Asia

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas Makes Special Visit to Chabad Synagogue in Berlin

August 15th, 2019
Christina Vassell, News from Berlin
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German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas paid a special visit to a Chabad synagogue in Berlin over the weekend to show support for the country’s Jewish community, two weeks after the city’s rabbi was attacked.

Gideon Joffe, the chairman of Berlin’s Jewish community, said, “We have a Jewish high school here in Berlin. Every third child studies in this school because they suffered harassment at the non-Jewish public schools. I say this without embellishing things: Here in Berlin, in the year 2019, our high school is full of Jewish refugees.”

In his remarks during a visit to a Chabad synagogue, Maas stood in solidarity with the Jewish community and said, “Anti-Semitism did not creep in here overnight, but it has become more vocal and aggressive. If Jewish women and men are worried about displaying their Jewishness in public, it is a disgrace to the state.”

He emphasized that “we stand here physically together because of what happened to Rabbi [Yehuda] Teichtel two weeks ago. It is intolerable and unbelievable. I do not want him to stand alone without support.”

References

News from Berlin