Germany's Chancellor Merkel Visits The Holy Land
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France seeks €300bn rescue fund for EuropePatrick Hosking
'I bow in shame over Holocaust', Merkel tells Israel's parliamentLast updated at
23:57 18 March 2008
Comments (9) Add to My Stories Angela Merkel yesterday became the first German
Chancellor to address the Israeli parliament, triggering protests from the
families of Holocaust victims.
"I can't bear the thought of hearing German in the Knesset," said Arieh Eldad, a
Right-wing MP who was one of a handful who boycotted the session.
"This is the language my grandparents were murdered in."
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Angela Merkel with Shimon Peres on her current trip to Israel. The German
chancellor is cementing closer ties than ever with the country
But those who heard Mrs Merkel open and close her speech in Hebrew applauded
her.
The German leader said she bowed in shame to Holocaust victims.
"The Shoah fills us Germans with shame," she said, using the Hebrew word for the
Holocaust, in which six million Jews were killed.
"I bow to the victims. I bow to all those who helped the survivors."
She closed her speech by saying in Hebrew: "Congratulations on the State of
Israel's 60th anniversary celebrations. Shalom."
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Unflagging support: Ms Merkel with Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert
Mrs Merkel, 53, the first German Chancellor to be born after the Second World
War, was ending a symbolic three-day visit.
Iran's nuclear programme was high on the agenda of her discussions with Israeli
leaders.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has described Tehran's nuclear programme as a
threat to the existence of the Jewish state.
Iran denies it is seeking atomic arms and says it is pursuing its nuclear
programme and uranium enrichment for power generation.
But Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has called for Israel to be "wiped
off the map".
"The threats the Iranian president is launching against Israel and the Jewish
people are without doubt a particular cause for concern," Mrs Merkel said in her
speech.
"If Iran gained access to the atomic bomb, this would have devastating
consequences. This must be prevented.
"Germany is setting its sights on a diplomatic solution, together with its
partners.
"The German government will, if Iran does not give in, continue to defend
sanctions resolutely."
In her address, Mrs Merkel, who visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial on
Monday, said every German chancellor felt Germany's "historical responsibility"
for Israel's security.
"I am deeply convinced that only if Germany avows itself to its everlasting
responsibility for the moral disaster in German history, we can build the future
humanely," she said, describing Israeli-German relations as excellent.
Prime Minister Olmert, who addressed the session, broadcast live on two Israeli
television channels and three German networks, called Mrs Merkel a "constant
friend" and said Israel's "ties with Germany have transcended grim and dark
events".