Angela Merkel joins Berlin rally against antisemitism
Germany will do all it can to fight antisemitism, Angela Merkel has said, following a surge of abuse against Jews and spreading anti-Israeli sentiment aroused by the Gaza conflict.
The chancellor made her pledge on Sunday to thousands at a landmark rally protesting against a rise in antisemitism that authorities and Jewish leaders blame mainly on Muslim extremists and young immigrants.
She said anyone who attacked Jews was attacking all of Germany. "That people in Germany are threatened and abused because of their Jewish appearance or their support for Israel is an outrageous scandal that we won't accept," Merkel said. "It's our national and civic duty to fight antisemitism."
Merkel rarely attends demonstrations, but she joined the German president, Joachim Gauck, and Jewish community leaders for the rally at the Brandenburg gate in central Berlin.
"Anyone who hits someone wearing a skullcap is hitting us all. Anyone who damages a Jewish gravestone is disgracing our culture. Anyone who attacks a synagogue is attacking the foundations of our free society," she said.
The rally itself, organised by the Central Council of Jews in Germany, was extraordinary. Jews in Germany generally keep a low profile, but community leaders have said Jews were feeling threatened by antisemitism after the Gaza conflict.
more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/14/angela-merkel-antisemitism-jews-germany-rally-berlin
