Jewish man punched in face on subway in Berlin

In 2018, Germany appointed a special commissioner to combat the rising anti-Semitism.

By World Israel News Staff and Algemeiner 

Two anti-Semitic incidents have taken place in Germany in less than a week.

On Tuesday, a 30-year-old Jewish man was punched in the face and subjected to anti-Semitic abuse while traveling on a subway in Berlin.

Local news outlet Berliner Woche reported that the man — who has not been named — was disembarking from a train at the Kurfürstendamm underground station just after 9 p.m. Another passenger who was boarding the train at the same time punched him in the face and uttered anti-Jewish comments.

The victim, who was traveling with two family members, filed a complaint with the Berlin police over the internet. According to the police, a state security commissioner at the State Criminal Police Office is investigating the matter.

Also on Tuesday, a 68-year-old Jewish man in the Berlin district of Moabit was sexually assaulted while on his way to visit the Putlitzbrücke Holocaust memorial in Berlin

According to the police report, five assailants between the ages of 12 and 15 called the man “Jew” a number times and “two of the perpetrators grabbed him between his legs.”

Anti-Semitic attacks on Germany’s Jewish community have risen significantly during the last decade. In 2018 — the most recent year for which statistics are available — 1,799 antisemitic incidents ranging from verbal abuse to physical assault were reported.

A survey published last October by the World Jewish Congress revealed that more than one in four German respondents expressed agreement with statements that were based on classic anti-Jewish tropes.

Forty-one percent of respondents agree with the claim that “Jews talk too much about the Holocaust” and believe that “Jews are more loyal to Israel than to Germany.”

Asked whether Jews have “too much power in international financial markets,” 26 percent said that was the case.

In 2018, Germany appointed a special commissioner to combat the rise in anti-Semitism.