crimes against Jews skyrocket.
A mob of armed youths in Berlin’s Neukolln neighborhood threatened a Jewish high school soccer team just last week, chanting “Free Palestine” and “F–king Jews” while wielding knives and sticks.
Neukolln, a neighborhood in Berlin known for its large Arab and Turkish population, is also famous for its gay nightlife and has been the site of several incidents of assault on gay individuals in the past several years.
Why are Western governments giving in to these threats instead of standing up to them and imposing their values and rule of law. These people came here from another place. We do not have to change our lives to accommodate them. We need to turn this around.
— Helcol (@bbhelcol) November 18, 2024
Because of a surge in antisemitic incidents throughout the world, including one in Amsterdam where Israeli soccer fans were chased down and assaulted by armed mobs during and after a match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ajax, Israeli travelers abroad have also been warned not to disclose their identity, and be wary if the destination country has a “large migrant population from countries opposed to Israel.”
