Hanukkah festival - Scholz calls for solidarity with Jews in Germany
At the beginning of the Hanukkah Festival of Lights, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called for solidarity and compassion for Jews in Germany. "This is particularly important these days," said the SPD politician in Berlin on Thursday. "This is how each and every one of us can give strength to the words 'Never again'."
Scholz lit the first light on a tall Hanukkah candelabra at the Brandenburg Gate. The Chancellor said that it was exactly right that this candelabra was located in the heart of the capital - "as a symbol of hope and confidence and as a symbol of the inseparable affiliation of Jewish faith and Jewish fellow citizens to this, our country".
Scholz recalled the Hamas terror attack on Israel on October 7 and anti-Semitic incidents in Germany. "We do not accept it when Jewish fellow citizens have to be afraid to openly live their religion, their culture, their everyday life, when they exercise their fundamental right to be visible, a right that all people in our society have, without distinction," said the SPD politician.
The host of the event, Rabbi Yehuda Teichtal, praised Germany and Scholz as a beacon of democracy. The message of Hanukkah is "light over darkness, democracy over tyranny", said Teichtal. He called for: "More light, more joy, more Jewish awareness, that is our answer."
Hundreds of anti-Semitic incidents have been recorded in Germany in recent weeks. Many Jews report feeling anxious. Strict security measures were in place for the ceremony and Pariser Platz was cordoned off over a wide area.
Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem after a revolt against the Greeks in 164 BC and the "miracle of light" of a candelabrum burning for eight days. The festival also lasts eight days, this year until December 15. Every day, another light is lit on the candelabrum known as the Hanukkia.
Read also:
- A clan member is punished here
- Will he be convicted as Jutta's murderer after 37 years?
- He also wanted to kill his cousin
- With live stream! Gawkers film dying man
Source: www.stern.de
