85th anniversary of the pogrom night
Bundestag calls for protection of Jewish life
“It is the primary republican duty of every citizen of this country, of all of us, to oppose anti-Semitic hatred,” says Green Party politician Cem Özdemir. photo
© Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa
Anti-Semitism in Germany is increasing and Jews no longer feel safe here. The Bundestag unanimously condemns this on the 85th anniversary of the pogrom night of 1938.
The debate was followed by 102-year-old Holocaust survivor Margot Friedländer, President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Josef Schuster, and Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor. The MPs greeted them with long applause.
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser emphasized that German democracy is defending itself. The SPD politician referred to the bans on the activities of the Islamist Hamas movement and the Samidoun network. She dissolved the German branch of Samidoun. “We are already working on further bans.” Because of the memory of the breach of civilization that was the Holocaust, it is important not to remain silent today when Jews become the targets of hatred and agitation.
Özdemir: Countering anti-Semitic hatred
Federal Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir called for common protection of Jewish life. “It is the primary republican duty of every citizen of this country, of all of us, to oppose anti-Semitic hatred.” The Green politician also called for the relationship with Muslim umbrella organizations to be reviewed. “Only after being asked to condemn anti-Semitism in German and then saying the opposite in Turkish and Arabic; this will no longer be permitted anywhere in the future.”
The Union accused the traffic light coalition of not taking strong enough action against anti-Semitism, which has become particularly evident in demonstrations since Hamas’ attack on Israel and the Israeli army’s counterattack. “The fight against hatred of Jews on our streets not only belongs in the plenary minutes, but also with concrete measures in the Federal Law Gazette,” emphasized Alexander Dobrindt, the chairman of the CSU MPs. Anti-Semitism must be classified as a particularly serious case of sedition and hatred against Israel should be punished with a minimum prison sentence of six months.
Debate about “imported anti-Semitism”
Germany must ask itself critically whether it has looked carefully enough and whether the visibility of Jewish life has become a matter of course, said FDP MP Linda Teuteberg. “No, that is a bitter, shameful finding these days.” FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr emphasized that he expects everyone, regardless of origin, to feel committed to protecting Jewish life in Germany. Immigrants who do not share these values are not welcome. Regrettably, people have also been naturalized in the past “even though they were conspicuous as anti-Semitic.”
However, the chairman of the left-wing faction, Dietman Bartsch, called it wrong to only speak of “imported anti-Semitism”. Anti-Semitism did not go away even after the Nazis were defeated in 1945, neither in the East nor in the West. For the AfD, however, Beatrix von Storch blamed migration policy alone for the new hatred of Jews. “We do not find this anti-Semitism, which threatens and aims to erase real Jewish life and the existence of Israel, among the working German population.”