How German Universities Abandon Jewish Students

The October 7, 2023, Hamas terror attack marked a watershed for Jews around the world. It was the day that shattered Jewish existence. In Germany, it opened a new age of antisemitism unrivaled since the Holocaust. Since then, there has been a public debate driven by controversy regarding left-wing, anti-imperialist, and Islamist antisemitism. However, the depth of the crisis only becomes apparent now.

In its recent Situation Report on Antisemitism at German Universities, published jointly by the American Jewish Committee (AJC) Berlin and the Jüdische Studierendenunion Deutschland (JSUD), the appalling reality that has enveloped German universities was laid bare: a reality in which Jewish students are no longer safe on their campuses.

The findings of this report are nothing short of foreboding. The numbers themselves tell a story of escalation: antisemitic crimes in Germany rose from 1,957 in 2020 to an astonishing 4,782 in 2023, with a significant portion occurring after the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, as the report indicates a sharp increase during this period. In the universities alone, these incidents have involved physical assault, flagrant displays of pro-Hamas sympathy, intimidation, destruction of property, and a spike in Israel-focused antisemitism.

“Jewish students record antisemitic incidents and events in which calls for the destruction of Israel are made, and Islamist terror is glorified,” the report states.

The figures confirm what Jewish students in Germany have known for years: Antisemitism is no longer a clandestine activity; it is now a feature of campus life. Universities were once bastions of intellectual debate and free speech. But, the report writes, Jewish students in Germany today encounter a toxic environment of intimidation, harassment, and outright prejudice. The survey tallies incidents of Physical assault against Jewish students, such as Lahav Shapira, who was brutally beaten in Berlin by another individual. At TU Berlin, graffiti depicting a gas chamber with the phrase “Six million were not enough” was found, underscoring the extreme nature of antisemitic propaganda on campus. Jewish students are being socially ostracized, and their peers do not wish to talk to them or be friends with them on social media. Lecture halls have been taken over by anti-Israel activists, chanting genocidal rhetoric and glorifying Hamas, preventing Jewish students from attending class. Jewish professors are being bullied, their academic freedom threatened by a radicalized student body that will no longer tolerate dissenting views.

The report leaves no ambiguity: what is taking place in German universities is not simply an attack on Jews; it is an attack on the very principles of academic freedom and democracy.

“Universities must be safe spaces for everyone,” writes Dr. Remko Leemhuis, director of AJC Berlin. Hanna Veiler, president of JSUD, also condemned the situation, stating that Jewish students now face an “unprecedented wave of antisemitic hostility in higher education.”

The climate has been so hostile that many Jewish students no longer wear religious symbols, no longer use Hebrew on the street, and even consider dropping out of school – this is Germany, 2025.

The intellectual origin of such hatred is deep in the academic world. The report illustrates the strength of postcolonial theory that has been manipulated in an attempt to set Israel up as the colonialist oppressor and legitimize Hamas atrocities as “resistance.”.

“College youth employ antisemitism in an attempt to impose simplistic, dualistic perceptions upon a complex world,” the report says. “According to this paradigm, Israel is the ultimate symbol of all that is bad, and its destruction is presented as a virtuous act of justice.”

After October 7, antisemitism was out in the open in Berlin universities more than ever. Antisemitic stickers, posters, and leaflets began to appear on campuses, and signs calling notice to Hamas Israeli hostages were consistently removed. One Jewish student was called a “defender of the terrorist state of Israel” and threatened. An Israeli student was verbally insulted so appallingly that she had to be escorted out of an event in tears.

Israel is demonized as the ultimate evil, whose eradication is proposed as a remedy to the crises of the world. The report warns that German campus antisemitism is not a singular occurrence; it is a crisis of institutions. The toxic university culture only reflects what is taking place across Germany.

“Jewish students are not the only ones who are fearful. Jewish members of the community hide their identities, remove their names from doorbells, avoid speaking Hebrew on the street, and hail taxis that leave them blocks from home,” the report goes on.

Sigmount Königsberg, a German Jewish leader, asks the chilling question: Has the hunt for Jews begun? Are they now open season?

