The anti-Israel feeling in Europe is so severe, according to a government official of Berlin, that Jewish citizens should disguise their faith. After thousands of people have been killed in the fighting between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas, Integration Commissioner Guner Balci made these words.
Balci blamed German political leaders for the difficulties facing Germany’s Jewish population in an interview with the Der Spiegel, a German news publication. When pressed for an explanation, she said it was because they hadn’t dealt with the rising tide of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic sentiment that threatened to inflame societal tensions. Balci claimed that lawmakers’ major concern was “anti-Muslim racism,” thus they ignored the issue.
According to the Integration Commissioner, the interviewer can find evidence of the antisemitism plaguing the German city of Neukolln on a smaller scale in many other areas. Balci explained that the big Muslim population of Neukolln was to blame for the city’s problems.
She added that many politicians have neglected the issue despite authorities’ repeated warnings over the past five decades. The person claimed that most politicians didn’t think antisemitism or anti-Israel sentiments could become widespread problems in the United States.
She added that one of the most “clarifying moments” was when Germany’s Interior Minister, Nancy Fraeser, formally dissolved the working group addressing political Islam in the country. Balci told the interviewer she knew at that moment this issue wasn’t a priority for the German government.
Balci stated that the Jewish community in the country would be best served if they avoided making “their Jewish faith visible.” Also, she said it’s “sick” that this is now “normal in Germany.”
A Berlin synagogue was bombed shortly after a warning was issued urging Jews to conceal their religion. Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, swiftly criticized the attack.
