BERLIN: Chancellor Angela Merkel said yesterday she would do everything she could to fight anti-Semitism in Germany, amid reports of attacks and a spike in anti-Israel sentiment since the Gaza conflict.
In her weekly podcast, Merkel said she was alarmed that Jewish institutions in Germany still needed police protection and called for a big turnout at a rally against anti-Semitism that she was planning to address in Berlin next weekend.
Authorities and media in Germany, ultra-sensitive about anti-Semitism because of the Holocaust, have criticised chants against Israel and Jews during rallies against Israel’s conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
In July, petrol bombs were thrown at a synagogue in the western town of Wuppertal and a man wearing a skullcap was beaten up on a street corner in Berlin. “I will personally do everything I can — as will my entire government — to ensure that anti-Semitism doesn’t have a chance in our country.” REUTERS
