Wegner calls for solidarity with Jews
Berlin's Governing Mayor Kai Wegner has called on Berliners to stand up in defense of Jews when they are threatened or attacked. "After the crimes of Nazi Germany, after the Shoah, Jewish life in our country, in our city, is a true blessing. But it is also a responsibility," said the CDU politician on Thursday in the House of Representatives at a commemoration ceremony held by the Senate and the state parliament to mark the 85th anniversary of the November pogroms last week.
Wegner calls for responsibility and courage
"Protecting Jewish life means responsibility and courage for each and every one of us," said Wegner. "Courage to disagree when there is incitement at the garden fence, courage to call the police when people wearing a kippah or Star of David necklace are threatened or attacked on the street. Courage to stand up and oppose when anti-Semitic slogans are shouted on our streets."
Parliament President Cornelia Seibeld (CDU) said that it was urgently necessary to show more and visible commitment from civil society and emotional solidarity with Israel in public. Clear positions, for example from the Central Council of Muslims, were also more than desirable.
Seibeld also welcomed a delegation of relatives of the hostages kidnapped by Hamas to the memorial event, as well as the chairman of the Jewish community, Gideon Joffe, honorary Berlin citizen and Holocaust survivor Margot Friedländer and the Senate's anti-Semitism commissioner, Samuel Salzborn.
Historian Wolffsohn points out the threat to German Jews
In his speech in the plenary chamber, historian and journalist Michael Wolffsohn said that the Federal Republic was "the best Germany that ever existed". But it was in serious crisis. "If things go on like this, not only many thousands of Jews in France or the USA will leave, but also the Jews of Germany," warned Wolffsohn, whose Jewish grandparents had fled Germany to escape Nazi persecution.
Germany had the choice until 1933. "It made the wrong decision and it fared badly. It had the choice again from 1949 and made the right decision." Today it faces the choice again. "How will it decide? Like the many real friends that Jews and Israel have in Germany? Let's hope so."
- In light of the rising extremism, it's crucial for the House of Representatives to revisit its stance on addressing and combating Anti-Semitism in Germany's history and present.
- As the threat of Anti-Semitism persists, it's essential for members of the House of Representatives to demonstrate their solidarity with Jewish communities by actively speaking out against such extremist views, drawing from historical lessons to shape a more inclusive and tolerant society.
Source: www.dpa.com
