Felix Klein, Germany's first-ever anti-Semitism commissioner, couldn't believe his eyes: Just weeks after assuming his post, created by Germany's Parliament this year amid concern over an apparent rise in incidents, he found out from the media that he had unwittingly become a star in BDS advocate Roger Waters' latest concert tour. Waters, once the frontman of the iconic rock band Pink Floyd, incorporated messages of incitement against Klein into his current show, because the veteran diplomat criticized banks for managing the BDS movement's accounts.
"Like many others, I was stunned when Waters, who was in Berlin as a musician, used his concert mainly as a platform to make a political statement," Klein told Israel Hayom. "I was very happy that most of the journalists in Germany condemned the fact that he turned a musical performance into a political event. I am not afraid of confronting Waters, but I would rather do it in the setting of a political debate and not in the way that he chose to do it. I was surprised that he had researched me. Me and my efforts have become well known among circles that weren't necessarily aware of my work. Waters contributed immensely to my celebrity."
Q: Have you received death threats since you were appointed commissioner?
"No. I've received a number of anti-Semitic emails. Even though I'm not Jewish, I can be targeted in anti-Semitic attacks. They claim that I'm doing the Jews' bidding, for example. The senders don't identify themselves, obviously, but I believe they are Germans."
In light of the alarmingly growing rate of anti-Semitic incidents in Germany in recent years, the local Jewish community demanded that the government take action. The ceremonious declarations made by politicians were no longer cutting it for Germany's Jews. One of the ideas that were floated was to appoint a government commissioner, who would gather and compile all the information on anti-Semitic incidents and devise plans of action to combat the phenomenon. In addition, the commissioner would then brief various government bodies on how to identify and respond to anti-Semitism.
So, after a lot of foot dragging, the German government appointed Klein, 50, to the post. A jurist and a former foreign office diplomat, in recent years Klein had been tasked with relations with Jewish organizations.
"This appointment is a big responsibility and a special honor," Klein stressed. "Since this is a brand new government office, my work will determine the criteria for its operations."
Auschwitz as a reference point
The last few weeks have underscored how urgent combating anti-Semitism in Germany has become. All kinds of anti-Semitism – the new kind, imported by immigrants and Muslim refugees, the kind championed by the radical Left and the kind championed by the far Right. Most recently, the brutal murder of Susanna Feldman, a young Jewish woman, by a Muslim Iraqi immigrant, rocked Germany so profoundly that it set off a political crisis that is now threatening the stability of Chancellor Angela Merkel's government.
Q: Why did it have to take the murder of a Jewish German girl to get the government to take the threat posed by a certain immigrant population seriously?
"For me and and for the vast majority of Germans, this murder was shocking," Klein replied. "As far as we know at this time, this crime was not motivated by anti-Semitism. But still, this tragic case represents the broader problem with the issue of integration. Sadly, there have been similar murder cases recently.
"The refugees didn't come to Germany to spread anti-Semitism or to commit crimes. They came here because they were fleeing for their lives. But at the same time, we now have a large population of people who grew up in countries where Israel and the Jews carry a stigma that is unacceptable to us. We need to find ways to confront this phenomenon."
In 2004, following a wave of anti-Semitic attacks across Europe in the wake of the Second Intifada, Germany hosted an international conference in Berlin to combat anti-Semitism. Realizing that many at the conference were a little fuzzy on what anti-Semitism means, experts drafted a document on behalf of the European Union in 2005 defining anti-Semitism. This document was only adopted by the German government in 2017.
Q: One has to wonder: Why was no action taken for so long?
"That's not exactly accurate. In 2006, the German Foreign Office appointed a point man to oversee relations with Jewish organizations – a post that I've manned for the last four years. Steps were taken on an international level as well.
"The demand for [an anti-Semitism] commissioner did come up many years ago. A panel of experts on anti-Semitism, appointed by the Bundestag, concluded in its final report in 2017 that such an office is in order. The elections in Germany delayed the process a bit, but the German political arena responded and focused on establishing mechanisms to systematically combat anti-Semitism."
Q: The general sense was that German politicians didn't truly comprehend the scope of the problem. They didn't believe that there was anti-Semitism in Germany and thought that the problem was actually Islamophobia.
"The political elite in Germany certainly recognized that anti-Semitism poses a problem. The chancellor and all the Bundestag faction leaders participated in the demonstration at Brandenburg Gate, after the anti-Semitic attacks in the summer of 2014 [after Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza]. The problem was that no one in German society took anti-Semitism seriously. I intend to thoroughly address this discrepancy.
"It is disconcerting that a large majority in the German public thinks that anti-Semitism is not one of the burning problems, while 80% of the Jews living in Germany say that anti-Semitism has grown stronger. Many of them experience it as a threat. The fact that many Jews are afraid to walk the streets wearing a kippah is unacceptable."
