When Guy Katz checks his social media feeds in the morning, he sees mostly hate mail, insults and even death threats.
“I woke up today to about 100 hateful comments on various social media platforms. Just for me. And what do I do? I am Jewish and I fight against antisemitism,” said Katz at a press conference on Wednesday.
He teaches international management at the Munich University of Applied Sciences and founded DACH Against Hate, an initiative against antisemitism.The acronym DACH refers to Germany, Austria and Switzerland in German.
Antisemitism has risen sharply in Germany since the October 7, 2023, terror attacks in Israel by Hamas militants and Israel’s ensuing military offensive in the Gaza Strip.
To curb the growing antisemitism, Guy Katz, together with the German-Israeli Society, Jewish communities, several prominent figures and 200 other organizations in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, founded the initiative.
The group has a large demonstration against antisemitism planned for October 5 in Munich. Katz and the other organizers have also launched an online petition with the goal of collecting at least 100,000 signatures. The goal of the petition is for the parliaments in Berlin, Vienna and Bern to pick up the group’s five-point plan and discuss potential steps to be implemented. The plan includes calling for stricter legislation, better education and more protection and support for Jewish institutions.
Middle East situation a ‘pretext’ for antisemitism
The patron of the initiative is Charlotte Knobloch, president of the Jewish Community of Munich and Upper Bavaria.
She said that the world has been a different place since October 7, 2023, and that life for Jews has “changed radically.”
The 92-year-old patron said that equating German Jews with the current Israeli government is completely wrong.
“Today, we are faced with antisemitism that uses the situation in the Middle East merely as a pretext for escalation. It is sufficient cause in itself to fuel the hatred,” Knobloch said.
“Many people are no longer even interested in what Israel does or does not do. In any case, that would be a matter for objective political criticism, as it is in Israel itself. After all, the situation is complex.”
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One of her fellow campaigners is the German actress Uschi Glas, who has been campaigning for Jewish causes in Munich for years.
She lamented that many of her colleagues in the cultural and media sectors were not concerned about the issue.
“I believe that young people in general have no idea. They are not being educated, there is no discussion, no perspectives are being opened up. So I am truly appalled and also very, very sad, and I must say that I am ashamed for my fellow Germans,” Glas said.
Calls for legal reform to tackle hate
Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer and Federal Commissioner for Jewish Life Felix Klein support the initiative against antisemitism.
However, Volker Beck, President of the German-Israeli Society, warned that the time for fine speeches is over.
“Politicians and the Bundestag have repeatedly outlined important issues that need to be addressed. Now we demand that they take decisive action,” he said.
When asked by DW what concrete steps could be taken, Klein said that the criminal offense of incitement to hatred could be expanded.
“We absolutely must write the word ‘antisemitic’ into the law, meaning that antisemitic motives for crimes must be described. This will send a signal to the police and the judiciary,” he said.
He also added that it is extremely important to make calls for the destruction of foreign states a criminal offense, and to better help victims of antisemitic crimes.
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In an emotional speech at a Munich synagogue on Monday, Chancellor Friedrich Merz, of the conservative Christian Democrats, committed himself to tightening the law.
Actress Glas called for antisemitism not to be ignored and said that the public mood surrounding this issue reminds her of the years before the Nazis seized power in 1933.
“That’s how it started before 1933. That’s how it began. A lot could have been done, our families, our grandparents or parents, no matter how old they were, people could have intervened. It didn’t take a lot of courage, but no, people looked the other way. And now it’s happening again,” she said.
Knobloch, born in 1932, narrowly survived the Nazi regime as a young girl.
She has been left deeply shaken by the rise in antisemitism.
“I can tell you, it is very, very difficult for me to bring these issues into the public arena. Because I have already experienced them once before,” Knobloch said.
This article has been translated from German.
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