Ulrike Lembke

The police and judiciary do not just play a decisive role in protecting Jewish life – they are also involved in the prosecution and investigation of antisemitic crimes. Are the law enforcement authorities really doing their job?

There are extreme differences. At one end of the spectrum we see public prosecutors' offices such as the one in Braunschweig, which only started an investigation after being instructed to do so for the third time. At the other end, there are public prosecutors' offices such as the one in Berlin with a specialized department, guidelines, further training, institutionalized exchange with those affected, tenacious prosecution for the abuse of the Yellow Star as well as an annual conference on antisemitism, etc. And there is a wide gulf between them. Criminal courts face challenges of a different order.

Findings from research on antisemitism are rarely used in the professional training of the police or the judiciary: How can we achieve a better transfer?

This can only be achieved by interdisciplinary cooperation. Antisemitism researchers, experts from memorial sites and educational institutions as well as legal practitioners needs to join forces and work together to provide good services. It is important to speak the language of jurisprudence; but it is also important that the findings and experiences from research and practical educational work are conveyed.

From your previous findings in the research project "Antisemitismus als justizielle Herausforderung" (Antisemitism as a Judicial Challenge) (ASJust): Is there a sufficient range of further training courses for judges to make them aware of antisemitism?

Our colleague Katharina Zachrau has written a working paper on this subject which will be published soon. There are many different offers in Germany, and that's a good thing. But not all manifestations of antisemitism are addressed and it's often just a matter of criminal law, although there is much more law against antisemitism. Furthermore, only highly motivated judges come to the training courses because antisemitism is extremely rare in court practice - but this is also due to barriers to access to justice. Overall, we need even more diverse offers than before.