"Arsch huh" regrets rejection of Central Council Vice Teacher
The organizers of a peace rally planned for Sunday in Cologne have reacted with regret to the cancellation of the Vice President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Abraham Lehrer. Lehrer, who is also a member of the board of the Cologne synagogue community, had canceled his participation in the event of the artists' initiative "Arsch huh" on Thursday because he considered the call for it to be "problematic". The terrorist organization Hamas and the Israeli army were placed on the same level in the text. He would not support that.
A spokesperson for "Arsch huh" referred on Friday to the sentence "For us, Israel's right to exist and its security are a permanent obligation", which can be found in the appeal. "For the German present, this includes our efforts to forge a broad alliance against racism and anti-Semitism. We are now painfully aware of how difficult this is," the statement said.
"Arsch huh" also defended the planned appearance of the Chairman of the Central Council of Muslims, Aiman Mazyek, at the event. He had "repeatedly called on Muslims and mosque communities in Germany to take a clear stance against anti-Semitism in our country". In his open letter, Lehrer also described the list of speakers as "difficult".
Mazyek announced on Friday that he was linking his pledge "with the stance for peace in the Middle East and the resolute rejection of hatred and war". He advocated the right of both Israelis and Palestinians to exist and called for an immediate end to the war. "To the Muslims who would like to take part this Sunday, I would like to say: come peacefully, without propaganda and flags, but with a good portion of Cologne and Rhineland unshakeable hope for a tomorrow without weapons and war."
According to the invitation, FDP politician Gerhard Baum, cabaret artists Jürgen Becker and Wilfried Schmickler and the Cologne rock band Brings will also take part in the peace rally "with music and speeches" on Sunday afternoon.
Despite the controversies and conflicts arising from the artists' initiative "Arsch huh," there were plans for demonstrations supporting peace and unity in Cologne this Sunday. The organizers hoped that these demonstrations would serve as a platform for anti-racism and anti-Semitism efforts, given the problematic nature of certain speaker's calls for unity.
Source: www.dpa.com
