Navigation and service

Speech by Minister Wissing to open the International Conference against Antisemitism

Speech by Minister Wissing to open the International Conference against Antisemitism in the Federal Ministry of Justice on 28 January 2025

Speech


I am very pleased to welcome you to today’s conference here in the Federal Ministry of Justice. I would like to thank you all for joining us here today – I know some of you have travelled from far to be here. Thank you!

 To see the names of those who will be joining our discussions here shortly, and who will be sharing their experiences and expertise with us, makes me confident that we can look forward to a very fruitful conference. I would therefore like to express my gratitude to all those here in the Federal Ministry of Justice who have planned and organised this event – and also to those who will contribute to it today.

 However, having said that, I must also add how very sad and disheartening it is that such an event should even be necessary. The liberal democracies of this world surely have enough urgent problems to contend with. The philosopher Theodor W. Adorno described antisemitism decades ago as a “rumour about the Jews”. Why must we concern ourselves with a rumour? Why must we wage a fight against such a rumour? Why must we still be forced to deal with hearsay, or with murmured untruths, that no reasonable person should ever have to entertain?

 Sadly, this murmuring never did actually go away – not even before the 7th of October 2023. And it isn’t simply going to go away. No. Instead, it is growing louder once again. It is reviving old prejudices and exploiting new events and developments for its cause. And it is ultimately leading to criminal acts, which are increasing at an alarming rate.

 Before that 7th of October, antisemitism was mainly to be observed in specific corners of society. Now, it has come out into the open and burst into public life.

 And it is coming from various directions. From the far right, as well as from the far left, hand-in-hand with anti-capitalism – that’s nothing new. It has been fed also by immigration from parts of the world where antisemitism is the norm. And its prevalence currently in the academic and cultural milieu can no longer be overlooked.

 The long list of antisemitic attacks by pro-Palestinian students at universities from Munich to Berlin, from Heidelberg to Leipzig, is deeply disturbing. Only recently, scenes that glorified acts of terrorism were witnessed here in this city at the Alice Salomon University. Josef Schuster said after the event that a shiver ran down his spine at the thought that social workers, of all professions, are educated at that university. We share your concerns, Mr Schuster!

 What shocks and angers me about this antisemitism in academic settings is this: When it comes to the students and indeed the teachers at our universities, we hope, and in fact we expect that they will ultimately enrich our society:

 - With an ability to differentiate intelligently and to overcome bias;

 - With an ability to put forward sound reasoning and plausible arguments for their positions, and not merely succumbing to emotional outbursts or even resorting to brute force;

 - With an ability to show empathy with victims, regardless of which side of the conflict they’re on, and to develop a sense of the tragedy of the hostilities that history has handed down to us – a tragedy that we can often only break free from with a fresh start, with forgiveness, and not with endless dogmatism.

 All the things that education ought to mean, the assets that our societies so urgently need, seem to be lacking at our universities in the context of these events. Instead, we are seeing ignorant, violent dogmatism and a disgraceful lack of sensitivity; we are seeing a crude one-sidedness, and even a call for a boycott of Israeli academia in its entirety. All of this, ladies and gentlemen, is shameful.

 It was these events that prompted the parliamentary groups CDU/CSU, SPD, the Greens and the FDP to propose a resolution in the Bundestag last November that responds to these problems in our universities in a comprehensive approach. The resolution also reminds universities of the clear necessity to enforce their own institutional rules to ensure the peace when teaching is prevented in their establishments. The German Bundestag will discuss and adopt this resolution the day after tomorrow.

 Similarly, the German Bundestag also adopted a general resolution in November last year on the protection of Jewish life in Germany. In the face of all these outrageous and alarming developments, the Bundestag has once again made it clear where Germany stands: At the side of the Jews, and at the side of the State of Israel, whose right to exist must be defended, ladies and gentlemen.

 The German government made this clear in a swift response to the events of the 7th of October. It issued a ban on the activities of Hamas and ordered the dissolution of the Samidoun association. Raids have been carried out against Hamas and Hamas support groups. We have made it very clear: Anyone who disseminates propaganda for unconstitutional and terrorist organisations, who displays the symbols of unconstitutional and terrorist organisations, who burns Israeli flags, who supports foreign terrorist organisations or publicly condones certain unlawful acts in a manner that is capable of disturbing the public peace, will be liable for prosecution!

 At the same time, there are many acts that we may find abhorrent, but which cannot be banned. An inherent element of liberal democracy is the conviction that we must not only tolerate views that we may find ignorant – but we must also tolerate opinions that are downright repulsive. This liberal-democratic conviction is one of the fundamental principles that unite us with Israeli society.

 And I need not tell you, ladies and gentlemen, but it seems to me that some of the protesters demonstrating at these incidents are apparently unaware of the fact that, in doing so, they are exercising rights that they would certainly not be afforded under Hamas rule.

 So what can be done?

Well that is precisely what we have come together today to discuss.

 Antisemitism is a global societal phenomenon – and for this reason, Panel 1 will deal with national and international social strategies.

 In my view: It is an urgent priority that we strengthen historical and cultural education. And sometimes it doesn’t even take that much: For instance, a staff member told me recently that his adolescent son, like many of his peers today, takes a very critical view of Israeli politics. Yet watching the film “Schindler's List” gave him a great deal to think about.

 Thinking back to the past in this way is to honour our lasting responsibility. It is not to adhere to a “Schuldkult” – a “cult of guilt” – as some so irresponsibly put it, time and again.

 Of course, Jewish life means not just the past, but also the present and the future. It is important, therefore, that Judaism is portrayed in our educational institutions not only in the context of antisemitism, traditional religiosity and the National Socialist persecution of the Jews. Rather, it should be regarded in all its diversity and modernity, as well as its normality and, of course, also secularity. And in fact, I am pleased to see that this is just the kind of approach that has been recently agreed on by the Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs, the Central Council of Jews and the Association of Educational Media.

 In a similar way, the photo exhibition Humans of the Holocaust, which we will be opening here in the foyer today at the end of the lunch break, with its stories behind the faces and portraits, offers us very moving insights into the legacy that followed those millions of sorrowful fates. The exhibition’s creator, photographer Erez Kaganovitz, is with us here today, and I am very pleased to welcome him! Be sure to make the most of this opportunity to see his work.

 Ladies and gentlemen,

Antisemitism today is also an online phenomenon – and this will be explored in Panel 2.

 It troubles us to see that social network providers are increasingly turning their backs on the important task of content moderation. In fact, this has been the case for X ever since Elon Musk took over. For Meta, Marc Zuckerberg has just announced that he will no longer use fact-checkers on the platform, at least in the USA. It is to be feared that antisemitism will be able to spread more easily in these networks in future.

 Thirdly, antisemitism is of course also a particular challenge for the day-to-day work of law enforcement: This will be the topic of Panel 3 today – with practitioners who will tell us how they tackle the phenomenon and how we can perhaps better assist them in their work.

 We are looking forward to all these discussions and to the keynotes we are about to hear.

 Ladies and gentlemen,

Antisemitism is an attack against humanity. And any attack against humanity concerns every one of us. That is why we have come together here today to search for solutions.

May today be a good day for humanity itself!

Hinweis zur Verwendung von Cookies

Das Bundesministerium der Justiz verwendet für den Betrieb dieser Internetseite technisch notwendige Cookies. Darüber hinaus können Sie Cookies für eine Webanalyse zulassen, die uns die Bereitstellung unserer Dienste erleichtern. Weitere Informationen dazu, insbesondere zu der Widerrufsmöglichkeit, erhalten Sie über den folgenden Link: Datenschutz