German Chancellor Merkel awarded for her work in German-Jewish reconciliation

Haaretz



German Chancellor Angela Merkel was recognized Tuesday for her work in
German-Jewish reconciliation with an award from a US group founded by
a Jewish survivor of the Holocaust.

The Leo Baeck Institute presented its first medal ever to a presiding
German head of state for Merkel's work in cultivating a good
relationship between Germans and Israel, and Germans and global Jewry.
merkel - Reuters - Sept 21 2010

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is awarded the Leo Baeck Medal by CEO
of the Jewish Museum in Berlin W. Michael Blumenthal.
Photo by: Reuters

At the award ceremony, Michael Blumenthal, president of the Jewish
Museum in Berlin, saluted Merkel for her support of Jewish cultural
life and the integration of minorities in Germany - and particularly
for her condemnation of a book by a top German central bank executive.

The award comes just weeks after Merkel rebuked Thilo Sarrazin for
lashing out against Arab and Turkish immigrants by saying they reduce
the value of Germany's "gene pool." The book by Sarrazin, who was
forced to step down, awakened haunting memories of Hitler's
elimination of Jews for their alleged racial impurity.

Merkel said the medal was an inspiratin for continuing the work of
integration and cooperation with the Jewish community.

"That work, unfortunately, entails going against the anti-Semitism
that crops up on a regular basis," she said.

Merkel said Germany was prepared to use all of its leverage to help
along the peace talks between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. She met with Abbas
Tuesday in New York, and spoke on the telephone with Netanyahu last
week.

Merkel also urged Iran to clear up any doubts about its peaceful
intent with its nuclear program and to stop threatening Israel with
annihilation.

"Iran must know that the existence of the state of Israel will never
be negotiable for Germany," she said.

The institute was founded by Leo Beck in 1947 to study the history of
German-speaking Jewry, which it notes on its website is "inextricably
linked to Europe's cultural, intellectual and political history over
the past 500 years."

Beck was a rabbi and scientist who survived the Holocaust despite
severe deprivations. Many of his family members were murdered. He died
in 1956.