Image by Getty Images

Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany told thousands at a rally in central Berlin that it was the German state’s duty to fight anti-Semitism.

“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,” Merkel said Sunday at the rally to protest rising anti-Semitism in Germany.

The national rally, organized by the Central Council of Jews in Germany, was held under the banner “Stand up! Say no to anti-Semitism.”

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Some 240,000 people of Jewish background are living in Germany today, including about 105,000 members of official Jewish communities. In 1933, before the Nazis came to power, there were more than 500,000 Jews in Germany.

“Anyone who hits someone wearing a skullcap is hitting us all,” Merkel said. “Anyone who damages a Jewish gravestone is disgracing our culture. Anyone who attacks a synagogue is attacking the foundations of our free society.”

Merkel called Jewish life “part of our society” and the Jewish population of Germany “a gift.”

German President Joachim Gauck also attended the rally, as did government ministers and religious leaders, including Protestant, Catholic and Muslim.

World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder said in Berlin ahead of the rally that European voters risk giving “their whole country a bad name” by electing extremist far-right candidates.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’re near the end of our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we have a very ambitious goal of $127,000 by April 21.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Make a Passover Gift Today!

$90 $180

$360

Other amount