Gaza trip - Senator wants to bring Israeli pupils to Germany
Berlin's Senator for Education, Katharina Günther-Wünsch, has spoken out in favor of more encounters and exchanges between pupils and their peers from Israel. All 16 federal states had offered to host Israeli pupils during the vacations, said the CDU politician, who is still President of the Conference of Education Ministers until the end of the year, on Wednesday after her return from a trip to Israel.
The proposal had been received positively there. However, details such as the question of when to start or security issues had not yet been clarified. There will be further talks with the Israeli side at the beginning of the new year.
Many schools want to accept Israeli pupils
According to Günther-Wünsch, numerous schools in Berlin have already expressed their willingness to participate in the program and to find host families for the children and young people. She assumes that her senate administration is organizing the programme centrally and hopes that it will start in the summer vacations at the latest, said the politician. However, trips to Israel by Berlin schoolchildren are not possible at the moment due to the war in the Middle East.
Günther-Wünsch had traveled to Israel at the weekend together with some of her country colleagues to find out about the consequences and the current situation more than two months after the terrorist attack by the Islamist Hamas. On her return, she expressed her shock at the brutality of Hamas and the suffering of the victims.
Teachers: Situation now somewhat calmer after anti-Semitic incidents
According to experts, anti-Semitism and hatred of Israel increased in Germany after the attack on October 7. There have also been incidents at schools, triggered not least by pupils with Palestinian or Muslim roots.
At the moment, the situation at schools has calmed down somewhat, reported Mehmet Can, school counselor and teacher at Campus Rütli in Berlin-Neukölln. However, conflicts could flare up again at any time, fueled by fake news on social networks. A persistent problem is the reinterpretation of the terrorist attack as Palestinian resistance and the relativization of Hamas' crimes. "This will keep us busy for a long time to come and we need to find answers."
Rabbi warns
Rabbi Yehuda Teichtal, chairman of the Jewish community Chabad Berlin, called for a determined fight against anti-Semitism. "This is not just about Israel as a country or the Jews as a people, but about democracy as a whole." Jews are currently the target of anti-Semites. "But it doesn't end with Jews." Tomorrow it may be against women, the day after tomorrow against homosexuals and the day after that against all people who value democracy.
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- Despite some unresolved issues, such as scheduling and security concerns, many schools in Berlin, led by Education Senator Katharina Günther-Wünsch, have expressed their eagerness to participate in the program and accommodate Israeli pupils during their vacations.
- The CDU politician and President of the Conference of Education Ministers until the end of the year, was one of several federal state delegates who visited Israel recently to assess the situation two months after the Palestinian Hamas-led terrorist attack.
- Following her return from Israel, Günther-Wünsch expressed her concern about the atrocities committed by Hamas, which she witnessed firsthand during her trip, and the suffering of the victims.
- The proposal to bring Israeli pupils to Germany for cultural exchange and encounters received a positive response from Israeli authorities, and talks regarding the implementation details will take place at the beginning of the new year.
- Amidst rising anti-Semitism and prejudice towards Israel in Germany after the October 7 attack, Rabbi Yehuda Teichtal, chairman of the Jewish community Chabad Berlin, emphasized the need for a determined stand against hatred and intolerance, stating that it is not just about Jews or Israel, but a threat to democracy as a whole.
Source: www.stern.de
