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.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
