Constitutional Protection - Antisemitism dominating topic for all extremists in 2023
Antisemitism, anti-Israel sentiment, and the Middle East conflict were the dominant themes for all extremist and constitutionally hostile groups in Berlin last year, according to the assessment of the Berlin Constitutional Protection (Verfassungsschutz). The Middle East issue influenced and intensified their activities.
"Antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment have shown themselves so openly and uninhibitedly as seldom before," said Senator Iris Spranger (SPD) during the presentation of the Berlin Constitutional Protection Report for 2023. "The threat to democracy has increased in almost all areas." There are dynamic developments in this field.
"In all phenomenon areas, the terror of Hamas and the Israeli reaction to it were used to incite hatred against Jews and the State of Israel," Spranger continued. This applies not only to Islamists but also to right-wing and parts of left-wing extremists.
Unrestrained Antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment
Spranger emphasized that in the past year, Antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment have "shown themselves more openly and uninhibitedly than ever before." The Hamas massacre was openly celebrated, Israel was defamed as an apartheid state, Jews in Berlin were insulted, threatened, and attacked. Islamic and left-wing extremist groups held demonstrations, disrupted events, and occupied university rooms. Therefore, this topic is also the focus of the current report.
The head of the Constitutional Protection, Michael Fischer, stated that October 7 was a significant event in the extremist scene due to a significant mobilization and radicalization.
Russian espionage and sabotage
However, according to Fischer, the Russian war against Ukraine also had a significant impact last year. "There are clear signs of Russian espionage activities," he said. "We must also reckon with influence on politics up to sabotage actions. We are prepared for all scenarios and observe very closely."
Regarding a bombing attack on a weapons factory in Berlin, where there is a suspicion of Russian involvement, Fischer did not comment on specifics, as the police are still investigating. However, looking at Russia, he said, "We also reckon with sabotage actions and cannot exclude such actions. We can assume that Russian intelligence services are capable of carrying out such actions."
Whether the Berlin AfD is being monitored by the Constitutional Protection as a potentially extremist case, Spranger and Fischer, due to the legal situation in Berlin, could not comment. However, the CDU and SPD want to change the law accordingly. The legislative amendment is in preparation, Fischer said. We'll see.
Neo-Nazi Party "Third Way"
However, the Constitutional Protection is focusing on the Neo-Nazi party "Third Way" and its youth organization NRJ, which is strongly networked in the right-wing extremist scene and dominates it. "These are very worrying events because young people are being led in large numbers," said Fischer. For Berlin, this is a new quality of right-wing extremism because such a powerful pull has not emerged in the past few years. "We are observing this with great precision."
Fischer did not answer the question of whether the NRJ was recently involved in an attack on left-wing demonstrators at Berlin Ostbahnhof.
To the left-extreme scene, Fischer stated that the violent autonomous ones would be losing ground here. Furthermore, around 3700 people were attributed to left-extremism because other groups were gaining membership. The so-called militant antifascism, which justifies violence against right-wing extremists, is a widely accepted topic in the scene.
- The dominant themes for extremist and constitutionally hostile groups in Berlin last year, as noted by the Berlin Constitutional Protection (Verfassungsschutz), were Antisemitism, anti-Israel sentiment, and the Middle East conflict.
- Senator Iris Spranger (SPD) stated that Antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment have shown themselves more openly and uninhibitedly than ever before, with the Hamas massacre being openly celebrated and Israel being defamed as an apartheid state.
- Spranger also highlighted that Jews in Berlin were insulted, threatened, and attacked, with Islamic and left-wing extremist groups holding demonstrations, disrupting events, and occupying university rooms due to these sentiments.
- Michael Fischer, the head of the Constitutional Protection, mentioned that October 7 was a significant event in the extremist scene due to a significant mobilization and radicalization.
- Regarding Russian espionage and sabotage activities, Fischer stated that there are clear signs of Russian espionage and that they must also reckon with influence on politics up to sabotage actions.
- The SPD and CDU want to change the law in Berlin to monitor the Berlin AfD as a potentially extremist case, as due to the legal situation, Spranger and Fischer could not comment on whether they were being monitored.
- The Constitutional Protection is focusing on the Neo-Nazi party "Third Way" and its youth organization NRJ, which is strongly networked in the right-wing extremist scene and dominates it, according to Fischer.
- Spranger and Fischer mentioned that unrestrained Antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment are not only prevalent among Islamists but also among parts of left-wing extremists, and both forms of extremism are a focus of the current report.
- Fischer did not comment on specifics regarding a bombing attack on a weapons factory in Berlin with suspected Russian involvement, but he stated that they reckon with sabotage actions by Russian intelligence services.
