Antisemitic incidents in Germany hold at record 8,725 in 2025, with normalization warning

The numbers

The Bundesverband der Recherche- und Informationsstellen Antisemitismus (RIAS) documented 8,725 antisemitic incidents last year. That figure is 12 higher than the 8,713 recorded in 2024 and leaves the post‑7‑October surge intact: in 2022, before the Hamas attack and the Gaza war, the count was 2,610, and it jumped to 4,886 in 2023. The incidents span four cases of extreme violence, 178 physical attacks, 257 threats, 413 instances of property damage, and a large majority of what RIAS calls “hurtful behaviour.” On average, 24 antisemitic acts occurred every day.

Normalisation fears

Benjamin Steinitz, RIAS’s managing director, told reporters in Berlin that antisemitism threatens to become normal. "I have the impression that the non‑Jewish majority society has gotten used to the shocking extent of antisemitism," he said. The government’s antisemitism commissioner, Felix Klein, called the numbers "bitter daily life for many Jews." Study co‑author Bianca Loy noted that anti‑Israel positions are gaining broader social acceptance.

The progressive normalization of antisemitism threatens democratic culture as a whole.

Online and offline attacks

Over a quarter of all incidents occurred online, and social‑media platforms accounted for 43 % of recorded threats. Jewish people received death threats on Facebook, and one woman was sent a picture of a Zyklon B canister captioned “Still in stock.” In the western state of Hesse, a rabbi was shoved in a supermarket while his children watched; the attackers blamed him for the Israeli government’s actions. Jewish‑community institutions were targeted with antisemitic reviews and Nazi‑era slogans.

Israel‑related and right‑wing extremism

Roughly 68 % of the documented incidents – 5,916 cases – were classified as Israel‑related antisemitism, often voiced at demonstrations where chants called for the elimination of the state. Right‑wing extremist incidents reached 807, the highest figure since RIAS began its nationwide survey in 2020, up from 562 the previous year. Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, said that instead of a calming‑down, society is seeing "a consolidation of antisemitism at record levels."

Policy reaction

Felix Klein called for tougher criminal law against calls to destroy states, while politicians from the centre‑right Union demanded sharper legal measures. The report itself acknowledges that not every entry meets the threshold of a criminal offence; RIAS insists antisemitism starts before it becomes prosecutable.