Anniversary: ​​Dobrindt calls for a clear stance against anti-Semitism

Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) called for decisive action against anti-Semitism at a memorial event to mark the third anniversary of the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel. “Every single anti-Semitic attack, ladies and gentlemen, is an additional task for me to continue to take sides offensively: for Jews in Germany, for the state of Israel,” said Dobrindt on Bebelplatz in Berlin.

Anti-Semitism is a “vile poison” that threatens to poison parts of society. “And we have to defend ourselves against this clearly and consistently every day.” Bebelplatz is also a special place of remembrance because books were burned there in 1933 after the National Socialists came to power. This must be a reminder of “how bestial and murderous anti-Semitism is.”

One should also be alarmed in view of current developments in Germany. “We have to be alarmed when right-wing extremists in Saxony-Anhalt lead a German state parliament. We have to be alarmed when a party in Berlin talks about possible government participation that openly tolerates anti-Semites in its environment," he said.

"Never forget. Never be silent.”

Under the motto “Never forget. Never be silent.” According to the police, around 1,700 people gathered at the start on Bebelplatz at Humboldt University. The Israeli ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, also remembered the victims of October 7th. “Our response to October 7th is not to hide, not to run away and certainly not to give up. Our answer is: rebuild, return, live on and, above all, stand together,” said the ambassador.

On October 7, 2023, fighters from Hamas and other extremist organizations killed around 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped more than 250 others as hostages in the Gaza Strip. The attack sparked the Gaza war.