By Yossi Lempkowicz
The messages were received by the Rabbinical Centre of Europe (RCE) on behalf of the Jewish communities in Europe. Based in Brussels, where the main EU institutions are seated, the RCE is dedicated to the religious and spiritual needs of European Jewry and assists the Jewish leadership with the needs of their communities.
In her message, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that she is grateful that Jews have not turned their backs on Germany, despite the Holocaust. “Jews helped us work towards a new beginning,” she wrote.
“They helped us overcome the dark chapters of the past, to promote democratic development in our country and to give to it a human face again. To you we remain deeply grateful in gratitude.”
Merkel also made reference to the growing Jewish community in Germany which now numbers around 120,000.
“From my whole heart I thank all those who helped in the development of Jewish life in Germany. I am especially pleased to hear about the ordination of the first Orthodox rabbi in the Federal Republic of Germany,” she wrote.
German President Horst Koehler also referred to Germany’s past and the Jewish renewal in Germany in his greetings. “I am glad that Jewish life blossoms in Germany once again more than 60 years after the break in civilization that was the Shoah,” he wrote.
The Polish President of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek mentioned how Judaism has made its own special contribution to shaping modern European society which is based on shared values.
“The European Union is a community based on values, the most fundamental of which is the inherent dignity of every human person,” Buzek said in his message.
He recalled that 2008 was the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue.
Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy also made a reference to Europe’s dark past in its relationship to the Jewish people.
Quoting medieval Spanish Jewish scholar Rabbi Solomon ben Reuben Bonafed who asked “How long before the darkness knows a new day?” Van Rompuy wrote: “This question, which must also be asked at Auschwitz, echoes our society and the world which are confronted with racism.”
The President of the Belgium Senate, Armand De Decker, referred to a multicultural Europe which, he said, is an asset to the continent.
“To open up to the other and to accept him with all his differences must be part of this diversity that builds Europe’s future.”
The RCE also received New Year’s greetings from Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. In his message, he wrote about the necessity of national unity in Israel in order to combat such threats as the Iranian nuclear program.
“This unity is necessary both inside and outside of Israel. The bonds between Israel and Diaspora Jewish communities throughout the world are a tremendous source of strength, and I will work to strengthen those bonds in the year ahead,” Netanyahu wrote.
Around 2.5 million Jews live in Europe.
