Jews Added to German Anti-Semitism Panel After Outcry
Two Jewish experts have been appointed belatedly to a government panel in Germany on anti-Semitism following protests by Jewish groups.
On Wednesday, Germany’s Interior Ministry announced that it had named psychologist Marina Chernivsky and historian Andreas Nachama to the panel, whose mandate is to report regularly on anti-Semitism and efforts to combat it in Germany. It will also make recommendations based on best practices and consultations with other experts.
The panel was established in 2009, with rotating membership.
Chernivsky is the director of Change Your Outlook, an educational initiative against intolerance and anti-Semitism for the Frankfurt-based Central Welfare Council of Jews in Germany.
Nachama, an ordained rabbi, is the director of Topography of Terror, a museum and archive about the Gestapo in Berlin, and is frequently asked to comment on current issues regarding anti-Semitism.
Last February, Jewish activists from the Berlin region blasted the government for failing to appoint Jewish experts to its commission and said they would establish their own panel in response.
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