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Central Council President: “We want to live freely”
Josef Schuster speaks at the commemoration of the 85th anniversary of the pogrom night in the Beth Zion synagogue. photo
© John Macdougall/AFP POOL/dpa
The memory of the Nazi pogrom night 85 years ago shocks many Jews in Germany. “Something has gotten out of hand,” explains the President of the Central Council, Josef Schuster.
The Central Council of Jews has called on the state and society to… To enable Germany to live a life without fear and hostility. When commemorating the National Socialists’ pogroms on November 9, 1938, Central Council President Josef Schuster acknowledged on Thursday that Jewish life is being protected today – unlike during the wave of violence against synagogues and Jewish shops 85 years ago. “But we don’t want any protective shields,” he explained in his speech, which was broadcast in advance. “We want to live freely in Germany, in our country.”
Schuster expressed his horror at anti-Jewish hostility and anti-Israel demonstrations in Germany since Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel on October 7th: “Anyone who wants to understand why the terrorist attack on Israel causes deep trauma, fear and uncertainty in the Jewish community in Germany too, should “We must be aware of what is going on in Jewish souls even 85 years after Kristallnacht, when Stars of David are painted on Jewish houses again, when Jewish businesses are attacked again.”
Arson attack on synagogue in Berlin
He recalled the attempted arson attack on the site of the memorial service, the Beth Zion synagogue in Berlin-Mitte. Two unknown people threw incendiary devices towards the building in mid-October. And he condemned the calls for the destruction of Israel and the extermination of all Jews on German streets. “It is an attempt to specifically create these fears,” explained Schuster. “To understand this, the memory and commemoration of November 9, 1938 is so important.”
The attack by an angry crowd on a plane supposedly carrying Jews in the Russian Republic of Dagestan was also disturbing. Would such a hunt for Jews also be possible in Germany? “Five weeks ago I would have told you that I couldn’t imagine that, but today I’m not so sure anymore,” explained Schuster. “Protection can never be absolute, no matter what efforts are made.”
Schuster pointed to “a parallel in mentality” among radical Islamists and right-wing extremists and also castigated the contempt for lessons from history that he sensed among left-wing extremist and left-wing circles. Behind closed doors, anti-Semitism has penetrated into the middle of society.
“Something has gotten out of hand in this country,” explained the Central Council President. “There is still an opportunity to repair this, but to do so you also have to admit what has gone wrong in the last few years, what you were unable or unwilling to see.”