“Anti-Semitic sentiment”
Salzborn sees rapid radicalization at universities
February 8, 2024, 4:02 p.m
After the attack on student Lahav Shapira, the Berlin anti-Semitism commissioner warns of an “overall inflammatory” atmosphere at universities. A minority would become increasingly radicalized. The fear of Jewish students is particularly widespread at one institution.
The Berlin anti-Semitism commissioner Samuel Salzborn sees the violence against the Jewish student Lahav Shapira as an “expression of an overall anti-Semitic atmosphere” and the radicalization of a minority at universities. Salzborn explained that Jewish students had repeatedly reported to him that they did not feel safe, especially at the Free University of Berlin.
The 30-year-old Shapira was not beaten at the university at the weekend, but in a public space. “The background seems to be that anti-Semitic propaganda continues to catch on among students and that a minority is becoming increasingly and rapidly radicalized,” said Salzborn. “Without an anti-Semitic worldview, such an escalation of violence would not occur.”
The alleged perpetrator in the Shapira case is a 23-year-old fellow student with pro-Palestinian views. He is said to have hit and kicked the Jewish student on a street in Berlin-Mitte. The public prosecutor’s office is investigating the background. Salzborn emphasized that decisive action must be taken against all anti-Semitism, and that universities are also obliged to do so by the Berlin Higher Education Act. This stipulates that discrimination, particularly due to racist or anti-Semitic attributions, must be prevented or eliminated.
It is a misunderstanding to assume that we are dealing with a “conflict from ‘two sides’,” said Salzborn. The “anti-Semitic escalation” of the past few weeks is directed against Jewish and Israeli students. A dialogue with “anti-Semitic and Israel-hating students” is not possible. “Anti-Semitism must be fundamentally and always fought.”