German Government’s Antisemitism Commissioner Calls for Tougher Laws and Increased Transparency in Fighting Antisemitism
The German Government’s Antisemitism Commissioner, Felix Klein, has urged the government to strengthen laws and increase transparency in the fight against antisemitism. In an interview with the Funke Media Group, Klein emphasized the need to expand the scope of the country’s criminal code to criminalize sympathy for terrorist organizations like Hamas and the Islamic State.
Currently, the law only prohibits the recruitment of members and the support of such organizations abroad, with no punishment for promoting sympathy for these groups. Klein believes that the law must be updated to criminalize all forms of sympathy for these organizations.
Moreover, Klein has called for the police and public prosecutors to provide more information on antisemitic crimes, not just when an investigation is dropped, but also when a case leads to an indictment or a conviction. This, he believes, will provide a stronger sense of security for Jewish people in Germany.
Despite the challenges, Klein has praised Germany’s progress in combating antisemitism, citing the establishment of antisemitism commissioners in many state prosecutors’ offices and the increased sensitivity of the judiciary to antisemitic motives.
The fight against antisemitism is also a key topic at the upcoming conference of the Federal and State Interior Ministers in Bremerhaven, with Schleswig-Holstein’s Interior Minister, Sabine Sütterlin-Waack, emphasizing the need for the government to take a consistent and effective approach in combating the phenomenon. “Antisemitism threatens the peaceful coexistence in our society and we must never falter in our efforts to combat it” she said.