Terrorism: Anniversary: ​​Steinmeier sees Germany in a breaking point

A year after Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier sees Germany in a breaking point. “Since October 7th, we have also been experiencing in German schools and universities, in cultural institutions, on the streets and in the media how this war in the Middle East threatens to tear us apart,” said Steinmeier at a memorial event in Berlin.

“Sadness, anger, powerlessness, fear for relatives and friends on both sides, such feelings also affect many people in our country,” he added. “But no matter how upset we may be, we must not lose our compass over this.” The threat to Jews or the demand of demonstrators for a Middle East without Israel: that is anti-Semitism. “We must and will never tolerate that,” explained Steinmeier.

“This war has already killed too many people”

Steinmeier made the remarks at an interreligious celebration in the Memorial Church in Berlin – one of many acts of commemoration throughout Germany. On October 7, 2023, terrorists from the radical Islamist Hamas and other groups killed around 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped around 250 others as hostages in the Gaza Strip. This was the trigger for the Gaza war that continues to this day.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz attended a memorial ceremony in a synagogue in Hamburg-Eimsbüttel. “We are still shocked,” said the SPD politician on the sidelines. It is now necessary that there is a ceasefire soon, which is linked to the release of the hostages. The Brandenburg Gate in Berlin was illuminated in the colors of the Israeli flag in the evening.

Steinmeier emphasized that it is Germany’s responsibility to stand by Israel if the homeland of the Jews is attacked. But he also said: “This war has already killed too many people, brought too much suffering: for Israelis and for Palestinians, and now also for the people of Lebanon.” The people of Gaza have also experienced immense suffering, displacement, hunger and disease for a year.

“The questions are becoming louder and more urgent, including the public debate – less about whether Israel has a right to self-defense, but about where the limits of every right to self-defense lie,” explained the Federal President. A reality in which Israelis and Palestinians can live peacefully side by side will not be achieved through military means alone. A political perspective is necessary. At the same time, Steinmeier warned against easy answers and frivolous condemnation of Israel.

Eight out of ten Jewish communities complain about insecurity

Since the terrorist attack on Israel, many Jews in Germany have felt harassed, intimidated and unsettled. The Central Council of Jews in Germany wrote in a new situation report that 42 percent of Jewish communities had identified anti-Semitic incidents such as graffiti, threatening calls or insults this year. The image is based on a survey in which leaders from 98 of the 105 communities took part.

82 percent stated that it had become less safe to live and appear as a Jew in Germany. Compared to the previous survey by the Central Council at the end of 2023, this value increased by four percentage points. Central Council President Josef Schuster described it as the “bitterest finding” that support in Germany had declined. In the current survey, 39 percent said that the Jewish communities experienced solidarity from society – in the previous survey the figure was significantly higher at 62 percent.

Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth (Greens) explained that the fight against anti-Semitism is all the more urgent, including in art and culture. “The number of anti-Semitic incidents in this country has since reached alarming proportions,” warned Roth. “When Jews are attacked on the street here, it is a shameful reminder of images from this country’s darkest history.”

Commemorations across the country

The commemoration began very early Monday morning. At the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin and dozens of other locations around the world, activists read out the names of 1,170 murdered and 255 kidnapped at 5:29 a.m. – the start of the attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. In many federal states, politicians remembered the terrible attack and its consequences, for example in Berlin and Brandenburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Bavaria.

According to the police, around 2,300 security forces were deployed to secure the memorial events and demonstrations in the capital. A number of pro-Jewish and pro-Palestinian rallies were announced for the evening, not only in Berlin but also in other cities.

At a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Berlin-Kreuzberg there were bottles thrown at police officers and anti-Israel slogans, as the police announced on Platform X. There were a number of preliminary arrests. In this context, participants in the rally harassed emergency services, punched and kicked them. According to police estimates, up to 550 people took part in the rally entitled “Solidarity with Palestine”. Swedish activist Greta Thunberg was also there.

According to the police, 1,300 people came to a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Frankfurt am Main; the organizers spoke of more than 2,000 participants. The city had previously failed in court in its attempt to ban the demonstration entitled “For a Free Palestine – Victory Belongs to Justice”. Banners read “Stop occupation terror,” “Ceasefire now,” and “Pouring against genocide.”