Berlin, Sept. 15, 2020 (dpa/Naija247news) Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday voiced her deep shame at attacks on the Jewish community in Germany.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!“It is a disgrace and it makes me deeply ashamed that racism and anti-Semitism is expressed in our country in these times,’’ Merkel said at an event marking 70 years since the Central Council of Jews in Germany was founded.
She said that racism and anti-Semitism never went away, but for some time they have been becoming more visible and bolder.
Merkel condemned recent extremist attacks on Jews, including the failed attempt by an armed attacker to storm a synagogue in the city of Halle on Yom Kippur in October 2019.
However, she also took aim at the prevalence of hate speech and conspiracy theories in modern society.
“On social media, many comments ooze with hate and harassment.
“We must never be silent on this,” the German leader said, adding that hateful words could lead to hateful deeds.
The Central Council of Jews in Germany was founded in Frankfurt on July 19, 1950.
It represents the interests of 23 regional associations and 105 Jewish communities with around 100,000 members.
Germany has recently seen a rise in anti-Semitic incidents in the country, most recently at protests against coronavirus restrictions, which have been partially fuelled by conspiracy theories about nefarious global elite.
The protests had however attracted support from right-wing extremists.