Germany's New Antisemitism Commissioner: Jews 'Don't Feel Safe' After October 7
Katharina von Schnurbein, who took office this month after a decade combating antisemitism at the European Commission, says hatred against Jews in Germany has tripled and vows to mobilize the country's silent majority.
By Amir Navarro ·
Days after taking up her new post this month, Dr. Katharina von Schnurbein, Germany's commissioner for Jewish life and the fight against antisemitism, said she viewed the move from the European level to a national role as a chance to act more directly. 'I see it really as an opportunity to be able to do things in a lot more concrete way than is possible at the European level,' she told The Jerusalem Post in an interview.
Von Schnurbein served from 2015 to 2026 as the European Commission's coordinator on combating antisemitism and fostering Jewish life, where she helped shape the EU's approach and promoted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition of antisemitism. Her new position, based in the Interior Ministry, is government appointed but independent.
She takes office at a painful moment for Germany's Jews. Since Hamas's October 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel, antisemitic incidents have surged across Europe. 'There will be forever a before and after October 7,' she said, adding that the hatred that erupted, particularly online, in the days immediately after the attack 'gave a push to what had probably been dormant.' She also cited street celebrations in Europe following the attack as evidence of how deeply rooted such attitudes are, and said Israel-related antisemitism 'has become really one of the most prevalent forms.'
According to von Schnurbein, antisemitic incidents in Germany have tripled compared with the period before October 7, spanning physical attacks, intimidation, and online abuse. 'Jews don't feel safe. They hide their Star of David, they don't wear the kippah, and so on,' she said. 'And that's really unacceptable. For Germany, with our history, in 2026, this is not possible.' Some Jews, she noted, avoid giving home addresses to Uber drivers, have removed mezuzahs from their doorposts, or have changed their names on apartment building bells.
Yet she also described a community refusing to retreat. Jewish students want to remain visible on university campuses, and synagogue attendance on Yom Kippur this year was strong. 'This year, people want to be in community. They want to come together. They want to make a stand,' she said. 'I think this kind of resilience is so typical of the Jewish community.' She added that Germany's situation remains better than that of several other European countries, largely because the government invests in security and dedicated personnel.
Her immediate priority is close cooperation with Jewish communities to identify gaps in legislation. Her broader goal is to mobilize what she calls the silent majority, Germans who reject antisemitism but rarely speak out. She plans to spend her first 100 days visiting all of Germany's federal states, meeting Jewish communities, regional commissioners, civil society groups, businesses, and church representatives. 'In the end, my goal is to get antisemitism off the street, and at the moment we are far from it,' she said. She pointed to political challenges in Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt, citing the far-right Alternative for Germany's recent electoral victories and left-wing and Islamist extremism in the capital. 'Unless the silent majority stands up, it will be difficult,' she warned.
Her appeal came days after German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier delivered a similar message at a November 9 commemoration at the Buchenwald memorial marking the anniversary of the 1938 Kristallnacht pogroms. Steinmeier said Germans must confront hatred of Jews whether it comes from the political right or left, the middle of society, or Islamism, urging: 'Do not remain silent. Do not play it down. Do not look away.'
Von Schnurbein also defended the IHRA definition of antisemitism, one of her signature achievements in Brussels, which includes contemporary examples relating to Israel and has been adopted or used by EU member states and numerous nongovernmental organizations. 'The IHRA definition is criticized because it works,' she said, rejecting claims that it stifles legitimate criticism of Israel. She stressed the need to name antisemitism plainly: 'You cannot fight what you don't see.' Citing Germany's responsibility for the murder of six million Jews, she said the country should become 'a fighter at the forefront of antisemitism in Europe and maybe globally.'
She highlighted her European legacy of pairing the fight against antisemitism with the fostering of Jewish life, including funding for community and cultural projects and support for the more than 44,000 Holocaust sites across Europe, many maintained by small organizations and volunteers. On online hatred, she pointed to the Digital Services Act, in force since 2022, which requires very large platforms to address systemic risks, and to a new initiative pairing technology developers with antisemitism specialists. To Israelis who see Europe as inherently hostile, her message is simple: 'Come and see.' 'There are extremists; they are dangerous, yes. But there is a broad civil society and state that wants something different,' she said. 'And therefore, I'm rather optimistic that we can do something.'
