In a disturbing sign of the times, the Jewish community in Berlin has been forced to hide its members’ names in its community newspaper out of fear for their safety.
The monthly journal Jewish Berlin, which traditionally includes a “Mazel Tov” section celebrating birthdays and bar/bat mitzvahs, has now begun abbreviating surnames, citing escalating antisemitic threats.
“In light of current anti-Israel and antisemitic incidents, we are now printing only abbreviated surnames as a precautionary security measure,” the paper announced.
This drastic step was taken as antisemitic violence surged across Germany in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre. Ilan Kiesling, spokesperson for the Jewish community, noted that rampant street demonstrations supporting Hamas have heightened fears among Berlin’s Jews.
Ahmed Mansour, a German expert on radical Islam, called the situation a national disgrace.
“This is more than a tragedy—it is a failure of politics, society, and all those who claim that ‘never again’ actually means something,” he said.
That Jews in Berlin—a city with such a dark history of antisemitism—must now conceal their very names for protection is a chilling reminder of how fragile Jewish security remains.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
One Response
If nothing changed from the time of agag to the time of hitler ymsh, how can one be so foolish to think that from the time of hitler till now that something has changed.
The sinah of amalek is chai vekayom. No matter how many smiles they give you how much reperations they give you.. it is all political theatre and does not change their metziyos