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11/04/2008: "Horror as insult is hurled at rabbi from a passing car - new laws to follow (Germany)"

Since the beginning of the year, the political parties represented in the German parliament, the Bundestag, have been busy formulating a resolution condemning anti-Semitism in Germany. There have also been calls for the creation of a new post of ombudsman on anti-Semitism.

The idea was to have the resolution ready for the 70th anniversary of the Nov. 9, 1938 Nazi pogrom against Jews. But a political row ensued, with Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) backing out of a joint resolution should it involve the participation of the far-left Left Party. On Friday, the CDU reached an agreement on the statement with its coalition partners, the Social Democrats, leaving other parties out in the cold.

In her Monday statement, Berger called for the idea of an ombudsman to be introduced. "The severity of the attack against the rabbi underlines the need for a government ombudsman for anti-Semitism to monitor incidents more closely and raise public awareness that anti-Semitism is an attack on democracy," she said.

[ It is commonplace for people to have idiots shout obscenities or insults at them, often from passing cars, or throw objects. It has happened to me and to most people I know. But if you are part of a recognisable "minority" you probably believe it's specific to your minority identity. And some minorities will have politicians rushing to change the laws after such an incident. ]

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,588139,00.html