“Nothing personal, not anti-Semitism,
I JUST CAN’T STAND YOU.”
Authored by Liz Heflin: A
shop owner in the city of Flensburg, Germany, near the Danish border,
decided to put up an anti-Semitic sign in his window, effectively
banning Jews from his store.
The 60-year-old owner of the shop, Hans Velten-Reisch, admitted to putting up the A4-sized paper himself, which read: “Jews not allowed!!!”
Below that clear ban, in smaller letters, the owner wrote: “Nothing personal, not anti-Semitism, I just can’t stand you.”
In a statement to the Schleswig-Holsteinische Zeitungsverlag, reported on by Magyar Nemzet, the owner denied the accusation of anti-Semitism and justified his actions with Israel’s attacks on Gaza.
“There are Jews living in Israel, and I can’t tell who supports the attacks and who doesn’t,” R. said, in an attempt to justify his action. He also called Israeli attacks in Gaza “hypocritical.”
“They
always say that history shouldn’t repeat itself, but then they do it
themselves,” the shopowner added, comparing Israeli actions in Gaza to
the Holocaust.
Posts with photos of the shop window have gone viral on social media.
Felix Klein, the German federal government’s commissioner against anti-Semitism, has spoken out on the matter.
“This
is pure anti-Semitism, and of course a direct reference to the Nazi
era, when Jews were boycotted and many such signs were visible.”
“This should not be tolerated in any form,” Klein emphasized.
Local
politicians were also quick to react, with the Flensburg branch of the
Greens condemning the anti-Semitic poster most strongly. Simone Lange,
the former mayor of Flensburg, personally filed a police report.
Federal
Minister of Education Karin Prien, who also has Jewish ancestry, said:
“Anyone who expresses and justifies anti-Semitism goes against
everything that our democratic coexistence represents.”
Police
have received several reports regarding the sign, and the prosecutor’s
office is investigating whether a crime was committed.
“We must show that we will not tolerate anti-Semitism,” Klein stated.
The
Israeli ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, also spoke up. “In
Flensburg, in 2025, signs saying ‘Jews not allowed’ are once again
hanging in shop windows. Just like then, in the streets, cafes and
stores of the 1930s,” The Independent reports him as saying.
