Two Israeli flags were flown at half-mast in front of the Ohel Jakob synagogue in Munich on Thursday evening. An hour and a half later, the Israeli national anthem “Hatikvah”, “Hope”, was sung by 2,000 Munich residents. In between, Munich city society showed its solidarity with the Jewish state after the terrorist attack by Hamas. Numerous representatives of public life spoke – but it was a commemoration not only with words. There should also be action: From now on, the city of Munich is banning all pro-Palestinian rallies.
“The words have finally been followed by actions,” said Charlotte Knobloch, the president of the Jewish Community of Munich and Upper Bavaria, who invited people to “mourn alongside Israel.” She thanked Prime Minister Markus Söder and Mayor Dieter Reiter by name and said: “Germany owes it not only to the Jewish community, but to itself that this comes to an end.” Anyone who celebrates the murder of 1,200 Israeli people in Germany must feel a tough constitutional state, State Parliament President Ilse Aigner had previously called for. “Relevant organizations” would have to be banned.
“There is only one right place at this moment,” said Aigner, “namely alongside the sisters and brothers in Israel.” Israel must win the fight for freedom and security. Prime Minister Söder made similar comments. The Hamas terrorist attack was “a fundamental attack on humanity.” Demonstrations for terrorists must be banned and all forms of payments must be stopped “immediately and permanently”. Söder literally: “There are no more buts.”
Munich’s mayor Reiter pointed out that Monday’s pro-Palestinian rally in front of Munich City Hall would be “very closely examined under criminal law.” Bavaria’s Minister of Culture Michael Piazolo announced that the terrorist attack on Israel would be discussed in lessons in Bavarian schools in the coming days. Anti-Semitism and misanthropy will not be tolerated there.
Anyone who greets murders with shouts of “Allahu Akbar!” is committing blasphemy, said the Catholic Archbishop of Munich and Freising, Reinhard Marx. According to the cardinal, Jews are “the older brothers and sisters” for Christians: “Jesus died as a believing Jew.” The Evangelical Lutheran regional bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm said that no word could express “the powerless sadness, yes, also the powerless anger.” In memory of the victims of terror, he quoted the 22nd Psalm of the Bible: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Around 2,000 people accepted the invitation of the Israelite Community to commemorate together.
(Photo: Stephan Rumpf)
In my thoughts in Israel: a couple during the event.
(Photo: Stephan Rumpf)
Various politicians came, including Ilse Aigner (l.) and Markus Söder (2nd from left) as well as Dieter Reiter (back row, 2nd from left). Charlotte Knobloch (to the left of Söder) gave a moving speech.
(Photo: Stephan Rumpf)
The Consul General of the State of Israel, Talya Lador-Fresher, explained why she did not fly the flag at half-mast in front of her official residence: “While we are still mourning here, we are waging war – with our heads held high and our chests broad.” She announced that there would be very hard and bloody weeks ahead. “I hope that the support will continue even then.” Your country is waging a defensive battle of “civilization against barbarism.” And: “We are fighting for survival.” She also commented on the current pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Germany. “In reality, they are pro-terror demonstrations.”
The memorial event on Jakobsplatz was protected by 150 police officers. According to a spokesman, there were no incidents. The organizing IKG is the largest Jewish community in Germany with currently around 9,500 members. “The nightmarish images of Hamas attacks and reports of Israelis being murdered or abducted to Gaza have deeply affected many people in our country, including members of our community,” it said in a statement. “Many of us have friends or relatives in Israel whose pain is also our pain these days.”
At the end of the memorial service, 90-year-old Charlotte Knobloch, a survivor of the Shoah, looked out at the crowd at Jakobsplatz and said: “You don’t know what joy you gave the Jews in Munich.”