Stawski said he and two others were hanging hostage posters in a city park where a camp of hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists is located. “The camp’s program is supposedly focused on nature and conservation,” he said. “But in practice, there are pro-Palestinian, pro-Hamas groups involved. The program itself is extreme and one-sided.”
He explained that their aim was to deliver a message of peace. “A group of us decided to highlight the issue of the hostages. For several days we’ve gone to the park and put up their photos. But the posters were torn down. When I hung photos over the weekend, I was shoved against a fence. They yelled at us: ‘Murderers, you have blood on your hands, you’re all Israeli soldiers.’ They also tried to stop us from hanging the pictures. I told them, ‘All we are trying to do is bring attention to 50 innocent hostages who need to come home. War is a terrible thing. Innocent people are dying.’”
At that point, a woman ran from the camp and sprayed red paint on him and the two others. “She came at us with two plastic bottles,” he recalled. “She sprayed the paint directly into my face. My face was covered, my clothes were covered. I couldn’t see anything anymore. Then she turned and ran back into the camp.” He noted the incident occurred after he had already spent hours earlier in the week speaking with the camp organizers.
Stawski said the pro-Palestinian activists in the camp did not condemn the assault. “They cheered and again called us murderers,” he said. He expressed disappointment with the police, who came after the attack but did not investigate thoroughly. “We’ve always had good cooperation with the police; they’ve always been there to protect us. This time it was very, very disappointing.”
He described the difficulty of being Jewish in the city today. “Many Jews in Frankfurt are asking how much longer we can live here,” he said. “The feeling is we’re exhausted by empty words we’ve heard so many times. But when it comes to action, nothing happens.”
Stawski also criticized Frankfurt’s mayor and municipality for their response. “The park itself was once Jewish property. Now it’s being used to spread antisemitic hatred, and members of the Jewish community, myself included, are being physically attacked. There is another city-owned building across from a former concentration camp that has been occupied by pro-Hamas groups for three months. I call them terrorists. Instead of clearing them out, the city provides them with water and electricity. Only a few days ago did they even say they were considering evacuation. If they can’t do it within three months, it won’t be easy later.”
Amid the growing wave of antisemitism, Stawski said he is now seriously considering moving to Israel. “My parents already live in Israel. My son is in the Na’ale program there now. Yes, I’m definitely thinking of leaving,” he said. “I always said a tsunami of antisemitism was heading our way. It came much faster than I expected. I hoped people like me, who have been activists for so long, could slow it down. But October 7 brought a shockwave at unimaginable speed. The sad part is that even after this war ends—hopefully soon, with all the hostages home—the antisemitic tsunami will remain in Europe, and even worsen. In the end, I don’t see the rest of my life in Germany at all. I’ll be in Israel.”
