“We are obliged to dialogue”
Rabbi: Not all Muslims are prone to violence
October 21, 2023, 12:30 p.m
Despite all the hardened fronts between Jews and Muslims, there are also conciliatory tones: No matter how difficult it may be and how depressing the situation is, a Berlin rabbi warns that it is essential to enter into a dialogue. Not all Muslims showed willingness to use violence, only some did.
The Berlin Rabbi Andreas Nachama has warned that Muslims should not be labeled as violent. Many images and films in the days since Hamas’ attack on Israel were very disturbing, Nachama told the Berlin “Tagesspiegel”. However, the willingness to use violence does not affect all Muslims across the board, but rather a specific scene.
“We have to try to enter into a dialogue with these people. We are obliged to do so because we live together in this city,” said the son of Jewish Holocaust survivors and former director of the “Topography of Terror” memorial site. As difficult as it may be for both sides, it is for the good of the whole. “I have many friends in the Muslim community and appeal to everyone to find a path to brotherhood and partnership.”
Right-wing radical and Middle Eastern anti-Semitism shake hands
“The radical right-wing anti-Semitism anchored here and the Middle Eastern anti-Semitism shake hands in a disastrous way,” said Nachama, who is also co-founder of the House of One, a project in Berlin-Mitte focused on dialogue between Christians, Jews and Muslims. The threat situation is serious. “At the same time, we should not give people who glorify violence the impression that they are successful,” said Nachama.
“I think it’s extremely important to convey one thing: Muslims and Jews are in the same boat,” says Andreas Nachama.
(Photo: picture alliance/dpa)
Ultimately, the Jewish community is used to dealing with threats from outside. “I remember the attack on the synagogue in Halle, but at the same time also the right-wing extremist murders in Hanau that were targeted at Muslims,” said the rabbi. “I think it’s extremely important to convey one thing: Muslims and Jews are in the same boat. We are equally threatened by right-wing extremists in terms of anti-Semitic and anti-racist threats. We should work together for a tolerant society.”
Demonstration against anti-Semitism in Berlin
A broad alliance from the German-Israeli Society, parties, religious communities and trade unions has called for a rally against anti-Semitism and for solidarity with Israel in Berlin on Sunday. The organizers are expecting around 10,000 participants at the Brandenburg Gate. “Israel’s security is not only German reasons of state, defending Israel’s existence is also the matter of German civil society in all its breadth,” said the President of the German-Israeli Society, Volker Beck, on Friday. The organization is the initiator of the alliance.
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will give a speech at the start at 2 p.m. Israel’s ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, representatives of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany, the German Bishops’ Conference, the Central Council of Jews in Germany, the Federation of German Industries and the German Federation of Trade Unions are also scheduled to speak at the rally. Relatives of Israeli hostages should also have their say. According to information, a Kaddish, the funeral prayer, will be said for the Jewish victims of the terrorist attack on Israel by the Islamist Hamas.
“Hamas’ attack on innocent civilians on October 7th was a turning point in the history of conflict in the Middle East,” said Beck. There is no justification for this terrorist attack. “We are shocked that Jews in Germany are currently the target of hatred, attacks, violence and threats. Here too we want to show: We stand on the side of the Jews.”
The AfD is not invited: “We as the German-Israeli Society, just like the Central Council of Jews, only work with the democratic parties of the German Bundestag,” said Beck by way of explanation.
No major Islamic association invited
The “Alhambra Society – Muslims for a Plural Europe” was invited as a Muslim organization, but not a larger Islamic association. “We decided not to invite them in view of the statements made by Islamic associations in the last two weeks,” said Beck. “Islamic associations are called upon to actively counteract anti-Semitism and hatred of Israel.” Beck emphasized that many Muslims in Germany have a different attitude than that expressed by the major associations.