World Jewish News

‘There are young Palestinian men that come to us, that were brought up with deeply rooted anti-Semitism," says Martin Schul

"There are young Palestinian men that come to us, that were brought up with deeply rooted anti-Semitism," said Martin Schulz, German Social Democratic Party (SPD) candidate for chancellor in the upcoming elections, during a tv debate with his rival Chancellor Angela Merkel of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

"To them we must clearly say: 'in this country you only have a place when you accept that Germany is a country that defends Israel,'" Schulz added when asked about the integration in Germany of immigrants from Muslim countries.

Merkel, in office for 12 years, is running for another term as Chancellor against Schulz, who was President of the European Parliament from 2012 to 2017. Elections are set for 24 September.

She is ahead in the polls, and it doesn’t seem the estimated 16 million Germans who tuned in to watch will be swayed against her.

In a speech to the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, during his visit to Israel as European Parliament president in 2014, Schulz sparked controversy when he relayed a question Palestinians had posed to him about Israel restricting water use in the West Bank, claiming Palestinians received only 17 liters of water a day, compared to Israelis who received 70 liters. Some members of Knesset walked out during his speech.

Merkel has consistently supported a special relationship with Israel and demonstrated steady support for the Jewish State.

She has initiated annual intergovernmental talks between Germany and Israel.

“We are doing this out of an awareness of Germany’s constant responsibility for the fracturing of civilization in the time of the Holocaust and an awareness for the shared values and interests,” she said. Germany and Israel share values such as “freedom, democracy and human dignity,” she continued.

She has consistently said Germany should not be neutral when it comes to Israel and supporting its security.

EJP