Berlin's not safe for gay people and Jews, police chief says

Some areas of Berlin are not safe for 'openly gay' and Jewish people, a local police chief has admitted.

Barbara Slowik, head of the police force in the German capital, said: 'There are areas, and we need to be honest here, where I would advise people who wear a kippah or are openly gay or lesbian to be more careful.'

'Unfortunately, there are certain neighborhoods where the majority of people live are of Arab descent, who also have sympathies for terrorist groups,' she told local outlet Berliner Zeitung.

She added that 'open anti-Semitism' was shown against 'people of Jewish faith and origin' in those neighbourhoods. 

Slowik said that Berlin police have initiated more than 6,200 investigations since October 7, 2023, although most cases relate to hate messages online or graffiti. 

About 1,300 investigations are concerning violent incidents, although Slowik clarifies that the majority of these were directed against police officers at gatherings like protests against Israel.

'[The number of] violent crimes against Jewish people is fortunately low, although every crime is undoubtedly one too many. I can understand that fear and concern remain,' Slowik said.

The police chief's comments come a week after a Jewish youth football team had to be put under police protection after it was attacked by a pro-Palestinian mob armed with sticks and knives in Berlin. 

Players from Makkabi Berlin's youth team have said they were 'hunted down' by Arab youths after a game against their local rivals. The team is made up of teenagers aged between 13 and 16.

The game was played in Neukoelln, a neighbourhood in Berlin known for its large Arab and Turkish population.

A father of one of the players wrote on X that his son was deeply shaken when he was spat at during the game and was harassed by adults and children who followed the team off the pitch.

He also posted a screenshot by one of the players, who said that they were chased by 'Arab youths' who shouted 'Free Palestine' and 'F***ing Jews' and threatened the players with knives and sticks.

The president of Makkabi Germany, Alon Meyer, told the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper that other witnesses have voiced threats, with some chasing others with knives. The opposition club said they would identify and throw out the people involved.

The police unit responsible for investigating politically motivated crime, the Staatsschutz, has begun an investigation into the incident. 

Makkabi Berlin was set up in the 1970s by Holocaust survivors and was the German capital's first Jewish sports club after the Second World War.

Earlier this month, a fan of Makkabi Berlin wearing the club's scarf - which has the club's logo including the Star of David on it - was taken to hospital after a man in a café asked him whether he was Jewish and punched him in the face.