BERLIN (WJC) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday she would do everything she could to combat anti-Semitism in Germany, amid reports of attacks and a spike in anti-Israel sentiment since the Gaza conflict.
In her weekly podcast, Merkel said she was alarmed that Jewish institutions in Germany still needed police protection and called for a big turnout at a rally against anti-Semitism that she was planning to address in Berlin next weekend.
“I will personally do everything I can, as will my entire government, to ensure that anti-Semitism doesn’t have a chance in our country,” said Merkel. She added that there had been a revival of Jewish culture in the country since World War II. “We are proud and happy that it was possible for that to grow in recent years.”
There were more than half a million Jews in Germany when the Nazis took power in 1933. That number fell to about 30,000 after Holocaust and subsequent emigrations, but the population has since grown to more than 150,000.
Merkel said she hoped as many Germans would join her at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate next Sunday for the rally organized by the Central Council of Jews in Germany. “Hopefully there will be as many people as possible there to show that everyone who lives here will be protected,” Merkel said. “We have got a lot of work ahead of us. We can see that there is not a single Jewish institution here that does not need to have police protection … That’s something that very much concerns me.”
Merkel and World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder will be among the speakers at the event on 14 September in front of Berlin’s iconic Brandenburg Gate.German President Joachim Gauck will also be present at the rally.
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Preceding provided by World Jewish Congress
Welcome words to hear from the leader of Germany. Thank you Chancellor Merkel.