The President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, has congratulated the Central Council of Jews in Germany ahead of its 70th anniversary on July 19th.
In a letter addressed to President Dr. Josef Schuster, Steinmeier described the Central Council as a “meaningful voice that is needed and heard, adding “I am very grateful that Jewish life in Germany in all its diversity has developed over the past decades.”
“When I visited the Central Council’s Jewish Community Day (Gemeindetag) in Berlin at the end of last year, I experienced how much richer our social life has become as a result of this”, Steinmeier continued, “and I appreciate your commitment to a body polity in which we all take part.”
“I would like to thank the Central Council of Jews for his highly valued contribution to the development, anchoring and public perception of Jewish life in Germany,” the President concluded.
The Central Council, the representative organisation of the German Jewish community and the country’s EJC affiliate, was founded on July 19, 1950 in Frankfurt, initially to represent the interests of Jews in the country ahead of their emigration.
Central Council President Josef Schuster said: “What was created provisionally in the aftermath of the Shoah is now an integral part of German society. Jewish life belongs here. We are at home in Germany. «
“At the same time, we are closely the social development of the country. “As in previous decades, we will continue to speak out whenever necessary – when the rights of the Jewish community or other minorities as well as our fundamental democratic rights are at risk,” Dr. Schuster added.
