“New escalation level”
Thuringia’s head of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution fears attacks
October 15, 2023, 2:31 p.m
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The Middle East conflict always finds a way to Germany – Thuringia’s head of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Kramer, is convinced of this. “Some Palestinians are openly and blatantly calling for a kind of Kristallnacht 2.0,” he says, noting a lack of inhibition.
Thuringia’s Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Stephan Kramer, has warned of increasing dangers in Germany due to the bloody conflict between Israel and the Islamist Hamas. Radicalized Hamas sympathizers could “no longer just limit themselves to demonstrating, hateful tirades and individual physical attacks, but could potentially carry out concrete attacks against Jewish and Israeli institutions and people,” Kramer told the Handelsblatt. In addition, “new and more intensive activities by other Islamists” are also conceivable, motivated by Hamas terror in Israel, said Kramer.
Expressions of sympathy and solidarity on German streets for Hamas’s “cold-blooded terror” clearly showed “what new level of escalation and disinhibition we have obviously now reached in this country,” said Kramer, who was formerly general secretary of the Central Council of Jews.
“The Middle East conflict has repeatedly found its way to Germany,” said Kramer. “For years we have been experiencing visible hatred of Jews and physical attacks on German streets by sympathizers of Palestinian terrorist organizations, for example during demonstrations. Fear of such violence has been normal for Jews in Germany for years.” Now Hamas is again calling for open violence against Jews, Jewish restaurants, shops and synagogues in all parts of the world. “Some Palestinians are openly and blatantly calling for a kind of Kristallnacht 2.0.”
Criticism of Islamic associations
Kramer also criticized German Islamic associations. “The fact that local Muslim associations ostensibly condemn the murder and in the very next sentence relativize the terror caused by alleged acts of violence by the Israeli army is perfidious.” Conversely, the Central Council of Muslims in Germany warned against lumping all people with a Muslim background together. Central Council leader Aiman Mazyek said on MDR that they had called for moderation and prudence in the mosques. “We have to be careful not to fall for the extremists. Hamas is trying to exploit the Palestinians’ liberation struggle. They are perverting it through violence.”
According to Kramer, what is currently being experienced in the Middle East is not a conflict between Israel and the terrorist organization Hamas. “It is an ongoing terrorist attack, a massacre by Hamas. What is happening is cold-blooded murder of defenseless and helpless men, women and children.”