Overview

• The 69-year-old author and jurist said he no longer feels safe everywhere in Germany because of his Jewish faith.
• He criticized a statement by Berlin’s police president that he interpreted as suggesting Jews and gay people cannot be safeguarded everywhere, calling it an admission of failure.
• He warned that Jews are increasingly treated only as Jews rather than as people, saying constitutional freedoms and human dignity are being infringed more than at any time since 1945.
• Pointing to synagogue attacks and demonstrators shouting “Tod den Juden” after Oct. 7, he described fear as an intolerable daily reality and noted decades of police guards at Jewish schools and kindergartens.
• He questioned whether Jewish children can safely use public transit and urged stronger civic engagement for democracy, a theme of his new book.