Two years after 07 October 2023

What happened on 07 October 2023?

On the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, the festival of the Torah, Israel was barbarically attacked by 3,000 fighters from the terrorist organisation Hamas on 7 October 2023. They killed 1,200 people in various kibbutzim and at an open-air music festival in southern Israel and abducted a further 250 to the Gaza Strip. 24 hostages are still being held by Hamas. It was the worst pogrom against Jews since the Holocaust. They came by land and sea, flew in with paragliders, showed the ground troops the way and shot down everything in their path. The terrorists invaded more than 20 kibbutzim. It is the worst pogrom against Jews since the end of the Holocaust. The violence strikes the country to the core. It is an attack on Israel's soul that Israel's enemies are savouring.

Why is it so important to draw attention to this?

Because it was an extremely bestial attack that can hardly be put into words. In particular, there were serious and systematic crimes of sexual violence. The sexual assaults and rapes were committed by several participants and included sadistic acts of the most brutal and demonstrative nature [report by the Israeli Association of Crisis Centres for Rape Victims (ARCCI)]. Most of the victims were murdered during or after the rape. Women in particular, but also children and men, were victims of sexualised violence. During the torture, women were "explicitly violated and dehumanised". To this end, they were "raped, abused, burnt, beheaded and murdered - sometimes in front of their children".

What were the consequences of 7 October 2023?

The number of anti-Semitic incidents in Germany rose sharply again last year. In 2024, 8,627 cases were recorded, an increase of 77 per cent. A new era therefore began for many Jews (also in Germany) on 7 October 2023. Their lives are divided into a before and an after. Anti-Semitic incidents occur in all areas of life, especially in their personal lives, at work, in education, in public and in the media. For many Jews in Germany, 7 October 2023 is a profound turning point, which is also a fundamental experience of difference from "non-Jewish Germans"; they experience a lack of empathy and a lack of solidarity, a breakdown of contact and the loss of their political home, alienation and, at the same time, the community coming closer together. The feeling of insecurity among Jews has increased once again and solidarity on the part of society has noticeably decreased.

Jewish students no longer dare to go to their campuses because pro-Palestinian demonstrations or protest camps are being organised, and Jewish lecturers at German universities do not feel safe either.

What is the current situation in the Gaza Strip?

Israel has launched its ground offensive in Gaza City. The population is fleeing. It is a devastating situation. From a military and political perspective, there are no reasons for this offensive launched by Netanyahu, as both the Chief of Defence and the security authorities have advised against it. This ground offensive also jeopardises the lives of the hostages. It is incomprehensible from a humanitarian perspective. And that is why the criticism of the German government and many other governments around the world is also very understandable.

Is it a conflict between Hamas and Israel or Palestine and Israel?

The current military clashes in the Gaza Strip are predominantly between Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, and the Israeli armed forces. However, this conflict is also part of the long-standing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which is linked to issues of statehood, territory and human rights. It is important to emphasise that many Palestinians and Israelis are rebelling and suffering extremely from the ongoing conflict. But Hamas is a terrorist organisation, elected by the Palestinians in 2006, but still known to sacrifice its own people, while Israel is the only democracy in the entire Arab region. This makes a significant difference in terms of the consequences when people protest. In Israel there is freedom of expression, which is expressed in numerous public demonstrations against Netanyahu's policies. In the Gaza Strip, public criticism of Hamas is usually bloodily suppressed through violence.

What does all this have to do with anti-Semitism?

The rise in anti-Semitic offences since 7 Oct. 2023 is gigantic. A wave of hatred with 8627 incidents in 2024 alone. This recently culminated in a shop in Flensburg in Germany: Jews are banned from the premises.

A Jewish woman and mother of two expressed the consequences for her everyday life as follows a few months ago: All the strategies for dealing with anti-Semitism in everyday life that we had thought about no longer work since 7 October 2023.

What does all this mean for us?

If I assume that by us you mean you and me and all students and employees of the universities, many meanings are possible:

How do I keep myself informed? What are my news sources? Am I prepared to read and listen to the Jewish perspective?

How do I show solidarity with students/teachers in Germany who belong to the Jewish community?

Should/ must/ can you take sides? Who should/ must/ can take a stand?

Ultimately, only each person can decide that for themselves. Very few people are experts on the Middle East conflict, which is known to be very complex and should start with the question: When did the conflict begin? And what role does Germany play? And how should the massacre on 7 Oct. 2023 be assessed against the background that Hamas wants to destroy Israel?

But - Who should/ must/ can comment on this? I should take sides, take a stand when human rights are disregarded, when people cannot feel safe in Germany, cannot study in safety. Since the Hamas attack on Israel, there have been anti-Semitic incidents at around 40 per cent of universities in Germany. This is the result of a new survey. According to the survey, graffiti, stickers or posters directed against Jews were found at 33 per cent of universities and anti-Semitic slogans at demonstrations at 10 per cent. Occasionally, there were verbal or even physical attacks on Jewish students or verbal attacks on Jewish lecturers. These are the findings of a study on anti-Semitism at universities conducted by the University of Konstanz on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and presented in Berlin. The study involved 94 out of 271 member universities of the German Rectors' Conference. In addition, almost 1,900 students at German universities were surveyed in December 2024 and January 2025.

Should/ must/ can you form an opinion on this?

Yes, because it is unacceptable that students and teachers of Jewish origin have to hide here in the middle of Germany, have to deny their identity, cannot feel safe and are hostile. Or because meeting places for people from the Jewish community have to be protected like high-security wings.

Where and how can I learn more about this topic?

In many different ways: RIAS, OFEK and the Israeli society. Always use different sources for news: Social media is certainly not suitable because it is too tendentious. It's better to read the Jüdische Allgemeine and Haaretz (Israeli daily newspaper). And above all, it is important to follow the conflict from a Jewish perspective.

Where and how can you get involved?

There are also many options here:

Make contact with the JSUD from a student perspective and join forces. Take part in vigils on 7 October. 24 hostages are still being held by Hamas. Download the Israel fact check magazine. Read books. I find these three books particularly instructive:

• Ari Shavit: My Promised Land. Triumph and Tragedy of Israel 2015 Verlag C. Bertelsmann.
• Lizzie Doron: We play everyday life. Dtv-Verlag 2024, or from
• Martin Schäuble: The story of the Israelis and Palestinians. The Middle East conflict from the perspective of those who experience it, 2024