New German list of symbols conflates anti-genocide advocacy with antisemitism

The German government last week published a new brochure on what it believes to be antisemitic codes and symbols. Over 80 pages, the brochure catalogues a list of concepts, terms and images ranging from Nazi-era propaganda to contemporary symbols against Israel's genocide of Palestinian in Gaza. It conflates these diverse symboles by claiming they all carry an antisemitic meaning.

Human rights groups, such as Amnesty International , have condemned the German government's crackdown on peaceful pro-Palestinian activism. Germany is one of the key supporters of Israel's genocide, despite its own history of committing genocide against Jews, Slavs and Roma during the Second World War, and in Namibia in the early 20th century. The document comes days after the BfV released a dossier titled "Secular pro- Palestinian extremism", in which the watermelon symbol and Handala , a cartoon of a 10-year-old Palestinian refugee, are listed as "identifying marks" of secular "pro-Palestinian extremism" in Germany. In the brochure, the BfV used the controversial IHRA definition of antisemitism, claiming it to be a "widely accepted definition". "Anti-Semitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred towards Jews. It is directed in word or deed against Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, as well as against Jewish community institutions or religious institutions", the brochure reads. The brochure adds that "the State of Israel, understood as a Jewish collective, may also be the target of such attacks". Intended audiences for the brochure include teachers, "who can use the booklet as supplementary material in the classroom", and other educational staff, who can use it as a "guideline to help recognise any anti-Semitic remarks in the working environment". The brochure is also addressed to "interested members of the public who follow political and social developments in Germany and wish to make sense of their observations". In Chapter 1, antisemitism is exposed as "one of the most powerful and enduring cross-cultural phenomena" (originally Bruckenphenomen or "bridging phenomenon") which enables "ad hoc alliances between groups that otherwise have little in common or even regard each other as adversaries". The trends that are perceived to be allied by antisemitism are identified as "the social mainstream, right-wing extremism, left-wing extremism, Islamist extremism and 'foreign-related extremism'". The meaning of the last group mentioned is not explained.

Key points

• Human rights groups, such as Amnesty International , have condemned the German government's crackdown on peaceful pro-Palestinian activism.
• Germany is one of the key supporters of Israel's genocide, despite its own history of committing genocide against Jews, Slavs and Roma during the Second World War, and in Namibia in the early 20th…
• The document comes days after the BfV released a dossier titled "Secular pro- Palestinian extremism", in which the watermelon symbol and Handala , a cartoon of a 10-year-old Palestinian refugee, ar…
• In the brochure, the BfV used the controversial IHRA definition of antisemitism, claiming it to be a "widely accepted definition".
• "Anti-Semitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred towards Jews.