President Frank-Walter Steinmeier called on people to fight against rising 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 can do everything we can to protect Jewish life and combat all forms of anti-Semitism,” Steinmeier said.
“Jewish life is a part of us! Only when Jews feel completely at home in Germany will this country feel completely at home.”
The new synagogue, which cost €17.5 million ($18.9 million), was inaugurated amid heavy police security. The project was fraught with difficulties and was marred by long-running disputes between the Jewish communities, which represent different religious movements.
Since Hamas’s attack on Israel, hostilities against Jews in Germany have reached a new dimension.
Prime Minister of the State of Brandenburg Dietmar Woidke said: “It is a disgrace to our country that we have to protect Jewish lives.”
Steinmeier added: “Germany remains a home for Jews. That is what I personally stand for and that is what the majority of all Germans – I assure you – stand for.”
Steinmeier also addressed protests in connection with the Gaza war. “Of course, it must also be possible in our country to show the pain, the sorrow for the Palestinian victims, the fear for relatives and friends, also in public spaces.”
But the line is crossed ‘where the sorrow, the pain, the despair, where all this turns into incitement, into pure hatred, in the worst case into violence against Jews.’
The new building with its sand-colored brick facade is equipped with bulletproof glass and a security gate. “Still talking about courage when it comes to the consecration of a synagogue unfortunately sounds very true in this day and age,” said Josef Schusterchairman of the Central Council of Jews.
A third of Jewish communities in Germany experienced anti-Semitic attacks in the weeks following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7. These attacks ranged from vandalism and psychological pressure to assaults.
Four Jewish communities will share the new religious and cultural center in the historic center of Potsdam, the capital of the state of Brandenburg. One Jewish community did not apply. The old synagogue was destroyed in 1945.
This makes Potsdam the last capital of Germany that still has a synagogue.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, Israeli Ambassador to Germany Ron Prosor and Brandenburg Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke also took part in the inauguration ceremony.
According to a government spokesman, Chancellor Olaf Scholz was not present as a guest for scheduling reasons.
The synagogue center is run by the Central Welfare Office for Jews in Germany for three years. In addition to prayer rooms, there is an event hall, a visitors’ café, a library, offices, and music and art rooms. The building is heavily secured.
