Lawmakers are set to vote on measures designed to tackle anti-Semitism in Germany. An anti-Semitism commissioner is a cornerstone of the proposal, but critics insist such a post would be ineffective.
Members of Germany’s Bundestag are scheduled to debate a bill pushing tougher laws on anti-Semitism. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) as well as the Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens and the Free Democrats have suggested a commissioner, who would develop and implement a strategy to root out anti-Jewish sentiment and crime as part of a 17-point proposal.
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In it, the parties state that anti-Semitic crime could still mainly be attributed to the far right, but that migration from the Middle East and North Africa had exacerbated the problem.
Jewish fears
The CDU’s parliamentary group leader, Volker Kauder, said on breakfast TV show Morgen-Magazin on Thursday that Germany had to show decisive action against anti-Semitism as it was in Germany’s national interest.
He said it was “shameful” that Jewish institutions had to be protected by police and that Jews were often afraid to go out and openly identify as Jewish.
“That’s something we can’t tolerate in our country,” he added.
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