The emergence of “another form of anti-Semitism” from refugees of Arab origin arriving in Germany has been denounced by Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Speaking during an interview with an Israeli television broadcaster on Sunday, the recently re-elected German leader pointed to Arab immgrants who bring profoudly anti-Jewish sentiments to their new home as “dismaying.”
“We have a new phenomenon, as we have many refugees among whom there are, for example, people of Arab origin who bring another form of anti-Semitism into the country,” Merkel told the private Channel 10 network.
The chancellor added that “to our regret, anti-Semitism existed in Germany even before [their arrival].”
Mrs. Merkel went on to concede that the problem had become so manifest in daily German life that the government had appointed a commissioner specifically to fight against anti-Semitism.
“The fact that no nursery, no school, no synagogue can be left without police protection dismays us,” she said.
As Breitbart Jerusalem has reported, the arrival of large numbers of migrants with pre-existing prejudices against Jews has been credited with the rise in anti-Semitism across Europe in general and Germany in particular.
Schoolteachers and other school officials in Berlin alone have noticed a rising trend of anti-Semitism among pupils and say the expression “You Jew!” has become a common insult.
A report conducted by the American Jewish Committee (AJC) of 21 schools in Berlin shows the antipathy towards Germany’s Jewish population is growing among Turkish and Arab Muslim pupils. The group also found a disturbing rise in support for radical Islamism, according to German broadcaster RBB.
Such is the level of concern, Germany’s ruling parties are preparing legislation that could see migrants who express anti-Semitic views deported from the country.
Another solution Germany is considering will force newly arrived immigrants and asylum seekers to tour former Nazi concentration camps.
The idea has been proposed by Sawsan Chebli, a Berlin state legislator. She told Bild am Sonntag newspaper in January that, “concentration camp visits should become part of integration courses” for migrants and asylum seekers.
That proposal received a significant boost as leaders of Germany’s Central Council of Jews and the far larger World Jewish Congress agreed with her.
Follow Simon Kent on Twitter: Follow @SunSimonKent or e-mail to: skent@breitbart.com
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