Dozens of anti-Semitic crimes: Jena is considered a hotspot!

Erfurt – In Thuringia Dozens of anti-Semitic crimes have been registered within three months.

Between April and June 2024, the police recorded a total of 34 anti-Semitic incitements or acts of property damage and one threat, according to the response of the Thuringian Ministry of the Interior to a request from Left Party MP Katharina König-Preuss (46).

It is striking that half of the incidents occurred in the area of ​​responsibility of the Jena State Police Inspectorate: 15 of the 34 registered crimes were committed there. The rest occurred in other regions of the country.

With the exception of one of the crimes, the police classified all of these incidents as politically right-wing motivated crime. The police classified an act of incitement from May 2024 as politically left-wing motivated.

Erfurt Crime
Brutal scenes in Erfurt: Groups attack each other with iron bars and bricks

The police and the Interior Ministry do not wish to provide further information on the background to the individual crimes because investigations into the individual cases are still ongoing.

For data protection reasons, more precise information will not be provided, it says in the preliminary remarks to the answer.

König-Preuss, who herself lives in Jena, said that in her opinion there have been so many anti-Semitic crimes in the city recently because there is a relatively strong group of people there who support the Palestinians there against the backdrop of the Gaza war – and who repeatedly attract attention with anti-Semitic slogans.

“There are students involved, but it’s not just students,” said König-Preuss. The group is trying to appear like an association from the University of Jena in order to give its criticism of Israel an academic appearance.

There are comparable groups in Erfurt and Weimar, where there are also universities.