Antisemitic crimes motivated by Islamist extremism in Germany have reached a record high, with authorities recording 670 offences during 2025, a six per cent increase on the previous year.
The figures highlight a dramatic escalation in antisemitic activity since Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
The data, compiled by Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), was provided following a request from Green Party MP Lamya Kaddor, who asked the government to disclose the number of antisemitic incidents associated with Muslim or Islamist contexts before and after October 7.
In 2022, German authorities registered just 16 antisemitic offences attributed to Islamist motivations. Between January 1 and October 6, 2023, a further 33 were recorded.
However, in the less than three months following Hamas’ attack on Israel, the number surged to 331. There were then 631 recorded offences in 2024, rising again to 670 last year.
The offences cover a range of activities, from antisemitic insults, threats and graffiti to the glorification of terrorist organisations and serious acts of violence.
According to a breakdown obtained by German newspaper Welt am Sonntag, almost half of the 2025 incidents involved the display of symbols associated with banned organisations, including Hezbollah and Islamic State.
There was also an attempted murder at Berlin’s Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in February 2025, when a Syrian man carried out a knife attack on a Spanish tourist.
Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, warned that this antisemitic hostility was becoming increasingly visible throughout public life.
“Today, Islamist-influenced hatred of Jews is being unleashed quite openly on the streets, at universities, and on the internet,” he said.
Kaddor also called for a determined response to Islamist antisemitism, while warning against treating Muslims collectively as responsible for the actions of extremists.
Writing on X, she said: “Islamist antisemitism must be decisively combated, without placing Muslims under general suspicion.
“For this, effective prevention, reliable data, and cooperation with Muslim communities are needed, instead of cuts and generalisations.”
Germany recorded 6,548 antisemitic offences across all ideological categories in 2025, meaning that the 670 Islamist-motivated incidents represent only one part of a much broader picture.
Of the overall total, 3,163 offences, 48.3 per cent, were connected to Israel. Right-wing extremism continued to account for the largest ideological category of antisemitic crime.
The German government has pointed to existing initiatives aimed at challenging antisemitism, including work through the German Islam Conference, a national forum bringing together government representatives and Muslim organisations.
Established in 2006, the conference has made combating antisemitism and strengthening Jewish-Muslim relations a central part of its work since 2011.
Parliamentary State Secretary Christoph de Vries said initiatives had focused on “empowering Muslim organisations and individuals in the fight against antisemitism and strengthening Jewish-Muslim dialogue”.
Following October 7, the conference expanded its discussions on preventing antisemitism. One subsequent initiative, delivered by the Anne Frank Educational Centre, has focused on tackling online Jew-hatred connected to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, while developing new approaches to encourage Jewish-Muslim dialogue.
German regional politicians have also warned about the increasing influence of extremist propaganda. Hesse's Interior Minister Roman Poseck said: “Since October 7, 2023, antisemitism has become a central mobilisation issue for Islamists.”
North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister Herbert Reul has separately warned that extremist recruitment and propaganda are increasingly reaching people through digital platforms, saying: “Islamists come through mobile phones today. We must not leave this door open to them.”
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