Israeli president addresses German parliament, calls for all-out war on racism

BERLIN (AA) – Israeli President Isaac Herzog Tuesday called on German lawmakers to take a stronger stance against hate speech, racism and anti-Semitism.

“We have to fight anti-Semitism and racism wherever we counter it, decisively, and without any compromise,” he said in a speech at the German parliament.

Herzog addressed lawmakers at a special parliamentary session as part of his three-day official visit to the country.

Expressing concern over a worrying increase in the number of racist and anti-Semitic incidents, he said hate speech should not be ignored but countered everywhere, on the internet, social media, in the streets or political platforms.

Herzog also underlined that it is a moral obligation and responsibility to continue learning and teaching about the Holocaust.

“Remembering the Shoah (the Holocaust) is part of our national identity,” he stressed.

“You cannot do away with the past, but the future is in our hands. It belongs to both of us. It belongs to us, it belongs to you. Because only together we can give meaning to remembrance,” he added.

Following his address, Herzog and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier visited the Nazi concentration camp Bergen-Belsen, and met with the survivors of the Holocaust, which claimed the lives of 6 million Jews.