President Frank-Walter Steinmeier called for people to fight against growing anti-Semitism in Germany, during the opening of a new synagogue in Potsdam, just outside Berlin.
“I am … determined not to rest, so that we in our country do everything we can to protect Jewish life and combat all forms of anti-Semitism,” said Steinmeier.
“Jewish life is part of us! Only when Jews feel completely at home in Germany will this country feel completely at home.”
The opening of the synagogue and Jewish community centre is seen as an important signal against hatred and incitement, especially in times of growing anti-Semitism.
Since the attack on Israel last October by the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement, hostility against Jews in Germany has been growing.
“Germany remains a home for Jews. That’s what I personally stand for and that’s what the majority of all Germans – I assure you – stand for,” Steinmeier said.
Four Jewish communities are to share the new religious and cultural centre in the historic centre of Potsdam, the capital of the state of Brandenburg. One Jewish community has not signed up. The old synagogue was destroyed in 1945.
This makes Potsdam the last state capital in Germany to have a synagogue again.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, Israel’s ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, and Brandenburg Premier Dietmar Woidke also took part in the inauguration ceremony.
According to a government spokeswoman, Chancellor Olaf Scholz was not present as a guest due to scheduling reasons.
The state of Brandenburg spent around €17.5 million ($18.9 million) on the new building with its sand-coloured brick façade. The project was difficult and accompanied by lengthy disputes between the Jewish communities, which represent different religious movements.
The synagogue centre is being run for three years by the Central Welfare Office of Jews in Germany (ZWST). In addition to prayer rooms, there is an event hall, a visitors’ café, a library, offices as well as music and art rooms. The building is heavily secured.
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