Research and information center for anti-Semitism

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Research and Information Center Antisemitism Berlin
(RIAS Berlin)
Chairman Benjamin Steinitz
organization Monitoring
place Berlin
Office Gleimstrasse 31
10437 Berlin
Website www.report-antisemitism.de

The Research and Information Center for Antisemitism Berlin (RIAS Berlin; originally without a name extension Berlin ) is a civil society monitoring facility for anti-Semitic acts in Berlin . It is considered to be the first project of its kind in Germany and a role model for similar projects.

Following the example of the RIAS Berlin established in January 2015, an association was founded in October 2018 with the aim of recording anti-Semitic incidents nationwide, the Bundesverband der Recherche- und Informationsstellen Antisemitismus e. V. (Federal Association RIAS) based in Berlin. In April 2019, the Research and Information Center Antisemitism Bavaria (RIAS Bavaria) began its work.

RIAS Berlin

The Anti-Semitism Research and Information Center Berlin (RIAS Berlin) was founded in January 2015 on behalf of the Berlin Senate as a project of the Berlin Association for Democratic Culture in Berlin - Initiative for Urban Democracy Development e. V. (VDK) and has been funded by the State of Berlin ever since. Together with Jewish and non-Jewish organizations, the Berlin Research and Information Center for Antisemitism has set up a Berlin-wide network for reporting anti-Semitic incidents. The registration office is considered to be the first project of its kind in Germany and a role model for similar projects.

The independently working project observes and documents anti-Semitic developments in Berlin. The aim is to also record incidents that are not included in the official police statistics as anti-Semitic crimes. To this end, a multilingual online reporting portal was started in July 2015 at www.report-antisemitism.de, which collects, systematises and evaluates reports from those affected and witnesses and makes them public. RIAS also places those affected and relatives as well as witnesses of anti-Semitism at counseling centers, if necessary.

history

The Berlin police recorded almost 200 anti-Semitic crimes in 2014. The many everyday bullying, threats and insults that do not fall into the criminal area were barely documented in Berlin. Therefore the Berlin Senate founded the Association for Democratic Culture in Berlin - Initiative for Urban Democracy Development e. V. (VDK) commissioned the establishment of the anti-Semitism research and information center in order to monitor and document anti-Semitic developments in Berlin from now on. In 2014, the work at the ReachOut advice center of ARIBA e. V., since January 2015 RIAS has been working as an independent project. On July 20, 2015, the online reporting portal was launched at www.report-antisemitism.de, which collects, systematises and evaluates reports from those affected and witnesses. Together with Mobile Advice Against Right-Wing Extremism Berlin (MBR), RIAS was an official partner of the European Maccabi Games 2015 . Since September 2016, RIAS has been cooperating with the Jewish umbrella organization with the largest number of members, the Central Welfare Office for Jews in Germany (ZWST).

aims

The stated founding goals of RIAS are to develop a reporting system for anti-Semitic incidents in Berlin and to facilitate access to existing advisory services for those affected by anti-Semitism. The reported cases are not only intended to create the prerequisites for detailed assessments and situation reports on anti-Semitic forms of expression in Berlin, but also to make democratic civil society more committed to the issue.

Cooperation and funding

Cooperation partner

Cooperation partners for processing and recording anti-Semitic incidents are:

  • Jewish Forum for Democracy and Against Anti-Semitism (JFDA)
  • ReachOut - Advice center for victims of right-wing, racist and anti-Semitic violence in Berlin
  • Mobile advice against right-wing extremism Berlin (MBR)
  • Berlin Register - Register for recording right-wing extremist and discriminatory incidents in Berlin
  • Competence center for prevention and empowerment at the Central Welfare Office for Jews in Germany
  • Association of advice centers for those affected by right-wing extremist, racist and anti-Semitic violence (VBRG)

Further cooperation partners are:

Sponsor

RIAS is funded by:

reception

RIAS is recognized nationwide and is regarded as a nationwide role model: In January 2016, the Sara Nussbaum Center for Jewish Life in Kassel, based on the model of and in cooperation with RIAS, founded the Information Center Antisemitism Kassel under the direction of Martin Sehmisch. The CDU calls for the establishment of a reporting office based on the model of the Berlin research and information center for anti-Semitism in Hamburg .

