Merkel to speak in Berlin against anti-Semitism

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BBC Online :German Chancellor Angela Merkel is to speak at a mass rally against anti-Semitism later, amid a sharp rise in attacks on Germany’s Jews.The event in Berlin comes 75 years after the outbreak of the World War Two, in which six million Jews were killed by Nazi Germany.Mrs Merkel has vowed to do everything she can “to ensure anti-Semitism doesn’t have a chance”. The surge in anti-Semitism follows the summer’s conflict in Gaza.The rally at the Brandenburg Gate – under the banner “Stand Up: Jew Hatred – Never Again!” – coincides with a World Jewish Congress (WJC) meeting in the capital.Speaking in her weekly podcast, Chancellor Merkel said Germany had “a lot of work ahead of us” to tackle the rise in anti-Semitism.She said there was “not a single Jewish institution” in the country that does not require police protection in the current climate. “That’s something that very much concerns me,” she added.During the height of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza in July, Germany’s Jewish community condemned an “explosion of evil and violent hatred of Jews” at pro-Palestinian rallies.Some demonstrators were reported to have shouted slogans saying “Zionists are fascists, killing children and civilians” and yelled that Jews should be “gassed”.

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