In this interview, Remko Leemhuis, Director of the American Jewish Committee Berlin, accuses the German media of one-sided reporting on the Middle East conflict. He calls on the German government to end its appeasement policy.

Mr. Leemhuis, Jewish facilities and institutions in Germany have recently been exposed to serious danger again. Are you afraid?

Of course there are times when I, too, am afraid. Anything else would be out of touch with reality. After all, it's not just about me, but also about my colleagues. The Iranian regime in particular has been actively scouting out Israeli and Jewish targets for attacks in Germany for years. There is still far too little talk about this in politics and in the wider public. And this is just one of many threats.

How do you deal with this threat?

We don't let this fear paralyze us - on the contrary. I am actually more often and more deeply angry. Angry that we as an organization are exposed to danger for the sole reason that we are committed to the security of the Jewish state and the Jewish community, and to a pluralistic and open society. And that the sympathizers and supporters of Hamas and other terrorist organizations do not face such threats. This is a bizarre situation and difficult to understand.

Because of this hostility, younger Jews in particular have emigrated to Israel in recent years. Israel was seen as the only place in the world where they could live their identity and religion safely. Is that still the case?

I believe that large parts of the non-Jewish population do not actually understand the shock that the antisemitic mass murder of October 7 caused among Jews in Israel, but also in this country. The Jewish state was and is the promise that Jews will never again have to hide in basements or closets from their murderers; that Israel is a safe haven if their existence is threatened elsewhere. This trust has been fundamentally shaken. This is an absolute catastrophe, and it will take a long time for this trust to be restored.

Young extremists from the radical right-wing party Dritter Weg recently celebrated the Palestinians' struggle for liberation against "Zionist imperialism". What do Jews fear more: German neo-Nazis or Islamist antisemitism?

Antisemitism from the right is just as much a threat to Jews as Islamist-motivated antisemitism. All forms of antisemitism - regardless of which side they come from - pose a real threat, and there is a danger with every form of antisemitism that it will turn into violence. That is why we do not engage in ranking which form of antisemitism is more dangerous.

You are well connected with many Jewish communities. How are Jews in Germany feeling?

That is difficult to generalize. Besides, as a non-Jew, I can and would only like to talk about my personal environment. I can say that there is a great deal of uncertainty and fear. Some friends no longer even send their children to Jewish kindergartens and schools, despite the security measures. The riots and rallies at which participants celebrated the barbaric terror of Hamas, and a police force that was at times overwhelmed, have made the situation even worse. This is not limited to Germany. A colleague from the USA told me that his seven-year-old granddaughter was attacked at school by a classmate who said to her: "Why are the Israelis killing other people?"

Germany continues to be one of the largest sources of funding  for the Gaza Strip. However, experts have long warned that these funds are being misused by Hamas.

This is an issue that we at AJC have been criticizing for a long time. Therefore, in view of the current situation, it is not enough that all payments are now subject to review. Even if the money is allocated correctly in the Gaza Strip, it has become clear that the cement has not been used to build hospitals or schools, but that Hamas has used it to build terrorist infrastructure.

Not to mention the fact that there is hardly any guarantee that the employees of UNRWA ("United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East"; editor's note) are not also connected to Hamas. The same applies to the West Bank. It may be that the funds are being allocated appropriately. But these payments should be stopped as long as martyr's pensions are paid to families of terrorists who have been killed or imprisoned.

How do you perceive the German media coverage of the conflict in Israel and Gaza?

Compared to the time of the Second Intifada and the subsequent conflicts, there has been quite some positive change. However, there are still problems, for example with the classification of sources. The Gaza Health Ministry is not independent, but part of Hamas. It is also a major problem that the German media immediately adopted the lie that 500 people were killed by an Israeli air strike on a hospital in Gaza, because this creates an emotionalization that also puts Jews in this country at risk.

The recent attacks on German police officers at pro-Palestine demonstrations have also unsettled the German population. The crisis in the Middle East has made news that is critical of migration less of a taboo.

I can only warn against reducing the current antisemitic riots to the issue of migration alone. There has certainly been no shortage of antisemitism in Germany in particular, even before the major migration movements. My second thesis would be that many participants in the recent antisemitic riots are German citizens who were born, went to kindergarten and school here. Antisemitism is a problem of this society.

What we need to talk about above all is the role of Islamic associations, which in many cases are affiliates of dictatorial and totalitarian states. Take the Central Council of Muslims (ZMD), for example. There, Turkish fascists are represented by ATIB ("Avrupa Türk-İslam Birliği", Union of Turkish-Islamic Cultural Associations in Europe) and the Iranian regime is represented by the IZH ("Islamic Center Hamburg"). Both are monitored by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution.

How is it possible that the ZMD can continue to be a point of contact for politicians under these circumstances? And why is the chairman of the ZMD never questioned about this in interviews? This is also a media failure. The same applies to DITIB, which is the extended arm of the Erdogan regime and runs hundreds of mosques in Germany where hatred of Jews is preached. Nevertheless, they are still a point of contact for politicians. Rightly, no politician, no foundation and no other civil society organization would allow anything comparable to happen in the area of right-wing extremism. Why here?

What do you demand from German politicians?

That they finally take note of the fact that the fight against antisemitism can only succeed if antisemitism is addressed in all its facets, and that domestic and foreign policy are considered together in this regard. Concerned speeches on November 9 or January 27 have little credibility if antisemitism is not finally treated as a phenomenon involving society as a whole.

Instead of holding populist debates about expulsion, we should also ask ourselves how we can educate people about antisemitism in our schools, because it seems that we are still not doing enough. Legalistic Islamic associations such as DITIB cannot be a partner for German politics, and consistent action must be taken against Islamist organizations such as the IZH in Hamburg. The same applies to right-wing extremist structures and, of course, to PFLP-affiliated organizations such as Samidoun, which incite hatred against Jews.

The interview was conducted by Ilgin Seren Evisen and published at Cicero.