Berlin’s Jewish community reports a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents and a growing need for security after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel and the ensuing Gaza war. 21‑year‑old Tim Kurockin, a student at the University of Economics and Law and active in Hillel and the German Jewish Students Union, says he avoids wearing a kippa or the Star of David to stay invisible. He describes walking through the city “very cautiously,” steering clear of protests that display antisemitic banners or chant slogans calling for the death of Jews. Police presence has increased dramatically: during Hanukkah in December 2023, the area around the Brandenburg Gate was surrounded by heavy barriers, multiple checkpoints and officers on rooftops, and the Moses Mendelssohn Jewish High School now has video surveillance and reinforced fencing. Kurockin criticises the current Holocaust remembrance rituals as insufficient, urging concrete action against antisemitism. He cites the rise of the far‑right AfD party in German polls and notes that left‑wing antisemitism tied to Israel is also growing. The community’s heightened vigilance reflects a broader concern that antisemitism is resurging in Germany amid political turmoil and the war in Gaza.

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