Attitudes of Syrian and Iraqi Refugees in Germany Toward Jews¹
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Günther Jikeli Attitudes of Syrian and Iraqi Refugees in Germany toward Jews¹ Antisemitism is on theriseagain in twenty-first centuryGermany.Jewsfeelin- creasingly threatened.² Antisemitism is notlimited to certainindividualsocial groups.Itisfound on both theleftand rightwings of thepolitical spectrum,as well as in themainstream. Immigrantsare also said to hold antisemiticsenti- ments. However, antisemitism is aproblem in Germany, even withouttakingim- migration or thelarge numbersofnewly arrivedrefugeesinto account. As arela- tively large proportion of theserefugeescomes from countries wherehatredof Jews is apartofofficialgovernmentpropagandaand education, thequestions arisewhether theincreased levels of immigration arealsoleadingtoanincreased risk of antisemitism,and if so,whatcan be done to counterthisdevelopment. Refugeeattitudes are also relevant regarding the question of integration. What “integration” actuallymeans and how far the German public and the ref- ugees will movetowardone another remains to be seen. When interactingat school, in the workplace, in public, in the media, or in the political sphere, im- migrant populations seeking integration will not onlyencounter the immediate challenges of learning the languageand obtaining professional qualifications; over the long term, attitudes towarddemocracy,gender roles,religion, minori- ties, and because of Germany’shistory,towardJews and Israel in particular, will playasignificant role in the process of integration. Amajor review of inte- gration practices of refugees in seven European countries stresses the “impor- tance of introducing asylum seekers to coreEuropean values, includinggender An earlier and substantiallylongerversion of this essaywas published in German in De- cember 2017 in G. Jikeli, Einstellungen von Geflüchteten aus Syrien und dem Irak zu Integration, Identität,Judenund Shoah: Forschungsbericht Dezember 2017 (Berlin: American Jewish Com- mittee, 2017), https://docplayer.org/68777670-Einstellungen-von-gefluechteten-aus-syrien-und- dem-irak-zu-integration-identitaet-juden-und-shoah-forschungsbericht-dezember-2017. html. The research was supported by the Bennett Fund and the Meyer Fund. Aseries of interviews conducted by the University of Bielefeld at the request of the German Parliament’sIndependent Circle of Experts on Antisemitism in Mayand June 2016 showed that 37 %ofJews interviewed wereworried about possible assaults and 58%avoided certain pla- cesorparts of the city duetosecurity concerns. Seventy percent wear no visible Jewish symbols out of fear;see A. Zick et al., Jüdische Perspektiven auf Antisemitismus in Deutschland. Ein Stud- ienbericht fürden Expertenrat Antisemitismus (Bielefeld:Institut für interdisziplinäreKonflikt- und Gewaltforschung, Universität Bielefeld, 2017), https://uni-bielefeld.de/ikg/daten/JuPe_Be richt_April2017. pdf, 4. OpenAccess. ©2021Armin Lange, Kerstin Mayerhofer,Dina Porat, LawrenceH.Schiffmann, published by De Gruyter. This work is licensed under the Creative CommonsAttribution-NonCommercial- NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110671964-015 240 Günther Jikeli equality, tolerance regardingsexual orientation and the role of religion in secu- lar Western societies from the very beginning of the integration process,” in ad- dition to providing asafe haven, access to the labor market,and housing.³ There has alreadybeen broad public debate on threeissues, about which refugees are thoughttohold anti-democratic positions: Islamism, sexism, and antisemitism. These debates have been basedmostlyonanecdotal evidence, and they often do not take into account the diversity of different groups of refugees and the fact that manyofthem have become victims of Islamism, sexism, religious intoler- ance, and racism themselves, bothfrom the indigenous population and from other migrants. However,such attitudes—Islamism, sexism, and antisemitism —prevail in manyofthe refugees’ home countries.⁴ Do refugees hold views similar to thoseofthe majorities in their home coun- tries?Ifso, are they prepared to changethese views, or have they already changed them as aresultoftheir new social,legal, and economic environ- European Foundation for Democracy, ed., RefugeesinEurope. Review of Integration Practices &Policies (Brussels:European Foundation for Democracy, 2018), https://emnbelgium.be/sites/ default/files/publications/2018-Refugees-In-Europe-Full-Version.pdf, 17. Poll results show high levels of appreciation for anumber of anti-democratic attitudes and outlooks that arecritical of the rule of law, in particular in predominantlyMuslim countries. At the end of 2011/beginningof2012,honor killings of women were viewed as possiblyjustified by 71 %inIraqand 74 %inAfghanistan. Thirty-two percent