Germans Rally to Protest Anti-Semitism Over Gaza War
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Version 0 of 1. BERLIN — Thousands of Germans, many wrapped in Israeli flags, gathered at Berlin’s historic Brandenburg Gate on Sunday for a rally against anti-Semitism, which has flared up in Europe following Israel’s invasion of Gaza. The Central Council of Jews in Germany organized the rally in response to the anti-Semitism seen in cities like Berlin, as well as Paris and London. Protesters chanting “death to Israel” and “gas the Jews” at pro-Palestinian demonstrations over the summer deeply unsettled many here. Chancellor Angela Merkel, along with President Joachim Gauck and leaders of both of the country’s main Christian churches, attended the rally and pledged to fight a resurgence of the hatred that underpinned efforts to wipe out Jewish life in Germany under the Nazis. “That far more than 100,000 Jews are now living in Germany is something of a miracle,” Ms. Merkel told the estimated 5,000 people who turned out under gray skies. “It’s a gift and it fills me with a deepest gratitude.” “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,” Ms. Merkel said. “It’s our national and civic duty to fight anti-Semitism.” Jews from across the country traveled to the capital by the busload to take part in the demonstration that many viewed as an important chance to show their solidarity with Israel, as well as publicly acknowledge their religion. Some Jews say they have been discouraged from wearing outward symbols of their religion in public in recent months as a safety precaution. Beyond the anti-Semitic demonstrations, Molotov cocktails were thrown at a synagogue in the western city of Wuppertal and Jewish cemeteries were desecrated. Hedva Lüttge, a teacher from Israel who has lived in Germany for 20 years, said that on the way to Sunday’s demonstration, four pro-Palestinian supporters began shouting at her and her friends, until the police intervened. Hundreds of police officers were in place for the demonstration, which took place without any incident, apart from some heckling by bystanders over Israel’s policies in the Middle East. Armin E. Husung said he had encountered anti-Jewish sentiments in the course of his career as a lawyer and notary in Berlin. He came to the demonstration, with his partner and his 11-year-old son, because “I wanted to show clearly which side I am on,” Mr. Husung said. The Anti-Defamation League expressed “deep gratitude” to the chancellor for attending the demonstration, calling it a “vital component” of Germany’s response to the anti-Semitic incidents over the summer. On Monday, the World Jewish Congress opens its annual conference in Berlin, the first time it has been held here. Leaders of the congress said they had selected the German capital before the outbreak of tensions in the Middle East to mark the rebirth of Jewish life here since the fall of the Berlin Wall. The chancellor sought to reassure Jewish leaders they were not mistaken. “Jewish life is part of our identity and culture,” Ms. Merkel said. “Let us be unequivocally clear: Whoever discriminates and ostracizes has me, all of us, and the majority of the people in Germany against them.” |