Rivlin bids Germany's Merkel farewell, thanks her for supporting Israel

"I'm delighted to have the opportunity to speak to you before you leave office [on July 7]," Merkel began.

She thanked Rivlin for his efforts to progress relations between the two countries, as well as the values he instilled during his term as president. 

"I've always valued exchanges with you," Merkel continued, mentioning that the "absolute pinnacle" of her meetings with Rivlin was the luncheon she had with him and "all the Israeli dignitaries present."

Merkel attended a luncheon with Rivlin in her 2008 trip to Israel, also visiting the Yad Vashem Museum, the Israel Museum and addressed the Knesset. 

"Jews in Germany suffered from hatred and violence they had never known before," Merkel said at Yad Vashem. "Since then, Germany is always responsible for remembering this crime and for fighting violence, xenophobia and hatred in general."

Merkel was additionally given the honor of lighting the Eternal Flame and laying a wreath in the name of the German government, part of a ceremony to commemorate those who were murdered in the Holocaust.

Rivlin recalled Merkel's historic 2008 speech in the Knesset, saying "I will always remember you as a leader who cared about the connection between our peoples and not just the connection between the countries. 

"You knew the citizens of Israel in depth, about our culture, about our customs, about all the principles that are important to us."

During the address, Merkel said "the Holocaust brought indescribable suffering to the Jewish people, Europe and the entire

world" and that it "fills us Germans with shame.

"I bow my head before the victims. I bow before the survivors and before all those who helped them so they could survive," she declared.

She said that Germany would only be able "to build a humane future," if it accepts the "enduring responsibility for the moral disaster in its history.

 

"Respect for our common humanity is rooted in our responsibility for the past. 

Merkel additionally denounced Iran's threats against Israel and its nuclear plans. 

"If Iran ever acquires nuclear weapons, the consequences will be disastrous – first and foremost for the security and existence of Israel, secondly for the entire region and ultimately, far beyond that, for all of us in Europe and the world, for all who cherish the values of freedom, democracy and human dignity," Merkel warned.

"Germany will never forsake Israel but will remain a true friend and partner," she promised at the conclusion of the speech.

Merkel has since embraced efforts to protect Jewish communities in Germany, declaring in 2020 during a celebration marking the 70th anniversary of the Central Council of Jews in Germany it is “shameful” that perpetrators are becoming more bold about expressing antisemitism and racism.

If “education and education and enlightenment are not enough” to curb such tendencies, “we must resort to... disciplinary action as sanctioned by our criminal law,” Merkel said.

The same year, she approved a bill demanding that social media companies report and removed any threatening hate posts or statements encouraging violence, with a fine up to $54 million for companies that don't comply, the World Jewish Congress notified. 

The bill additionally lengthened sentences for antisemitic acts, as a direct result of the attempted shooting at the Halle synagogue in Germany on Yom Kippur in 2019, in which neo-Nazi Stephan Balliet tried to blast into the building where some 80 Jews were worshiping.

More recently, during Operation Guardian of the Walls in May, Merkel "condemned the continued rocket attacks from Gaza on Israel and assured [prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu] of the solidarity of the German government. [She] affirmed Israel’s right to defend itself against the attacks.”

In light of recent rise antisemitic incidents in Germany, Merkel said her government “will continue to take decisive action against protests in Germany that spread hatred and antisemitism.”

In his parting meeting, Rivlin thanked Merkel for her constant, steadfast support of Israel, especially during the recent round of violence, and her fight against antisemitism in Germany, as she had promised in 2008.

"You are a personality that brings the free world to understand why should we remain always part of the free world, part of democracy" he told her, including freedom of speech, religion, and worship.

"Freedom of every human being as a human being."

He told Merkel, "You are great leader... one of the most important leaders in our time."

Merkel was awarded an honorary doctorate by Haifa University in 2018 for her leadership, which Haifa University described as "grounded in principles of equality, freedom and human rights."