and 34%ofthe Iraqi and the Afghan populationsrespectively denied women the right to decide for themselveswhethertoweara headscarf. Fifty-five percent and 75 %ofthe Iraqi and the Afghan populationsrespectively are convinced that the lifestyles of most compatriots reflect the Hadith and Sunnah (canonical tales of the life of Mohammed), with correspondingapproval rates for the statement, “The Sharia is the revelation of the wordofGod” (69% in Iraq and 73 %inAfghanistan).Consequently, a large majority in both countries stated that sons should inherit morethan daughters.Seventy- seven percentofthose polled in Iraq agreed that awife should not have the right to divorce, and 53%completely agreed with the statement that awoman should always have to comply with her husband; afurther 39%overwhelminglyagreed. Approval ratesinAfghanistan were even higher.Homosexuality was considered morallywrong by 77%ofIraqis. Forty-one percent in Iraq and 79%inAfghanistan favored the death penalty for leavingIslam. See Pew Research Center, “The World’sMuslims:Religion, Politics and Society,” April 30,2013,https://www. pewforum.org/2013/04/30/the-worlds-muslims-religion-politics-society-overview/. On antisemit- ic positions in manyofthe refugees’ countries of origin, see “ADL GLOBAL 100,” Anti-Defama- tion League, issued 2014,accessed October1,2017, https://global100.adl.org/; and Pew Research Center, Little Enthusiasm for Many Muslim Leaders: Mixed Views of Hamas and Hezbollah in Largely Muslim Nations (Washington: Pew Research Center,2010), https://www.pewresearch. org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/pdf/268.pdf. Attitudes of Syrian and Iraqi RefugeesinGermany towardJews 241 ments?⁵ Instead of generalization and speculation, acloser look and empirical research are called for. Almost 1.5million people applied for asylum in Germanybetween the begin- ning of 2014 and July 2017.All applicants have their own story, which varies con- siderably depending on the country of origin among otherfactors.Most appli- cants come from Syria (34%), Afghanistan (12 %), and Iraq (10 %).⁶ Of the Syrianrefugees, 29%identify as Kurds, and 91.5% have aMuslim background.⁷ Syriannationals are currentlythe third-largest group of foreign nationals in Ger- many, preceded by Turkish and Polish nationals.⁸ With wars and unrest in many of these countries ongoing,with entire towns and parts of major cities destroyed, prospects for abetter life in Germanyremain. Thus, it is likelythat alarge num- ber of refugees, perhaps the majority,will stayinGermanyfor the foreseeable fu- ture. Taking stock of the situation at hand is crucial for developing effective pri- vateorstate-funded programs for successful integration. Initial steps have al- readybeen taken, bothbyrefugees themselvesand by local populations and au- thorities, with aremarkable number of Germanvolunteers providingsupport to refugeearrivals.The GermanFederal Agency for Employment (Bundesagentur für Arbeit) has developedaprogram for assessing the professional qualifications Bassam Tibi has devoted abook of 460 pagestothis question, which calls for areform and EuropeanizationofIslam, as wellfor critical engagement with authoritarian modes of thought; see B. Tibi, IslamischeZuwanderung und ihre Folgen—Wersind die neuen Deutschen? (Hannover: ibidem-Verlag, 2017). Basedonadditionaldatafrom: Bundesamtfür Migrationund Flüchtlinge, Aktuelle Zahlenzu Asyl (Nuremberg:Bundesamt fürMigration undFlüchtlinge,2017),https://www.bamf.de/Share dDocs/Anlagen/DE/Statistik/AsylinZahlen/aktuelle-zahlen-zu-asyl-juli-2017. pdf?__blob=pub licationFile&v=5;idem, DasBundesamt in Zahlen 2016:Asyl, Migrationund Integration (Nuremberg: Bundesamtfür Migrationund Flüchtlinge,2017),https://www.bamf.de/SharedDocs/Anlagen/DE/ Statistik/BundesamtinZahlen/bundesamt-in-zahlen-2016.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=16; idem, DasBundesamt in Zahlen 2014:Asyl, Migrationund Integration (Nuremberg:Bundesamt fürMigra- tion undFlüchtlinge, 2015), https://www.bamf.de/SharedDocs/Anlagen/DE/Statistik/Bundesamtin Zahlen/bundesamt-in-zahlen-2014.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=14. Becauseoffurther migration, many of thepeopleapplying forasylum during this time maynolongerresideinGermany;see H. Brücker, N. Rother,and J. Schupp,eds., IAB-BAMF-SOEP- Befragungvon Geflüchteten:Überblick underste Ergebnisse (Nuremberg: Bundesamt für Migrationund Flüchtlinge,2016),http://www. forschungsnetzwerk.at/downloadpub/2016_fb29-iab-bamf_soep-befragung-gefluechtete.pdf, 18–19. First-time applicants in 2016,Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge, Das Bundesamt in Zahlen 2016,24–25. “Zahlen für 2016,” StatistischesBundesamt,issued 2017,accessed September 1, 2017,https:// www.destatis.de/DE/ZahlenFakten/GesellschaftStaat/Bevoelkerung/MigrationIntegration/Mi grationIntegration.html. 242 Günther