Antisemitism:

In the research literature, Antisemitism is mostly understood as a closed system of thought, which attributes to "Jews" the power to secretly control social processes and to influence these in their favor. This thinking manifests itself in Antisemitic language and violence. It is often based on strong emotions, which are linked to a rigid moral separation of good and evil "powers" as well as the construction of homogeneous collective - especially national and religious - identities.

Current types of Antisemitism, in addition to "classic" racist Antisemitism, include “secondary” and Israel-related forms. Secondary Antisemitism denominates the phenomenon that the National Socialist extermination of European Jews is being relativized or even denied and that the roles of perpetrators and victims are being reversed. Israel-related Antisemitism (or “Anti-Zionism”) refers to instances of delegitimization and demonization combined with one-sided criticism of the State of Israel, in which sometimes explicitly Antisemitic narratives are being used (e.g. by references to vindictiveness, "child murderers", "Jewish conspiracy", the “Holocaust industry” et cetera).

Political-islamic Antisemitism:

Antisemitism is a central ideological element of present political Islam. Political Islam is understood as a social movement that seeks politicization of the Islamic religion and religionization of politics. Exported from the European area to the Muslim countries over the course of the 20th century, Antisemitism has been used to mobilize supporters of Islamist groups. "Jews" or "Zionists" are thereby being identified as responsible for the perceived crisis of Islamic civilization. This semantic of political-Islamic Antisemitism has disseminated also among Muslims in Germany through Islamist organizations active in Germany such as “Milli Görüs”, “Muslimbruderschaft”, or “Hizb ut-Tahrir”.

Jews in today’s Germany:

The Jewish community in Germany is very heterogeneous and the project explicitly aims to reflect the heterogeneity of Jewish perspectives on Antisemitism in general and political-Islamic Antisemitism in particular. According to estimates (www.jewishdatabank.org) approximately 225,000 Jews were living in Germany in 2019. About 95,000 of them were members of one of the Jewish communities. The vast majority of Jews living in Germany are migrants from the former Soviet Union or their children and grandchildren. The largest communities are located in Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt.