Shadow and a few newspapers with official information as attorneys i have worked on the streets of Many Congress and their problems are always the same core to social inequality a lack of the freedom of the press and corruption weak on the fourth to stay silent when it comes to the fans of the humans and see the right to fools who have decided to put their trust in us. My name is john pearse and i work a d. W. I. Today ill be talking with events head of the German Division of the Energy Rights watch about the increase in anti semitism in germany his own family has had a bitter experience welcome to the t w interview mr mccarthy. You felt forced to take your son out of a well regarded school and why. He was reviled as a jew. Friends found out he was jewish they said we cant play with you anymore. Then he was increasingly hit and kicked. His hat was knocked off his head. Never let up and it culminated in very hard beatings fest and he still has the remains of a huge bruise on his back. So the climax that led us to take him out of the school was a mock execution with a very real looking replica of. That he was strangled in till he became unconscious. How did his bullying start somewhere a keeper. You know. He never said he was jewish until one day in ethics class the teacher said were going to learn about the worlds major religions. Which houses of worship do you know about the People Church mosque church. Church. And he said synagogue. And the teacher said oh how do you know about senate are you a jew and he said yes thats when the anti semitic attacks began. Thats when this bullying was going on long before the pistol incident you contacted the School Administration how did they react. For well on the very first day when this began when the children said we wont play with you anymore we went to the administration and the teachers and said urgent. They need to do something. We have to speak with the children. But the administration wasnt interested at all. Right from the beginning the social worker employed at the school didnt want to hear anything about it. On the contrary she accused my wife of being pushy and wanting to overpower her for the sake of it. She said just let it be. School as a member of the school against racism. Whether at least some courageous parents or other pupils who stood by you. There were individuals parents and individual schoolmates especially from this class. But they were powerless in the face of this ever increasing antisemitic bullying. This school against racism turned out to be a hollow slogan but the school still boasts about it even though my son says the School Playgrounds are full of racism against kurds against africans and of course against jews. Might think that more than seventy years after the holocaust what happened to your son is an extreme but isolated case. What is your experience been with antisemitism in germany in your work for Human Rights Watch. Well i wouldnt have thought that this was possible. But when it happened and we finally went public with it to exert pressure to change it and to start this debate. We learned that there are many many such cases not just in berlin but also in frankfurt munich everywhere. And some people came to us and said that happened to us too. But they were afraid to go public with it for various reasons. Human rights watch has spent years researching hate crimes and right wing radicalism in germany and we published reports on it have. Gone to the police and the courts so. Weve received a lot of encouragement from the Police Academies about the whole complex of problems. But it appears to have had no effect. And in fact with the growth of the party and of right wing populism it seems to have become socially acceptable to say things that people didnt used to say. Maybe one side of the growth of right wing populism in germany and there has been an increase in the number of associated crimes and misdemeanors the ministry of the interior recorded six hundred eighty one such crimes in the first half of twenty seventeen substantially more than in twenty sixteen the perpetrators so far have mostly been right wing extremists the large number of immigrants from muslim countries where the culture and education are hostile to jews influence this development. I dont know whether it has an influence on this statistic. But it is obvious that it contributes to a general ongoing increase in anti semitism. When people come here from countries where they are taught right from kindergarten the jews are bad and where jew hatred is official policy and then of course they bring their anti semitism with. Us is. A challenge to our society is to deal with them and to talk with and educate these are mostly young. And that requires action from the teachers. Afforded but there is none. Meant if your son were muslims why werent they quickly suspended from school after these incidents. We were told that it is easy. To expel them from school. Take a long time and then didnt want to do it. The one pupil who threatened him with the pistol was indeed expelled but the others are still running around there and enjoying their happy school life so to speak. The School Director went on to admit in interviews that he should have acted sooner. He regretted. Nothing but its still a mystery to me why he didnt intervene immediately get tough and set boundaries. Because as it was there was nothing preventing any kind of attack and the school tolerated or ignored it. Jews are increasing the number of desecration is increasing in berlin some of the stumbling stones the bronze plaques in memory of murdered jews have been torn out of the pavement. What do you have to say about this change of climate would you advise jews to appear in public with a star of david or a keeper. No its not a good idea if you dont feel that your faith requires you to wear one id say dont do it my son wanted to wear a star of david around his neck. I said dont. Its dangerous to provoke attacks. Right in front of the school my son went to a few years ago a rabbi was beaten up in front of his little daughter. He was wearing a. So its becoming more and more dangerous on the streets to wear visible signs that you were jewish that. Didnt used to be a problem for our families. Were not religious and we dont walk around with a kept our go around saying were jews so you wouldnt know it was all the more surprising that this happened to my son. The mans own down tough. Your son has transferred to another school his experience than. The us is a new school is very good its a small International School with highly dedicated international teachers. Things like that dont happen at all because as soon as a people goes too far the teachers talk openly with the parents and the children. They do what the other school should have done. And you have. We considered sending him to a Jewish High School but we didnt want him to grow up in an exclusively jewish environment just to escape this terrible experience. All thanks. Of. The city so we decided on this other school and its been good. But its regrettable that it was the victim who had to disappear from the earlier school. While the others continue to enjoy its advantages. It should have been the other way around. This is the development in germany as you illustrate with your own experience what do you as a representative of Human Rights Watch in germany expect from politics and the german government. What should be done to counter these growing anti semitism. The teachers need to be trained. The teachers have to be persuaded to take their profession seriously enough to intervene against these antisemitic incidents. But they can also be anti kurdish or anti homosexuals. And we have found out that things are flaring up in german schools. And this fear is very aggressive and it seems the teachers dont know how to deal with it. And so we call on politics to train the teachers to offer the assistance needed and also that people talk to each other in. The schools talk with the parents and stop ducking away with excuses like oh you know you cant talk with these people. Or stop or. Doesnt thats what the School Authorities said when we said you need to talk with the parents the School Administrator said thats useless. I mean mr makovsky we always conclude our interview with three in complete sentences that we ask you to finish. Despite antisemitic experiences in germany my positive experience is. The solidarity of my colleagues and of people i know. But also of many people i dont know who have sent me handwritten letters telling me how shocked they were. And that they support us its like it was a distance im just its for me and my family leaving germany is. So excited mr normally out of the question. With him we have to continue struggling and working to ensure that germany doesnt regress into a terrible anti semitism so that remains an open Democratic Society for my son oscar i wish that hes never attacked in this way again then so mccoskey thank you very much youre welcome to. This weeks high. Demand the shoes the cakes blogger combines fashion and food in an entertaining way. I smashed a film on how the alpine money its made and i. And ive been to fall in love with sweetness of the land and its multifaceted. Europa. W. My name is along the back. And the mexican conductor. Come with me and great musicians and friends from all over the world this week along the road goes down on the tour has been to premiers in Brisbane Australia a new piece by jazz composer. Understanding with dances a native. Forty five minutes long d. W. Story that people the world over g. W. Or facebook and twitter. To date and in touch. Follow us. When im traveling i like to be comfortable. But i also want to stay up to date on a late. News events. And makes part of traveling easy because its available and thousands of Hotels Resorts and cruise ships worldwide. Have you found inside. The picture that shows the w. In your room you could great prize. Com travel quiz. Greetings from the german capital and a warm welcome to our highlights edition which this time around shapes up with