Federal President
Steinmeier on anti-Semitism: “It hurts me deeply”
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is shocked by the shots fired at the former rabbi’s house at the old synagogue in Essen. photo
© Julia Nikhinson/AP/dpa/Archive
Shots fired at a former rabbi’s house at the Old Synagogue in Essen had caused horror. Steinmeier calls for vigilance. Anti-Semitism is again showing itself “much more blatantly and openly”.
After the shots were fired at the door of the rabbi’s house in Essen, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier called for “vigilance”. In Germany, “anti-Semitism is again showing itself much more blatantly and openly,” said Steinmeier in Hanover on Monday. Jews were defamed, mocked and physically attacked. The head of state recalled the attack by a right-wing extremist in Halle three years ago.
“How I wish I could say that this attack in Halle would have led to a real turning point. But I can’t say it: The number of anti-Semitic crimes is increasing in Germany,” said Steinmeier.
Shots fired at the former rabbi’s house in Essen
On the night of Friday, shots were fired at the former rabbi’s house at the old synagogue in the city center of Essen. In his speech in the synagogue in the Lower Saxony state capital, the Federal President referred to the crime of an unknown person. “I was shocked by this news,” he said. “And a synagogue in Berlin was also damaged over the weekend. It all hurts me deeply.” He is convinced that there can only be one answer: “First of all, we have to be vigilant. And we must not look the other way! We must not tolerate any anti-Semitism in Germany!
Steinmeier was a guest at the ordination of five rabbis and a prayer leader. According to the Office of the Federal President, this is the first orthodox rabbinical ordination in Lower Saxony after the Second World War. Every two years, the Berlin Rabbinical Seminary inaugurates rabbis after completing their studies.