Germany: Jews and Israel main targets of coronavirus hate speech, antisemitism Commissioner warns

Via The Algemeiner:

Germany’s top official tasked with combating antisemitism warned on Thursday that “Jews and Israel” have become the main targets in a flurry of hate speech that is grounded in the coronavirus pandemic.

“Unfortunately, it is not surprising that Jews and Israel are the main targets,” Felix Klein - the federal commissioner appointed by the German government in 2018 amidst rising antisemitism - told the Berlin news outlet Der Taggespiegel.

“Antisemitic hate speech is spreading quickly on the internet, particularly on the popular social media platforms,” Klein said. Antisemitic offenses in Germany reached a record peak in 2019, with 1,839 hate crimes targeting Jews recorded. […]

Klein remarked that no claim was too absurd for the antisemitic trolls online.

“They are talking about a Jewish takeover of the world economy, Jews profiting from a possible coronavirus vaccine, biological weapons developed by Israel, a Jewish attempt to reduce the world’s population,” Klein said. “The crudest antisemitism is paving the way.”

read more