A rapid drumbeat of hate crimes against Muslims and Jews in Germany has continued throughout the Israel-Gaza war, new figures reveal.
Anti-Muslim crimes were 66 per cent higher in the first half of 2024 than in the same period last year, before the war broke out.
They included damage to mosques and acts of incitement that were mostly classed as acts of right-wing extremism. At least 21 people were injured in attacks.
The rate of anti-Semitic crimes was 83 per cent higher than in early 2023, driven by a mixture of right-wing unrest and violence inspired by the war in Gaza.
Dozens of politically motivated crimes against refugees and asylum seekers have also been reported, including almost 70 physical attacks.
The unrest has dismayed political leaders in Germany, where there is particular sensitivity over anti-Semitism and far-right activity in the country that perpetrated the Holocaust.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser is threatening people with deportation if they make just one online post glorifying acts of terrorism.
A draft law change means foreigners could be expelled from Germany for praising violence even if they have not yet been convicted by a court.
Street unrest
Domestic intelligence is also monitoring far-right activity such as rallies by anti-Islam group Pegida and the radical youth wing of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
A list of more than 100 marches collected by police includes an AfD youth rally at which it was declared that the fatal stabbing of a police officer in the south-west city of Mannheim in May would have been prevented by “remigration” – a far-right buzzword.
On two occasions, 600 people gathered at demonstrations organised by Pegida that raged against “wars of religion on German soil”. Others protested “against Islamisation”.
About half of the anti-Muslim offences in 2024 have been acts of incitement, such as calls for violence, which can lead to a prison term of up to five years.
Dozens of other crimes included threats, hate-mongering insults, the use of banned symbols and criminal damage, including to mosques.
Mosque threats
There were 21 incidents at mosques in the first half of 2024, including threats of violence, attempts to interfere with worship and the use of banned symbols.
While almost 200 suspects have been identified in connection with anti-Muslim offences, police have made only a handful of arrests.
The crime rate has fallen from the extreme levels of last autumn, when police counted scores of anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim acts in the days after Hamas attacked Israel.
The Star of David was daubed on buildings, a Jewish hospital had a window smashed and Molotov cocktails were thrown at a synagogue in Berlin in the first weeks of the war.
Updated figures show there were more than 600 anti-Muslim crimes in the last quarter of 2023, meaning about 1,000 have been recorded since October 7.
In 2024 there have been about 1,500 anti-Semitic acts and more than 400 acts of anti-Muslim hatred, according to the Federal Criminal Police Office statistics.
The figures also show more than 500 crimes against refugees and asylum seekers so far this year, many of which were right-wing acts of incitement.
There were 70 where asylum seeker accommodation “was the crime scene or an immediate target of attack”, including with arson and the use of explosives.
Huge counter-protests against the far right took place in Germany in January after secret far-right talks were revealed on the “remigration” of foreigners.
Refugee housing and immigration offices were also a prime target of summer unrest in England, where race riots reigned for days after the killing of three children.
The UK has likewise seen sharp increases in anti-Muslim and anti-Jewish hatred since October 7, leading to extra policing for mosques and synagogues.
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
JERSEY INFO
Red Jersey
General Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the leader of the General Classification by time.
Green Jersey
Points Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the fastest sprinter, who has obtained the best positions in each stage and intermediate sprints.
White Jersey
Young Rider Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the best young rider born after January 1, 1995 in the overall classification by time (U25).
Black Jersey
Intermediate Sprint Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the rider who has gained the most Intermediate Sprint Points.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ
Price, base: Dh1,731,672
Engine: 6.5-litre V12
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm
Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm
Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km
Specs
Engine: 3.0L twin-turbo V6
Gearbox: 10-speed automatic
Power: 405hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 562Nm at 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 11.2L/100km
Price: From Dh292,845 (Reserve); from Dh320,145 (Presidential)
On sale: Now
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Power: 575bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: Dh554,000
On sale: now
