Unfortunately, human hatred is not subtle in our time. He is more clumsy and brutal than ever. Scenes from Jewish life in 2025, told through literature
© Sebastian Wells/Ostkreuz
My friend Katharina is lying elegantly stretched out on one of the elegant wooden chaise longues in a Berlin park. I stand next to it inelegantly, because firstly I can’t lie elegantly, secondly I can’t lie down at all when we’re talking about what we’re talking about and when she says what she says:
“Are anti-Semites really that crude? It all sounds so made up! So unlikely!”
“But it’s true!”
“I mean: today’s misanthropy is much more subtle. More latent.”
“More subtle? More latent? What about Sydney? What about Manchester? Boulder? Berlin? Berlin! And only this year. Do you know the statistics? The increase in anti-Semitic crimes?”
