Berlin’s top cop says Jews not safe in parts of the German capital

Berlin’s chief of police has warned the German capital’s Jews and LGBTQ+ individuals that not everywhere in the city is safe for them.

In a press briefing, Barbara Slowik insisted that there were no “no-go areas” in Berlin — but then immediately added: “However, there are areas, and we must be honest at this stage, where I would advise people who wear a kippah or are openly homosexual or lesbian to be more attentive,” emphasising the importance of caution in public spaces.

Slowik noted that “unfortunately, there are certain neighbourhoods where predominantly Arab-descended people live, who also have sympathies for terrorist groups,” and where “open antisemitism is articulated there against people of Jewish faith and origin”.

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Nevertheless, the police chief, clearly walking a delicate line, maintained that her intention was not to stigmatise any community, saying: “I do not want to ‘defame’ any particular group of people as perpetrators”.

Though she did not specify particular neighbourhoods, Slowik made it clear that the Israel-Gaza war was the trigger for the rise in antisemitic incidents in Berlin. Since 7 October Berlin police have initiated over 6,200 investigations related to antisemitism and incitement to hatred, according to Süddeutsche Zeitung. A significant portion of these cases involves hate postings on the internet, property damage, and propaganda offences.

Despite the rise in reported incidents, direct violent crimes against Jewish individuals remain relatively low. “Fortunately, the violent crimes against Jewish people are low, but without question, every act is one too many,” Slowik said.

She made her comments a week after a Jewish youth football team had to be put under police protection after it was attacked by a pro-Palestinian mob armed with sticks and knives in Berlin.

Players from Makkabi Berlin’s youth team have said they were “hunted down” by Arab youths after a game against their local rivals. The team comprises teenagers aged between 13 and 16.

The game was played in Neukoelln, a neighbourhood in Berlin known for its large Arab and Turkish population.

A father of one of the players wrote on Twitter/X that his son was deeply shaken when he was spat at during the game and was harassed by adults and children who followed the team off the pitch.

The president of Makkabi Germany, Alon Meyer, told the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper that other witnesses have voiced threats, with some chasing others with knives. The opposition club said they would identify and throw out the people involved.

Makkabi Berlin was set up in the 1970s by Holocaust survivors and was the German capital’s first Jewish sports club after the Second World War.

Earlier this month, a Makkabi Berlin supporter wearing the club’s scarf — which bears the club’s logo, including the star of David — was taken to hospital after a man in a café asked him whether he was Jewish and then punched him in the face.