The number of anti-Semitic incidents in the German capital region of Berlin has risen strongly. Berlin's interior senator Erhart Körting told a newspaper that while in 2003, 96 anti-Jewish acts were registered, there were already 130 during the first nine months of 2004. Anti-Semitism most manifested itself in anonymous hate mail addressed to the embassy of Israel, the Central Council of Jews in Germany, and Berlin's Jewish community. However, violent acts committed by members of the far-right had not risen, the minister said. Of the 48 registered incidents in the first three quarters of 2004, five had been targeted against Jews and 21 against immigrants or foreign visitors. Körting added that "in the last two years, we have noted the phenomenon that its is young adolescents of Arab origin who are increasingly responsible for anti-Semitic acts."
