Germany’s Merkel Condemns Morsi Over Jew Hatred During Meeting
German Chancellor Angela Merkel used her meeting with Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi to criticize his past statements on Jews.
Merkel raised the issue of Morsi’s 2010 recorded statement in which he called Israeli Zionists “descendants of apes and pigs,” during their meeting on Wednesday, according to German media.
Morsi responded that the comments were taken out of context, and explained that, as a religious Muslim, he is “not against Judaism as a religion. I am not against the Jews who practice their faith.” But he said he was against religious practices in which blood is spilled, according to the Austrian paper Der Standard.
Merkel’s open criticism of Morsi’s remarks drew praise from Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, who was in Berlin to discuss the Center’s top ten list of anti-Semitic statements of 2012.
Cooper said Thursday he hoped Merkel’s confrontation of Morsi would “send a signal not only to Egyptians but to leaders in Europe who show up to commemorations to dead victims of the Holocaust but unfortunately are all too absent when it comes to standing up for the rights of Jews.”
The Wiesenthal Center’s top ten list, topped by Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, drew fire in Germany because of its inclusion of prominent journalist Jakob Augstein in the 9th position.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