The Vice-President of the German-Israeli Society , Maya Zehden, said on the one-year anniversary of the online registration office: “Pious Jews prefer to hide their kippah in public under other headgear. Because if verbal attacks suddenly occur, the kippah is interpreted as a Jewish 'provocation'. The attack is legitimized as an expression of opinion. The work of RIAS makes it clear where anti-Semitism begins. We Jews in Germany can only feel safe in this country as long as this form of enlightenment takes place and anti-Semitism is actively fought by civil society and institutions. "

Voices from Berlin state politics on RIAS

The Berlin Senator for Justice, Consumer Protection and Anti-Discrimination, Dirk Behrendt , praised RIAS: “The fight against anti-Semitism first of all involves recognizing and recording it. RIAS sheds light on a dark area of ​​anti-Semitic everyday life in Germany and shows how important an independent, civil society observation of anti-Semitic incidents is. The project thus makes a contribution to the fight against anti-Semitism and is therefore also a model nationwide. "

Anja Schillhaneck , Vice-President of the House of Representatives , on the project: “The work of RIAS is very valuable in the fight against anti-Semitism. Through the low-threshold offer to those affected, RIAS also directs its attention to incidents that either are not reported to the police or are not criminally relevant. This helps to better map and analyze the actual extent of anti-Semitism in this city. Only when we as political decision-makers know exactly what we are dealing with is it possible to combat this dangerous ideology effectively and in a targeted manner. "

As Berlin's Senator for Labor, Integration and Women and Deputy Mayor of Berlin, Dilek Kolat said : “The more we know about anti-Semitic incidents, the better we can take action against them. That is why the work of RIAS is so important. The reporting office helps to clear up the dark field, helps those affected and supports the work of the police. I would like the civil society engagement of RIAS to catch on in Berlin and beyond. "

Publications

RIAS Berlin publishes an annual report on anti-Semitic incidents in Berlin , an analysis of the numbers in context, including a comparison of the RIAS statistics with the official statistics on politically motivated crime and an analysis of the Qudstag march .

In 2015, the first edition of the brochure “We stand alone.” - Making #EveryDayAntisemitism visible and strengthening solidarity (52 pages) was published.

At the end of August 2018, RIAS, as a research and information center for anti-Semitism - nationwide coordination, published the study Problem description: Anti-Semitism in Bavaria for the study period 2014-2016.

Federal association RIAS

In Berlin at the end of October 2018, based on the model of the Berlin RIAS, the Association of Federal Association of Research and Information Centers Antisemitism e. V. , based in Berlin, was founded for the nationwide coordination of reporting centers for incidents hostile to Jews. The aim of the new federal association RIAS is to ensure a nationwide and civil society recording of anti-Semitic incidents. The number of unreported cases currently still available is to be reduced and groups of perpetrators to be recorded more precisely. The federal government's anti-Semitism commissioner , Felix Klein , is to become the association's patron.

Since February 2019, nationwide anti-Semitic incidents can be reported to the federal association. A total of 1253 anti-Semitic incidents were reported for 2019, of which 881 were for Berlin, 138 for Brandenburg, 178 for Bavaria and 56 for Schleswig-Holstein; 200 cases have been reported for the rest of Germany. The difference in the reported cases is mainly due to the fact that the RIAS reporting office in Berlin has existed for some time, while in some federal states there was no independent reporting office in 2019.

RIAS Bavaria

On April 1, 2019, the Research and Information Center Antisemitism Bavaria (RIAS Bavaria), funded by the Bavarian State Ministry for Family, Labor and Social Affairs , started its work. It records reports of anti-Semitic incidents in Bavaria and supports those affected by anti-Semitism. For 2019 it is part of the Bayerischer Jugendring (BJR). RIAS Bavaria works closely with the federal association RIAS.

In June 2019, RIAS Bayern published the first report on anti-Semitic incidents in Bavaria. Selected incidents are published on the Facebook page. According to the annual report published on April 23, 2020, there were 178 documented anti-Semitic incidents in Bavaria in 2019, including one anti-Semitic-motivated assault, nine attacks, eleven targeted property damage, eight threats, 28 mass correspondence and 121 cases in the harmful behavior category. The latter included around 14 gatherings, 35 cases in a face-to-face confrontation, and 33 cases of publicly presented anti-Semitic messages.

