Germany’s chancellor and president strongly denounced a rise in antisemitism in Germany in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war in separate appearances Sunday that stressed the same idea that it is unacceptable for such hatred to flourish in the nation that perpetrated the Holocaust.
In Berlin, thousands of people gathered at a demonstration called to show opposition to antisemitism and support for Israel. People carried Israeli flags or posters with photos of some of the people reported to be missing or held by Hamas as hostages.
The protest, organized by a broad alliance of various organizations, comes as antisemitic incidents have been rising in Germany following the violent escalation of the war in Gaza. The organizers estimated that over 20,000 people took part; police put the number at 10,000.
“It is unbearable that Jews are living in fear again today — in our country of all places,” President Frank-Walter Steinmeier told those gathered in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. “Every single attack on Jews, on Jewish institutions is a disgrace for Germany. And every single attack fills me with shame and anger.”
Earlier, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was outraged by the antisemitic agitation spreading as the Gaza war rages, and warned at the inauguration of a new synagogue that the vow of “never again” must be unbreakable.
Both Scholz and Steinmeier denounced the Hamas attack on Israeli civilians on Oct. 7 while also voicing their concern for Palestinian civilians caught up in the conflict. But the thrust of their message was to address the fallout at home.
“I am deeply outraged by the way in which antisemitic hatred and inhuman agitation have been breaking out since that fateful October 7, on the internet, in social media around the world, and shamefully also here in Germany,” Scholz said. “Here in Germany, of all places.”
