German Chancellor Angela Merkel joined President Joachim Gauck in attending a rally against anti-Semitism at the Brandeburg Gate in Berlin on Sunday.
"Anyone who hits someone wearing a skullcap is hitting us all," she said in a speech to the thousands people present. ‘’Anyone who damages a Jewish gravestone is disgracing our culture. Anyone who attacks a synagogue is attacking the foundations of our free society," she added.
She said Germany will do all it can to fight anti-Semitism, following a surge of attacks against Jews in the wake of the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.
Merkel made her pledge to thousands at the rally organized by the Central Council of Jews in Germany to protest a rise in anti-Semitism that authorities and Jewish leaders blame mainly on Muslim extremists and young immigrants.
"That people in Germany are threatened and abused because of their Jewish appearance or their support for Israel is an outrageous scandal that we won't accept," she said.
"It's our national and civic duty to fight anti-Semitism."
More than half a million Jews lived in Germany when the Nazis took power in 1933. That number was reduced to about 30,000 by the Holocaust. The population has since grown to about 200,000 – a source of pride for Merkel and many Germans.
The German government said 131 anti-Semitic incidents were reported in July and 53 in June. That was up from a total of 159 in the second quarter.
"That far more than 100,000 Jews are now living in Germany is something of a miracle," Merkel said. "It's a gift and it fills me with a deepest gratitude.
"Jewish life is part of our identity and culture. It hurts me when I hear that young Jewish parents are asking if it's safe to raise their children here or elderly ask if it was right to stay here."
During the rally, World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder praised Germany's efforts to fight anti-Semitism at the rally.
"There are some places where I'd expect to see this," he Lauder said. "But not in Germany. Since the end of the war Germany, has strongly supported the Jewish rebirth. So why has all this good work been darkened by the stain of anti-Semitism?"