Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, the BfV, released a report this week that found antisemitism cases are rising at alarming rates in the country and that reported incidents over the last two decades are only the “tip of the iceberg.”
BfV head Thomas Haldenwang said that antisemitic ideologies are finding their way into “the middle of German society” and connecting the public with extremist propaganda, the Associated Press reported.
The BfV blamed increasing extremism at protests and the Internet for serving as “fertile ground” for mounting antisemitism.
The BfV report examined 2,351 cases of antisemitism from 2000, including 57 violent acts. The numbers were significantly higher than the year before, which saw 2,032 cases. They noted that the overall total has increased every years since 2015, with 2020 having the highest number of reported incidents since they started keeping track in 2011.
In a statement, Haldenwang described the alarming numbers as “only the tip of the iceberg.” He estimated that the number of antisemitic cases that don’t end up in the criminal justice system are “significantly higher.”