Simon Wiesenthal Center Statement on How the German Elections Will Affect the Jewish Community and Relations With Israel

September 26, 2017

“The emergence of a far-right party in the mainstream of Germany’s politics and society adds new dimensions of concern vis á vis the memory of the Shoah, anti-Semitism and the future of Germany’s special relationship with Israel," said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Associate Dean and Director of Global Social Action.

“In recent years, we have seen German judges and police denying attacks on synagogues as anti-Semitic, increased sanctioned BDS activity, and the presence of hundreds of thousands of immigrants who came from societies embedded with deeply anti-Jewish and anti-Israel attitudes,” Cooper added.

“Chancellor Merkel, a proven friend of the Jewish people, must initiate new steps to counter the far-right who celebrate elements of Germany’s Nazi past, Islamist anti-Semitic rhetoric, and others who are opposed to the Jewish State,” concluded Rabbi Cooper.

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The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).