The world Jewish Congress WJC features Chancellor Merkel with the Theodor Herzl award. Its President Ronald Lauder warns in a DW Interview, especially in front of the growing anti-Semitism of the young German.
DW: Mr Lauder, as President of the world Jewish Congress, you give the Theodor Herzl award in Munich, German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Munich. Why this price for Angela Merkel?
Ronald Lauder: Angela Merkel has always been wonderful to the Jewish people in Germany and always a strong supporter of the state of Israel. For that she gets the Theodor-Herzl prize, the main prize in the Jewish world.
A few days ago, the world Jewish Congress has presented a new study on the rising anti-Semitism in Germany. How do you explain this development?
In Germany, there was always anti-Semitism. This existed but after the war, between 1945 and the 80s in the shadows. In the recent survey, we found out what feelings are important to people today. 27 percent of the respondents indicated that they have strong anti-Semitic feelings against Jews. The question now is, what happened? Why make people feel like that? So we have to deal with us.
You had said in the light of the study results, they felt a kind of anxiety and restlessness. What is the power with them?
First of all, I think that the reason for this development has a lot to do with education. We are now living three generations by the Holocaust centre. And many of the anti-Semitic people in the study are young people who do not know what happened. And I don’t believe that the school, although he is basically good, is not sufficient to make the children the horrors of what Happened to really understand.
Watch the Video 01:58 Share
Lauder: deeds instead of words
Facebook Twitter google+ send Tumblr VZ Xing Newsvine Digg
Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/3Ry6F
President of the world Jewish Congress in hall
What omissions there are in your opinion the government, in the political sphere and among the elites of Germany?
In relation to the political sphere, I think that anyone who shows in any party is anti-Semitic feelings, it should not be a party member. And I think there are some small parties which are based, basically, almost on a neo-Nazi theory. You should not be allowed. And these marches, as in Chemnitz and Dortmund: even Though the participants had no signs of Nazi Germany, there was no doubt where they are politically classified. Or if in sports stadiums stands up the entire group and the Hitler salute shows – what is that a sign? So something has to get the government in the handle.
Ronald Stephen Lauder in July 2007, the President of the world Jewish Congress (WJC).
The conversation Frank Hofmann led.