German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday marked the 70th anniversary of the Central Council of Jews in Germany by declaring: “Many Jews do not feel safe, do not feel respected in our country. This is one part of today’s reality and it is one that causes me grave concern,” Deutsche Welle reported.
In a keynote address to the Council, Merkel Merkel said it is a shame that anti-Semitism “never disappeared” from Germany. In fact, she stated, today this scourge is “more visible and without restriction.”
She pointed out the increase in conspiracy theories and hate speech targeting Jews on social media in Germany and received applause when she insisted that this is “something we must never accept in silence.”
She cited last Yom Kippur’s lethal attack on a synagogue the city of Halle as an example of “how quickly words can become deeds,” declaring: “Group related hostility against people is something we must fight.”