In July 2020, RIAS reported that the number of anti-Semitic acts in Bavaria had increased by around 40 percent compared to the previous year. In the first half of 2020 116 incidents were reported, in the previous year there were 83 in the same period. Among the cases are verbal disputes, ten property damage and five threats. The head of RIAS Bayern Annette Seidel-Arpacı noted in particular "an increase in anti-Semitism from the conspiracy ideological spectrum". Almost half of the incidents are related to the new coronavirus and related conspiracy theories. Opponents of the anti-corona measures had worn Jewish stars at at least eight events , which played down the persecution of Jews under National Socialism . RIAS registered 37 such events in Bavaria, which allegedly led to anti-Semitic incidents. Ciphers such as “ New World Order ”, “ Zionists ” or “ Rothschilds ” are distributed by “Corona rebels” , meaning “the Jews”.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Foundation of the Research and Information Center Antisemitism (RIAS) . Mobile advice against right-wing extremism Berlin (MBR), a project by the Association for Democratic Culture in Berlin - Initiative for Urban Democracy Development e. V. (VDK), [2015], accessed on August 20, 2017.
  2. ↑ Yvonne Hissel: Online reporting office for anti-Semitism: “The feelings of the victims count” . In: taz.de , July 29, 2015, accessed on August 21, 2017.
  3. ↑ Nationwide unique reporting system for anti-Semitic incidents in Berlin . Research and Information Center for Anti-Semitism, press release, July 16, 2015, accessed on August 21, 2017 (PDF; 179 kB)
  4. ↑ Simon Brost: Together for more light in the dark field . In: Neues Deutschland , September 30, 2016, accessed on August 21, 2017.
  5. ↑ a b c About us . Research and information center for anti-Semitism, accessed on August 21, 2017.
  6. ^ Advice for Democracy . State Office for Equal Treatment - Against Discrimination at the Senate Department for Justice, Consumer Protection and Anti-Discrimination on berlin.de, accessed on August 21, 2017.
  7. ↑ E.g. Berlin: The number of anti-Semitic incidents is increasing significantly . In: welt.de , March 8, 2016, accessed on August 21, 2017.
  8. ↑ Micha Guttmann: RIAS - Portrait of the Research and Information Center for Anti-Semitism . In: Schalom , Deutschlandfunk , July 1, 2016, 3:50 p.m. (6:59 min.).
    Jens Rosbach: Online reporting office for anti-Semitism . In: DLF-Magazin , Deutschlandfunk, September 1, 2016.
    Thomas Klatt: Reporting system for anti-Semitic incidents . In: From the Jewish World , Deutschlandfunk Kultur , October 7, 2016.
  9. ↑ CDU calls for reporting office for anti-Semitism . In: NDR .de , February 25, 2017, accessed on August 21, 2017.
  10. ↑ Parties vote against anti-Semitism reporting office . In: welt.de , March 31, 2017, accessed on August 21, 2017.
  11. ↑ a b c "The work of RIAS is very valuable" - Berlin votes on the 1-year existence of the online reporting office for anti-Semitic incidents . RIAS, Association for Democratic Culture in Berlin e. V., July 30, 2016, accessed on August 20, 2017 (PDF; 291 kB).
  12. ^ High number of anti-Semitic incidents in Berlin . They were neighbors e. V., February 23, 2017, accessed on August 21, 2017 (full quotation).
  13. ↑ Martin Krauss: RIAS annual report: Increase in anti-Semitic incidents . In: Jüdische Allgemeine , February 23, 2017, accessed on August 21, 2017.
  14. ↑ Press - Publications . Website of the Anti-Semitism Research and Information Center, accessed on August 20, 2017.
  15. ^ Daniel Poensgen, Alexander Rasumny, Benjamin Steinitz, Dora Streibl (editor): Problem description: Anti-Semitism in Bavaria . Research and information center for anti-Semitism - nationwide coordination, Berlin, August 29, 2018 (PDF; 532 kB).
  16. ↑ Hatred of Jews is part of everyday life in Bavaria . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung , 14./15. September 2018, accessed February 12, 2019.
  17. ^ Jérôme Lombard: RIAS now nationwide . In: Jüdische Allgemeine , November 5, 2018. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
  18. ^ First RIAS report: More than 1200 anti-Semitic incidents recorded. tagesschau.de, May 6, 2020, accessed on May 6, 2020 .
  19. ↑ RIAS Bayern takes stock. In: haGalil , June 5, 2019, accessed October 23, 2019.
  20. ↑ Almost 180 anti-Semitic incidents in Bavaria , Jüdische Allgemeine, April 23, 2020, accessed on April 25, 2020.
  21. ↑ Anti-Semitic incidents due to conspiracy myths and Corona www.sueddeutsche.de (dpa), July 16, 2020
  22. ↑ Corona crisis promotes anti-Semitism in Bavaria. The new day , July 17, 2020, p. 5