Chancellor Friedrich Merz warned on Monday that antisemitism has become omnipresent in Germany, often disguised as criticism of Israel, during a speech at a Munich synagogue.
He spoke at the Ohel-Jakob Synagogue during a ceremony marking its 20th anniversary. The event coincided with the 88th anniversary of the Reichspogromnacht of November 9, 1938, when Nazis destroyed synagogues and Jewish businesses across Germany.
Merz said antisemitism is "today omnipresent" and sometimes hides behind "the language of anti-colonial liberation struggles or criticism of Israel." He pledged that the federal government would do "everything in our power to protect Jewish life in our country and around the world" and said Germany stands "unwaveringly by Israel's side."
The chancellor described police protection of Jewish institutions as merely a stopgap. "High walls, bulletproof glass, armed security forces in front of Jewish facilities: this constantly reminds us that a normal, open, visible Jewish life in Germany is still not possible," he said.
Charlotte Knobloch, president of the Israelitische Kultusgemeinde München und Oberbayern, said Jews are still waiting for the day when they can live in "complete normality" without uncertainties. Since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, she said, Jews in Germany have faced hostility from both the extreme right and a "morally misguided left."
Ilse Aigner, the CSU politician recently nominated as the Union's candidate for federal president, called the current "climate of fear" a "shame for our country" and declared that "Never again is dead." She cited data from the Research and Information Center on Antisemitism (RIAS) showing an average of around 24 antisemitic incidents documented per day in Germany.
Munich Mayor Dominik Krause of the Greens said that criticizing Israeli government policy is not antisemitic. He added that wanting to erase the only Jewish state from the map or trivializing the October 7 massacre is antisemitism.