Q: Does this discrepancy stem from the fact that most Germans believe there is no anti-Semitism in Germany because of the country's past?
"This was once the misguided perception that many people held, which did indeed stem from the sense that we had already dealt with the past – there were the Auschwitz trials, there are memorials. Not enough attention was given to the ongoing commitment, which will continue infinitely.
"Second, the budding avoidance of responsibility intensified when the Muslims arrived. Suddenly, we could see anti-Semitism being displayed by others. Many Germans still believe that anti-Semitism among non-Muslim Germans has disappeared."
Q: Does the general German public know what anti-Semitism is? Or do they think that anti-Semitism is just Auschwitz?
"There is not enough awareness of anti-Semitism in Germany at present. However, I do see that today, the German media reports more about current anti-Semitism than it did several years ago. That's a positive development. I do think that Auschwitz has become a fixed reference point for many in regard to anti-Semitism. The fact that anti-Semitism can erupt from any number of mundane things is not clear enough to people.
"It is rather alarming, in my view, that according to reliable surveys, 20-25% of the German people hold secret anti-Semitic positions. We need to jolt the silent majority out of their complacency in the face of anti-Semitic attacks. This majority needs to resist and display civil courage."
Better late than never
Klein has trouble pinpointing the biggest threat: Is it the radical Right? Is it the radical Left? Is it the Muslim immigrants? "I don't know how to arrange anti-Semitism in some kind of hierarchy. Every anti-Semitic incident is one too many. The overwhelming majority – 90% – of anti-Semitic crimes are committed by members of the far Right. Mainly graffiti and slurs. But the fact that the radical Left commits relatively few offenses doesn't make them any less dangerous, and the same goes for Muslim anti-Semitism. When you ask Jews in Germany what scares them more, the answer is usually anti-Semitism from hostile Muslims. So it's important to clarify: There is no type of anti-Semitism that should be tolerated."
Q: Most of the physical attacks against Jews in recent years have been perpetrated by Muslims.
"We don't have reliable figures yet. One of my current initiatives is to establish a monitoring mechanism that will gather all the information on anti-Semitic offenses, even those that don't warrant any penalty under the law, so that we can get an accurate sense of the situation."
Q: Has anti-Semitism become more accepted in Germany?
"The moral inhibitions that prevented anti-Semitic remarks in the past have relaxed, yes. Generally speaking, I think our society has become more depraved, not just toward Jews. The internet and social media are flooded with texts that are hostile to women, for example. Add to that political powers like [far-right party] Alternative for Germany, which maintains a very problematic attitude toward our past – they support the idea of ending our historical responsibility and they downplay the importance of what happened. This, too, results in anti-Semitic sentiments becoming more acceptable, especially when it comes to downplaying the Holocaust."
Q: Is the Alternative for Germany party anti-Semitic?
"No. In my view, the party as a whole is not anti-Semitic, but it tolerates the anti-Semitic remarks voiced by its high-ranking officials, and doesn't condemn them. This makes their stated commitment to Israel and friendliness toward Jews far less credible."
Q: Where do you think the line runs between legitimate criticism of Israel's policies and anti-Semitic attacks?
"When the Jews are collectively blamed for something that Israel did, that's anti-Semitism. I think that the three D test is a good one: Double standards, delegitimization and demonization of Israel. On the other hand, I do believe that everyone should be free to criticize the Israeli government for its settlement policies or its over-regulation of NGOs, for example. That's not anti-Semitism."
Q: Is BDS anti-Semitic?
"Yes. BDS uses anti-Semitic narratives. Many of the movement's slogans are reminiscent of Nazi language. Like 'Don't buy from Jews.'"
Q: Should BDS be banned in Germany?
"It would be challenging to pass a ban like that. It has never been attempted. It would take some thorough research into what constitutes a practical justification to ban their activities. If there is a good chance that the attempt will fail, there can be negative implications. It should only be attempted if the outcome is certain."
Q: What would you say to an immigrant who tells you: "I have nothing to do with Germany's past, so I don't care about the Holocaust, historical responsibility or Germany's national interests"?
"I would say that Germany's history is still affecting us today. It impacts his reality as an immigrant in Germany. German society is still reeling from the memory of the Nazi era. Europe's immigration policy is a response to the Holocaust."
Q: It is 2018, and Germany needs to appoint a commissioner for anti-Semitism. Is that not an indication that Germany failed to deal with its past?
"It is a testament to honesty. There was always anti-Semitism in Germany. Now, the politicians and the public are recognizing it. I think it is a courageous move. Better late than never."
