Just five years after the Holocaust, the Central Council of Jews in Germany was founded in 1950. On Wednesday, around one thousand guests from politics and society gathered in Berlin to mark its 75th anniversary with a commemorative reception. The speeches by Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) and Council President Josef Schuster reflected growing concerns about the rise of antisemitism and unease over the policies of the current Israeli government.
Merz cautioned that criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies toward the Palestinians must not be misused as a pretext for antisemitism. “A criticism of the policy of the Israeli government must be possible, it can even be necessary,” Merz said: “Disagreement on issues is not disloyalty to our friendship.”
He added: “Our country suffers damage to its very soul if such criticism becomes a pretext for hatred of Jews – or if it even leads to demands that the Federal Republic should turn away from Israel.”
The German commitment to the existence and security of the State of Israel, Merz stressed, is “a non-negotiable part of the normative foundations of our country.” He continued: “Even and especially when dialogue between governments reaches its limits, we in Germany are obliged to continuously seek a common language, to look for common ground.” Merz gave his “personal promise” that his government was committed to this effort.
Council President Schuster, while acknowledging widespread unease about Netanyahu’s course, also appealed for steadfast support for Israel. “Not all decisions of the Netanyahu government are comprehensible to us,” Schuster said. “With the statements of some of his cabinet members, Jews outside Israel also struggle.”
However, he emphasized, this must “never serve as justification for us, as the Federal Republic of Germany, to turn away from Israel or reduce our support.” Schuster added that Germany must “stand for the security of Israel, regardless of who the head of government is.” Solidarity with Israel, he said, “must not be relativized. It is not a foreign policy option, but a repeatedly emphasized part of our raison d’état (reason of state).”
Schuster also raised alarm over the rise of antisemitism in Germany, particularly since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. “The reality shows that antisemitism, which has always been rooted at the extreme margins, has now penetrated directly into the center of our society,” he said. Life for Jews in Germany, he warned, is becoming “more uncomfortable.”
Antisemitism, he explained, manifests itself “not only in its violent excesses but increasingly also in everyday life. It targets Jews, but it always threatens society as a whole.” In this sense, he said, “Jews are the seismograph of a society. Today, hatred of Jews is the bridging ideology that connects the extreme right with the extreme left and the Islamist spectrum.”
Chancellor Merz expressed gratitude to the Central Council for its work in strengthening democracy. After its founding, he noted, the Council “quickly became a lifeline of democratic culture in Germany” and an “indispensable partner of the federal government.” He added: “I want to say to the Jews in Germany today: Without you, there can be no good future for the Federal Republic.”
Marking the 75th anniversary, Merz said: “We are also celebrating the gift that Jews have once again found a home here – despite all adversity, and although antisemitism never disappeared from Germany.” The Council, he acknowledged, is carrying out its mission “under increasingly difficult conditions.”
The Central Council of Jews in Germany was founded on July 19, 1950, in Frankfurt am Main – five years after the end of the Second World War and the Shoah. Since then, it has acted as the political, social, and religious representation of the Jewish community in Germany. All religious orientations of Judaism are represented under its umbrella.
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