Germany's new antisemitism commissioner: offenders 'no longer fear consequences'

Katharina von Schnurbein took office on Wednesday as the German government's commissioner for Jewish life and the fight against antisemitism. The 52-year-old political scientist previously served as the European Commission's coordinator on combating antisemitism. She succeeds Felix Klein, who held the post, created in 2018 within the Interior Ministry, for eight years and is moving to the OECD in Paris as a diplomat.

In an interview with the Rheinische Post, von Schnurbein painted a bleak picture, saying Germany had reached a point that had "probably never existed since the Shoah." People making antisemitic statements today no longer feared consequences, she said. Islamists, the left and the right could agree on anti-Zionism and antisemitism, she added, but hatred of Jews also came from the political center.

Her goal is normality for Jews in Germany: Jewish children should not face hostility in schoolyards, "Jew" should not be used as an insult, and Jewish schools should not need police protection. Germany must also become a European driving force against antisemitism, she said. Jewish organizations unanimously welcomed her appointment.