The number of anti-Semitic incidents recorded by a research centre in Berlin has risen to an all-time high since the attacks by the Islamist Hamas group on Israel on October 7.

The Research and Information Centre on Anti-Semitism (RIAS) in Berlin counted a total of 1,270 such insults online as well as physical threats, attacks, and assaults last year, it reported on Wednesday.

This is an increase of almost 50 per cent compared to 2022 and was also the highest number recorded by RIAS in a single year.

RIAS stated, “October 7, 2023 marked a turning point. Anti-Semitism has been much more present in Berlin since then; pre-existing forms of anti-Semitism have become more entrenched and intensified.’’

The Jewish life in the public sphere after October 7 was even more restricted than before, the institute said, while the use of anti-Semitic language on the internet was more uninhibited.

The number of reported anti-Semitic incidents rose sharply in the last three months of 2023; 62 per cent of all incidents recorded last year occurred during that period.

RIAS reported that before the Hamas attack on Israel, an average of just over two incidents per week had been recorded, as in the previous year.

From October 7 until the end of 2023, there was an average of 14 incidents per week. 

(dpa/NAN)