Watch the video: Chancellor Scholz deeply ashamed of current anti-Semitism: “It’s a shame.”
To commemorate the Kristallnacht pogrom, representatives from the Jewish community, members of the government, members of parliament, as well as the Federal Chancellor and the Federal President met in the Beth Zion synagogue in Berlin on Thursday morning. Holocaust survivor Margot Friedländer also took part. Because of developments in the Middle East, there is a special focus on the anniversary this year. Since the radical Islamic Hamas attack on Israel and the subsequent Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, the number of anti-Semitic crimes in Germany has increased significantly. Chancellor Olaf Scholz called this: “It’s a disgrace. I’m deeply outraged and ashamed.” Scholz said that “something is getting out of hand” when violent acts by the radical Islamic Hamas are celebrated today and Jewish fellow citizens are threatened. Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz: “Nothing, absolutely nothing. No origin, no political conviction, no cultural background, no supposedly post-colonial view of history can serve as a reason to celebrate the murder, the cruel slaughter of innocents. And that’s why everyone has to know , Anti-Semitism, anyone who does that also risks losing their residency status.” At the same time, Scholz warned of general suspicion against Muslims. We shouldn’t fall for those who now see their chance to completely deny over five million Muslim citizens their place in German society. The Beth Zion Synagogue was one of around 1,000 synagogues nationwide that was destroyed during Kristallnacht 85 years ago. Shortly after Hamas’ violent attack on Israel in October, the synagogue was the target of a Molotov cocktail attack, which did not explode.