Conflicts - Bishop Ackermann warns of increasing hatred in the Middle East
The Bishop of Trier, Stephan Ackermann, has warned of increasing hatred between Palestinians and Israelis. "There must be an end to the terror and the war as soon as possible," he told the German Press Agency about the conflict between the Palestinian Hamas terror group and Israel in Gaza. "And there needs to be a genuine will for peaceful coexistence, otherwise there are no political prospects."
"The worst thing would be for hatred and anger to become even more entrenched in people's hearts. And then become an explosive device for further alienation and new terror," said Ackermann. "It is madness, the traumatization and hatred that is understandably being sown on both sides."
At the same time, the bishop recalled the great visions of comprehensive peace that can be found in the Bible. These came from "the biblical prophets, that is Jewish tradition", said the bishop. They cannot be reconciled with the Hamas terror attacks and the Middle East conflict that has dragged on for decades. This "blatant contradiction" hurts him greatly.
The Gaza war was triggered by the worst massacre in Israel's history, carried out by Hamas terrorists and other extremist groups near the Israeli border on October 7. More than 1,200 people were killed on the Israeli side, most of them civilians.
Ackermann said that he would welcome it if there was "a binding form of confrontation" in Germany, especially for young people, with the special German responsibility for the Holocaust and anti-Semitism.
On the question of whether he considers a commitment to Israel's right to exist to be a prerequisite for naturalization in Germany, he said: "You can expect that from a German citizen, but it must then apply to everyone, including those who are born into citizenship." There is an "obligation for everyone to come to terms with Germany's responsibility for the Holocaust".
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Source: www.stern.de
