The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) commended German Chancellor Angela Merkel for her steadfast leadership in condemning and confronting the issue of anti-Semitism in the wake of incidents which took place in Germany this summer during Israel’s’ ‘Operation Protective Edge’ to stop rocket attacks from Gaza.
ADL welcomed Chancellor Merkel’s presence at Sunday’s “Stand up! Never again anti-Semitism!” demonstration in Berlin and said that her decision to be present at the rally demonstrates her “tradition of excellence in such leadership.”
In a speech during the mass rally at the Brandenburg Gate attended by political and religious leaders, Merkel vowed to do everything she can "to ensure anti-Semitism doesn't have a chance".
The rally, which was also attended by German President Joachim Gauck, coincided with a World Jewish Congress (WJC) meeting in the German capital. It comes 75 years after the outbreak of World War II, during which Nazi Germany murdered six million Jews, a crime that remains a source of enduring shame in the country.
“The nature of the anti-Semitic incidents this summer in Germany – violent and invoking Nazi themes – broke taboos, and they require an extraordinary response,” said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director.
“Her presence at the demonstration against anti-Semitism is a vital component of that response.”
Foxman added, “Standing side by side with the leaders of the German Jewish community and expressing solidarity with them at the rally will be a highly needed substantial show of support.”
In an August report which details a surge in global anti-Semitism during the Israel-Hamas conflict, ADL referenced several anti-Semitic incidents in Germany including Molotov cocktails thrown at a synagogue, assaults and death threats.
A recent ADL poll in 100 countries found that 27 percent of those surveyed in Germany harbor anti-Semitic attitudes.
A Jewish official in Germany said this week the country is ready to allocate funds to tailor education about anti-Semitism for its Muslim students. He said there was a ‘’feeling of unease’’ among Germany’s Jews after the spate of anti-Semitic incidents.
Levi Salomon of the Jewish Forum for Democracy and Against Anti-Semitism said that after "outrageously anti-Semitic" chants drew widespread political and media condemnation, rally organisers merely shifted their language from attacking "Jews" to "Zionists".
Although the street protests were dominated by young Muslim men, Salomon pointed out in an essay, they also drew support from an alliance of "neo-Nazis, Israel-boycott activists, left anti-imperialist and Islamist groups under the banner of hatred".
"The trigger for the flare-up of anti-Semitism was the escalation in the Middle East, but the cause was the anti-Semitism that remains rooted in large parts of German society," he wrote.
Prominent personalities and media have also joined in the campaign against anti-Semitism.
A commentary in mass-circulation daily Bild said: "Stand up! Banish Anti-Semitism forever! By joining forces on Sunday at the Brandenburg Gate we will send a clear message against hatred towards Jews. Enough is enough! Anti-Semitism has no place in Germany!"
The publisher of Bild, Axel Springer, is marking the event with a 180-square-metre (2,000-square-foot) light installation on the facade of its Berlin headquarters that says "Speak out! Never again hatred of Jews’’