The report also refers to the activities of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), which employs antisemitism instrumentally in its rhetoric. AfD has been caught downplaying the Holocaust and promoting conspiracy theories about Jewish power. Meanwhile, the Palestinian cause has been hijacked by Islamist extremists, left-wing radicals, and conspiracy theorists who openly reject Israel’s right to exist.

“‘Free Palestine from German guilt’ is a catchy slogan on German campuses,” states the report. “This is the slogan attempting to equate Israel with Nazi Germany: a quintessential example of post-Holocaust antisemitism.”.

The report also verifies antisemitism on the internet, where antisemitic messages increased fivefold in the wake of the Hamas massacre. Holocaust denial, accusations of Jewish world conspiracy, and defending Hamas’s rapes and murders of Israeli women have flooded German cyberspace.

Numerous university administrators downplay or deny the crisis despite overwhelming evidence. Even some justify antisemitic rhetoric in the name of “academic freedom.”.

“Universities must act to uphold their standards,” the report asserts. “Individuals who are responsible for provoking antisemitic violence should be dealt with at once, by expulsion and prosecution by the law.”

Some of the most significant of the report’s proposals:
Expelling students guilty of antisemitic hate crimes. Criminal prosecution for incitement against violence against Jews or Israel. Mandatory antisemitism study courses at every German university. Federal investigation of foreign funding for anti-Israel student groups. If it does not happen, Germany will relive its past’s darkest pages.

This is not a crisis in academia. It is a crisis of morality. If Jewish students cannot walk their campuses in peace, what does that say about the health of German democracy?

Germany owes the Jewish people a debt, not only for the past but for the future. German Jewish students are crying out for protection. Will Germany listen? Or will history repeat itself once again? The fight against antisemitism is the fight for democracy itself.

As this report makes painfully clear, the fight has to begin on campus.
It is time to act.

My Personal Opinion on Left-Wing Antisemitism: The Hidden Threat

Michael Kuenne

“As I scan the findings of this report, one reality appears with unmistakable clarity: left-wing antisemitism is one of the most destructive forms of Jew-hatred we face in the world today. Unlike its right-wing counterpart, which tends to be open and overt, left-wing antisemitism exists behind the fig leaf of social justice, anti-imperialism, and human rights. It masquerades as a movement on behalf of the downtrodden when, in reality, it generates a climate in which Jews are demonized, Israel is delegitimized, and antisemitism is celebrated as progressive opinion rather than naked bigotry. At its core, left-wing antisemitism normalizes Jew-hatred in academic institutions and activist circles. It applies a blatant double standard to Israel, singling it out as the root cause of the world’s evils while ignoring abuses by tyrannical regimes worldwide. This selective outrage is not coincidental; it is rooted in an ideological framework that fraudulently portrays Jews as privileged oppressors, erasing the centuries-long tradition of Jewish persecution. The postcolonial discourse framing Israel as a European colonialist venture completely overlooks the fact that more than half of Israel’s Jews are Mizrahi and Sephardic Jews, descendants of families who fled Arab nations due to antisemitic brutality. Among the most dangerous aspects of left-wing antisemitism is its intellectual foundation. It is well entrenched in the academic community, where decolonization and anti-Zionist theories are offered as axiomatic truths. On campuses, its effects are apparent: Jewish students are bullied, Jewish professors are shunned, and classrooms are taken over by radical activists who glorify terrorism. The Holocaust inversion, the classic instance of historical distortion, further exemplifies the warped logic of this ideology. Slogans like “From the River to the Sea” are celebrated as calls for justice when, in reality, they are unambiguous calls for the annihilation of Israel. Even in Germany, where Holocaust guilt should result in a firm resistance to antisemitism, the far left has weaponized it against Jews instead of learning from history. The “Free Palestine from German guilt” chant is one instance of this disturbing trend: instead of confronting its past, the German left deflects blame onto Israel, effectively washing its hands of responsibility while Jewish self-determination is made the target of its wrath. The harsh truth is this: left-wing antisemitism does not simply object to Israeli policies; it denies Israel the right to exist. And in doing so, it enables Jews to be scapegoated once again for the world’s problems. That is why the fight against antisemitism cannot be partisan. If we truly care about justice and equality, then we must demand accountability for antisemitism in all forms, whether from the far right, the far left, or anywhere in between. Because, in the end, hatred is hatred, no matter how it is disguised.”

– Michael Kuenne